The Pacolet Area Conservancy (PAC) and Walnut Creek Preserve (WCP) invite the public to attend a free program about “Creating a Native Woodland Garden.” Lisa Wagner of the South Carolina Botanical Garden will present the program on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2014 at 10:30 a.m. at the Anne Elizabeth Suratt Nature Center at Walnut Creek Preserve.
The plants that grow in our native forest communities provide a wonderful plant palette for creating diverse and beautiful woodland gardens using Eastern North American natives. Spring wildflowers such as bloodroot, foamflower, black cohosh, woodland phlox, and Solomon’s seal are native woodland garden favorites, while characteristic native shrubs and trees in the mid- and upper canopy creates a beautiful supporting framework. Lisa will describe the process of creating a woodland garden, how to choose the appropriate species for your site, and review some of their characteristics and growth habits.
Lisa Wagner served as Director of Education at the South Carolina Botanical Garden, Clemson University for over 20 years. A plant ecologist by background (Ph.D. in Botany, UC Berkeley), she’s also a naturalist, writer, blogger, and educator. She is a frequent host on the gardening call-in shows on YourDay, a production of Clemson Video Productions broadcast on SC-ETV radio. She does landscape consultations to benefit programs at non-profits in the Carolinas, especially gardens! Her award-winning blog Natural Gardening reflects her gardening and nature experiences. She and her husband, Tim Spira, divide their time between Asheville, NC and Clemson, SC, where they’ve restored natural habitat, planted pollinator-friendly gardens, and converted lawns to natives.
To get to Walnut Creek Preserve’s Nature Center from the Tryon and Columbus area, take Hwy 108 E and turn left on Hwy 9 toward Lake Lure. Follow Hwy. 9 N for 5 miles and turn right onto McGuinn Road (at the Exxon Station). Go 1 mile to the intersection with Big Level Road; turn left, go 2/10ths of a mile and take the first right onto Aden Green Road. Follow Aden Green for 4/10ths of a mile and turn left on Herbarium Lane and into Walnut Creek Preserve. Take the first left onto Conservatory Lane, which takes you to the parking area for the nature center. (GPS coordinates to the Nature Center are available at the PAC website.)
For more information or for directions from another location, contact the Pacolet Area Conservancy at 828-859-5060 or e-mail landprotection@pacolet.org.
For more information about Walnut Creek Preserve, visit www.walnutcreekpreserve.com. Please note, Walnut Creek Preserve is private property and guests are only allowed on the property by invitation (a planned event or scheduled group).
PAC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit conservation organization (land trust) founded in 1989 to protect and conserve natural resources with emphasis on the lands and waterways with scenic, ecological, and agricultural significance in the North Pacolet and Green River watersheds (PACs mission).

— article submitted
by Pam Torlina