Jeff Nelson, Author at Kentucky Native Plant Society

2025 KNPS Fall Meeting at Natural Bridge SRP, September 6th, 10am EST

**^{White haired goldenrod (Solidago albopilosa)}**
**^{photo by Dr. Thomas G. Barnes}**

Mark your calendars and plan to meet up with other KNPS members and friends as we head to the Natural Bridge SRP for the Society’s 2025 Fall Meeting, on Sept 6th. We will meet in the Woodland Center, which is a short walk from the Hemlock Lodge where you can park. If you want to learn more about KNPS, meet other Kentucky native plant enthusiasts, and learn more about the native plants of Kentucky, then the KNPS Fall Meeting is for you!

We are still finalizing details of the Fall Meeting, but here is the schedule for the day (all times are Eastern Daylight Time).

Continue reading →

KNPS Field Trip to Mammoth Cave NP – Sept 6, 2025

Field Trip is Full, No More Registrations will be Accepted

Date of trip: 09/06/2025
Time: 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM (approx.) Central Time
Location: Mammoth Cave NP, Hart County
Difficulty of hike: Easy – The trail is essentially level, with a few gentle slopes. The total hike will last two to three hours.

Join KNPS members Steve Kistler and Carol Friedman for a hike in Mammoth Cave NP. Participants will hike into two distinct prairie restoration areas, both north and south of the parking spot. The two areas have been burned on different schedules, resulting in differences in habitat. There are also some open woods, providing even more variety. Expect to see some grassland plants like Rough Blazing Star (Liatris aspera) and Stiff Leaved Goldenrod (Solidago rigida). Steve and Carol will help ID the plants, insects and birds the group encounters.

Carol Friedman is a nature lover and gardener from Hart County. Steve Kistler, also from Hart County, is a retired teacher and seasonal guide at Mammoth Cave. He’s the creator of the website Hart County Flora.

To register for this field trip, fill out and submit the form below.

KNPS Field Trip to Crooked Creek SNP – Sept 6, 2025

Date of trip: 09/06/2025
Time: 9:30 AM – 1:00 PM Eastern Time
Location: Crooked Creek SNP, Lewis Co., KY
Difficulty of hike: Easy – The hike will cover a distance of approximately 1.5 miles on an established trail. The terrain is mostly flat with some small inclines or declines, but attendees should be prepared for hiking trail conditions like navigating occasional spots with rocks, mud, or woody debris. We will leave the trail at one or two spots to view some of the grasslands.

Join KNPS member and OKNP biologist, Devin Rodgers for a hike to Crooked Creek SNP in Lewis Co. The hike will highlight the Bluegrass Cat Prairie, a unique type of grassland that features some of the highest concentrations of rare plants in Kentucky. The ecology and rare plants of this grassland will be discussed along with a focus on morphology and identification of the sunflower family, Asteraceae.

Prairie species such as big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii), little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), and prairie dock (Silphium terebinthinaceum var. luciae-brauniae) occur in the barrens areas. This site also protects five rare plant species: starry false Solomon’s seal (Maianthemum stellatum), white rattlesnake root (Prenanthes alba), slender blazing-star (Liatris cylindracea), earleaf foxglove (Agalinis auriculata) and scarlet Indian paintbrush (Castilleja coccinea).

There are no restrooms or facilities at the preserve. There will be some shaded portions of the hike, but attendees should be prepared for being in open areas with full sun. Short water and shade breaks will be taken. Make sure to bring plenty of water and tick protection.

Because of limited parking at Crooked Creek SNP, the group will meet in Maysville and carpool to the preserve. Meet up coordinates will be sent to participants in a separate email.

Due to the sensitivity of the site, registration will be limited to 12 participants.

If you have any questions, send an email to FieldTrips@knps.org.

To register for this field trip, fill out and submit the form below.

KNPS 2025 Pollinator Garden Grant Winner, the Wright Elementary “Jets”

Since 2023, Kentucky Native Plant Society has been awarding five grants of $500 per year to foster the establishment of native plant pollinator gardens, emphasizing not only the ecological benefits but also the educational enrichment they provide. Through these gardens, KNPS seeks to nurture a deeper understanding and appreciation of native plant species and their crucial role in pollination.

In 2025, we were thrilled to receive nearly 30 worthy applications for this $500 garden grant. Picking only five was difficult for the committee: David Taylor, Rachel Cook, Kelly Watson, and Susan Harkins. You can see all five of this year’s grant winners here, KNPS 2025 Pollinator Garden Grant Winners!

