CAMDEN — Camden Public Library will be celebrating native plants this September with two featured native plant events.

The first is a presentation from restoration ecologist and Wild Ones Midcoast Maine program chair Amy Thomas, titled "Ecological Principles to Create Aesthetically Beautiful Wildlife Habitat Using Native Plants." This presentation is geared to any size yard or property, urban or rural. The talk will take place Thursday, September 5, at 6:30 p.m., in the Picker Room at Camden Public Library. 

 
Thomas will explore the differences between “cultivars,” “nativars” and “true native” plants, and each of their possible potential impacts on pollinators and wildlife. Audience members will learn to identify alternative native species to make transitioning portions of one's garden to natives easy.

The native species in this section have been selected for their visual characteristics, bloom time, and foliage shapes often seen in locally used cultivars, but possess pollinator and wildlife enhancing qualities cultivars lack.

There will also be discussion about local nursery sources for safely grown, genetically diverse native plants, as well as a Q&A.
 
This talk will help you be prepared to make the native plants selections most suited to your yard and garden at the Camden Native Plant Celebration & Sale on Sunday, September 15 – the biggest Wild Ones Midcoast Maine event of the year. 

For more information, visit librarycamden.org or midcoastmaine.wildones.org.