Partnering with Grow Native! is a natural fit for Wild Ones St. Louis Chapter because both organizations avidly promote landscaping with native plants. The formal collaboration between the Wild Ones St. Louis chapter and Grow Native! started in 2017 when we began to financially contribute as a Professional Member. For the next three years we increased our donation and were a Bronze Sponsor. We have been a Silver Sponsor since 2021. This level allows our members to participate in educational activities offered by Grow Native!, including online master classes, for free.
Our organizations also collaborate on two on-going projects:
Landscape Challenge
Grow Native! provides $500 toward plants for our annual Landscape Challenge: a formal front yard makeover showcasing native plants. Wild Ones St. Louis administers the selection process, with design and planting done by volunteers. Grow Native! provides the same support for the Landscape Challenge administered by the Wild Ones St. Charles Area Chapter.
Our 2023 Landscape Challenge winner Laura Arthur’s before and after
Native Plant Tags
Wild Ones had been researching the creation of native plant ID tags for some time. We located a printer who could produce the tags, but we needed a source for photos to use on the tags. Grow Native! to the rescue. They maintain a large database of native plant photos and were willing to let us use them for free. In exchange, we added the Grow Native! logo to the plant tags along with the Wild Ones logo. The plant tags were an immediate success and continue to be popular with folks who want to identify the plants in their gardens. When Grow Native! began promoting the tags we immediately started getting orders from surrounding states, which speaks to Grow Native’s influence in the lower Midwest. Visit our store to purchase plant tags.
Grow Native! website www.grownative.org There is a wealth of information there about native plants, including a native plant database, sample garden designs, top ten lists and much more. There is also information and a study guide for the Grow Native! certification test. Encourage your landscaper to take this exam and get certified.
Missouri Prairie Foundation. Grow Native is the plant education and marketing “arm” of the Missouri Prairie Foundation. If you join MPF as an individual member, you will get notified about the many webinars and master classes offered throughout the year. Members also receive a subscription to the Missouri Prairie Journal, discounts on Grow Native! workshops and the MPF Annual Dinner, invitations to MPF’s Evening on the Prairie and other events. It’s only $35 and you can join at https://moprairie.org/membership/.
