The Indiana Native Plant Society is tackling head-on the need to bring the entire community on board with the importance of using native plants in the landscape. A beefed-up Landscaping with Natives team is working on several fronts to make this so, as outlined below. Your participation is welcome by emailing landscape@indiananativeplants.org.

Note: Please do not expect INPS to assist with your landscape plans on a volunteer basis. We support those who make a living by specializing in landscaping with native plants.

If you have a garden project in mind, we recommend that you join INPS and get to know members of your regional chapter, who may be happy to share their expertise and experience. Our Grow Indiana Natives program lists certified landscape designers who can help with formal plans. In the meantime, we encourage you to explore the many resouces provided on this website.

native plant garden

Native plant garden at Geist Christian Church, Fishers, Indiana. Photo by Wendy Ford.

 

Team Charge

1. Make Quality Information Available to Gardeners/Landscapers

  • Inventory, evaluate, and improve what’s available on INPAWS website and in INPAWS outreach brochures
  • Seek out other resources (organizations, books, agencies, etc.) to supplement
  • Work with Purdue to remove invasive species recommendations from their existing publications
  • Determine how best to address the most common questions posed by would-be native plant gardeners
  • Propose brochures, workshops, outreach campaigns to reach specific target audiences

2. Improve the Acceptance of Native Plants among Developers, Homeowners Associations, and Municipalities

  • Commence a dialog with these groups on the economic and environmental benefits of native plants
  • Develop a model weed ordinance for Indiana that supports citizens wishing to grow native plants in residential and commercial settings
  • Reward compliant organizations with favorable publicity

3. Manage “Grow Indiana Natives” Retail Incentive Program

  • Seek out and evaluate plant sellers and designers
  • Award Certified Native Plant Designer certificates
  • Arrange to fulfill requests for materials promoting native plants
  • Promote the program with the gardening public
  • Engage Chapters in monitoring specific vendors and designers in their regions

4. Support Chapters in Staging Garden Tours

  • Encourage Chapters to stage garden tours in whatever form is appropriate for their interest and volunteer base
  • A detailed “cookbook” for garden tours is included in the Chapter Leader Handbook, based on years of experience when the State organization staged such tours in central Indiana
  • Answer questions as needed

5. Visibly Reward Gardeners Who Grow Native Plants