One of this year’s winners was Wright Elementary School, in Shelbyville. Their new garden is a second-grade project, but will be used by the entire school for many academic endeavors. They have big plans for this garden’s future, including an irrigation system, benches, and even a picnic area.

We recently received this update about their garden and the images from Amanda Nett, a Second Grade teacher at Wright Elementary.

With the grant we received we were able to fill 2 large and 2 medium garden beds with native plants. Our students were able to plant them, care for them and learned why native plants are so important to Kentucky. We focused a lot on pollinators and how the native plants we selected can help pollinators. We cannot begin to thank you for the grant money. It was such a wonderful gift and really furthered our students’ learning and appreciation of native plants! I’m sending several pictures of the kids preparing the beds, the whole group and after we added the native plant beds. Many of the plants are blooming now, and we can’t wait to see how much it grows in the upcoming years!

The Wet Woods, Salt Licks and Purple Orchids of Fabulous Fairdale, Wednesday, 23rd July, 6-7:30 pm

Where: Fairdale Public Library, 10620 West Manslick Road, Fairdale, KY 40118
When: Wednesday, 23rd July, 6-7:30 pm

by Julian Campbell and Josh Wysor

**^{Purple fringeless orchid (Platanthera peramoena)}**

Interested people are invited to this presentation and discussion at Fairdale Public Library on Wednesday, 23rd July, 6-7:30 pm EDT presented by Julian Campbell and Josh Wysor. “The Wet Woods, Salt Licks and Purple Orchids of Fabulous Fairdale“.

What is the Natural History of Fairdale–which emerged from the notorious “Wet Woods” of southern Jefferson County? How has this local ecology affected the human history and economy of this region since Virginian settlement? Where are best remnants of the original landscape, together with native flora and fauna? Can the community aim to conserve or restore such sites in an organized fashion? Can we assemble material for an interesting educational booklet (or website) that could be used to guide field trips and management? This presentation will address these questions, illustrated with old maps and current photographs. We hope to discuss mutual interests with the community, and to suggest ways forward. Much relevant information is available but there does not yet appear to be a definite plan for harmonious balance of development and conservation

Continue reading →

From the Lady Slipper Archives: Gentians: All Fall Color is Not Red, Yellow and Orange

The Lady Slipper newsletter, and now blog, of the Kentucky Native Plant Society has been published since the Society’s founding in 1986. We occasionally feature an article from a past issue. In this article from 2010, the late Tom Barnes, wildflower photographer and former president of Kentucky, takes an in-depth look at the gentians (Gentianaceae family) . This article ran in Vol. 25, No. 4. If you would like to see these and other past issues, visit the Lady Slipper Archives, where all issues from Vol. 1, February 1986 to Vol. 39, 2024, can be found.

Gentians: All Fall Color is Not Red, Yellow and Orange

Thomas G. Barnes, Ph.D.
Extension Wildlife Specialist, Department of Forestry, University of Kentucky

**^{Gentianopsis crinita by Tom Barnes}**

Fall is the time of the year when the leaf peepers begin their road trips across the Commonwealth in search of reds, yellows, oranges, and other colors in the tree canopy. For wildflower enthusiasts it is a time of the year when they think of other activities since the goldenrods and asters are done flowering and the drabness of winter is quickly approaching. For those who do love searching for unique wildflowers, like so many do for our native orchids, this is the time of the year to search for fall flowering members of the gentian family, those that typically have beautiful blue flowers. When you think of the rarity of the native orchids found in Kentucky, approximately 38% are listed as rare, special concern, threatened or endangered. Of the fall gentians, 68% fall in those same categories. So if looking for rare plants is your venue, then the fall gentians are an excellent group to focus on. I hope to share with you some information about gentians in general and then which species can be found in Kentucky.

Continue reading →

Wildflower Weekend 2025 in Review

On Friday, April 11th and Saturday, April 12, nearly 200 members and friends enjoyed KNPS’s Wildflower Weekend, at Carter Caves SRP! With 20 hikes, workshops, poster sessions, and kid’s activities and with many of the best botanists in Kentucky in attendance, Wildflower Weekend 2025 was an unqualified success.

Wildflower Weekend 2025 Logo Contest

This is the third consecutive year that KNPS offered merchandise with a unique logo developed specifically for Wildflower Weekend via the Wildflower Weekend 2025 Logo Design Contest. This was an open design contest to come up with a logo for Wildflower Weekend 2025. The winning design (featured at the top left of this post) is a collage of violets; the rare Three-parted Violet (Viola tripartita) accompanied by the Long-spurred Violet (Viola rostrata) and the Marsh Blue Violet (Viola cucullata). The winning design was submitted by Cheryll Frank of Scott County, KY.

Continue reading →