Calendar of Events and Programs

Celebrate native plants and the Fourth of July!

Terri and Randy Litchfield invite you to visit Catchfly Commons, their home demonstration garden hosting roughly 275 native species on a 1.3 acre property. Over 8,000 sq. ft. of turf is now biodiverse habitat with approximately 120 species of butterflies and moths identified.

This year our Open Garden is on the Fourth of July! US history is intertwined with the land of this country and so, too, is our future. On this 250th anniversary of the United States, we celebrate native plants and biodiversity as contributing to this heritage. Knowing the places we dwell helps us know who we are and are becoming.

Feel free to share this with others who might be interested in native plant gardening.

Watch for parking signs.

Join us for a tour of an award-winning, native garden. Brenda Rushin won First Place honors in the Columbus Backyard Home and Garden contest for three consecutive years before claiming the coveted “Best of Show” in 2025. Brenda has been converting her Grove City garden to natives for the past 15 years.

A lovely gravel path allows you a close look at her favorite natives: Cardinal Flower, Great Blue Lobelia, Blazing Star, and many more.

The tour will be held rain or shine except in the case of thunder storms and lightning, or a weather emergency.

You planted native. Your neighbor has opinions. Maybe your HOA does too. If you’ve ever felt like the hardest part of native plant gardening is the conversations, not the gardening, you’re not alone.

Wild Ones is thrilled to share this upcoming free webinar as part of the 2026 Less Lawn More Life Challenge. Join Lorraine Johnson for a practical conversation on navigating HOA rules, addressing neighbor concerns, and fostering community conversations about native plant gardening and ecological landscapes.

Enjoy a day of art and plants at the Scioto Gardens’ Arts and Gardening Festival! Shop for handcrafted art, garden products, and native plants from 30 curated local artists and vendors. Listen to live music and enjoy great eats from Zaki Grill food truck in the garden-like setting of Scioto Gardens’ nursery. This is a free event!

Have you ever wondered what it takes to convert turf grass into an ecological universe? Join us as Wild Ones member, Melissa Doyle, speaks about her journey restoring prairie habitat within city limits. Her front lawn transformation was a project deeply rooted in peaceful activism for wildlife, inspiring local conversations, and combating environmental degradation. Participates will learn many tools and techniques on how to prepare a site, native plantings, stewardship, and ecological practices that boost biodiversity. Together we can learn to redefine our traditional urban lots into diverse, community-driven landscapes for all!

Native plants are the foundation of habitat, but wildlife need more than food to thrive. Join ecologist and Certified Wildlife Biologist Shaun McCoshum, PhD, to explore how nesting sites, shelter, water, soil conditions, and other often-overlooked resources can transform a yard into a functioning ecosystem that supports biodiversity year-round.

Registration link coming soon.

What does it really take to turn a conventional lawn into a thriving native meadow? Join Owner & Principal, New Directions in the American Landscape (NDAL), Sara Weaner Cooper for a candid look at her family's ongoing lawn-to-meadow transformation featured in The New York Times and BBC. Drawing from three years of hands-on experience, Sara will share the methods, lessons learned, successes, and challenges of converting turfgrass into a dynamic native plant community. Participants will gain practical insights into site preparation, planting, management, and the ecological principles that guide successful meadow establishment, along with realistic expectations for how these landscapes evolve over time.

Registration link coming soon.

Mark will share how he and his wife, Maria are transforming their traditional suburban property into a thriving native plant habitat while working within neighborhood and HOA expectations. Their front garden showcases native plants in a formal landscape, while their wooded backyard is evolving into a natural woodland oasis. Learn about their compromises, challenges, and rewards of gardening with natives in a suburban setting.

Bats are among the most important and misunderstood wildlife in our communities. Join experts from Bat Conservation International to explore how native plants, healthy insect populations, and thoughtful landscape design can help support bats. Learn about the ecological role of bats and discover practical ways to create habitat for North America's night flyers right in your own backyard.

Registration link coming soon.

Monarch butterflies depend on a network of habitats stretching across North America, and home landscapes can play an important role in their survival. Join experts from Monarch Joint Venture to explore the science behind monarch conservation, including the importance of milkweed, nectar resources, and regionally appropriate habitat. Learn practical ways to support monarchs through native landscaping and help sustain one of the world's most remarkable migrations.
 

Registration link coming soon.