Native Plant Series- Gardening w/Native Plants + Gardening for Pollinators

---

Event Summary

Build conservation practices at home by adding native plants to your landscape. Learn from local experts through a new Native Plant Series. Johnson County Conservation will host four native plant sales and a speaker series in the spring and fall of 2025: May 4, June 1, Aug. 3, and Sept. 7.  Each date will include a native plant sale. Our 2025 native plant vendor is Troutleaf Native Plants, based out of Johnson County. You do not need to register to attend the plant sale but registration is required for the native plant series. 

* Please note: You must register for each date of the Native Plant Series separately. 

Program Schedule: 

• 9:00-9:40 am- Native Plant Sale w/Troutleaf Native Plants
• 9:40-9:45 am- Welcome & Introduction
• 9:45-10:45 am- Gardening w/Native Plants w/Troutleaf Native Plants
• 10:45-11 am- Break/Shop Plant Sale
• 11 am- noon-  Gardening for Pollinators w/Sarah Nizzi
• Noon- 1 pm- Program ends but plant sale continues until 1 pm

Session Descriptions: 

Gardening w/Native Plants w/Max Friton & Dominic Balestrieri-Fox of Troutleaf Native Plants

How wet is wet? How dry is dry? How tall will it really get? Nursery descriptions can be vague, and trial and error can be costly. If you have struggled with choosing the right plant for the right place, or had a plant fail that by all means should have worked, this talk is for you. Max and Dominic share their knowledge and experience with growing native plants and how best to research them before planting. They will also cover topics relating to native gardening such as local ecotype plants, pocket prairies, and home garden design.

 

Gardening for Pollinators: How Small Spaces Can Make a Difference w/Sarah Nizzi

Sarah Nizzi of the Xerces Society will describe how individuals can make a difference in their communities for pollinators. We can all play a role in enhancing our spaces for the natural world and ourselves. The status and importance of pollinators will be discussed as well as habitat installation. Site preparation strategies, plant materials, planting and more will be presented, as well as available resources.  

Speaker Bios: 

Max Friton & Dominic Balestrieri-Fox:

Dominic Balestrieri-Fox is a first-year master’s student of Landscape Architecture at Iowa State University and co-founder of Troutleaf Native Plants. Like Max Friton, he has a lifelong love and encyclopedic knowledge of Midwestern native plants from time spent in the woods, wetlands and prairies of Eastern Iowa. He is particularly interested in helping people to interact with, learn about, and care for their local ecological communities. Prior to studying landscape architecture, Dominic received his BA in Political Science from Northwestern University, where his studies included exploring the intersections between human security and wildlife conservation.

Max Friton is co-founder, owner, and operator of Troutleaf Native Plants. He has seven years of experience growing native plants and does conservation work full-time as a land steward for Larkspur Ecological Restoration. Max and Dominic saw an unmet need for native plants in the Iowa City area, so they decided to grow native plants and share their passion for natives with the community.

 

Sarah Nizzi:

Sarah Nizzi is originally from central Iowa and is a graduate from Drake University with a bachelor's of science in environmental science. Her specialities include natural resource management, native seed mix design, pollinator biology and ecology, and education and outreach. Over the last six years Sarah has worked with the Xerces Society as a Pollinator Conservation Specialist and NRCS Partner Biologist. Currently, Sarah covers all of Iowa, helping individuals interested in pollinator conservation, as well as supporting NRCS staff on state guidance and policy as it relates to pollinators, beneficial insects, and native habitats.

 

Thanks to our partner organizations!

The plant sales and speaker series are being supported by the Johnson County Master Gardeners of Iowa and Troutleaf Native Plants.

---

Category

Programs

---