Cuplet Fern Hosts a Native Plant Sale for an Entire Neighborhood in Longwood

Tracie Cervero

Left to Right - Patricia Smith, Fred Wascura, Sandy Boylston, Sarah Hagen, Tracie Cervero (holding her beloved firebush), Tom Walczyk, Theresa Tabone, among others.

Like many nature lovers and environmentalists, I have struggled for years to learn what I can do to educate myself, friends, and family on how to be better stewards of the earth. I have joined nature organizations and signed petitions that I hope end up in the hands of my congressman, expressing the urgency of regulations to curb climate change, etc. But it was a collaboration with my local FNPS chapter and my HOA that led me to know some slight, but real progress and change was being made. 

It wasn’t until I read Doug Tallamy’s book, Bringing Nature Home, that I started to incorporate a holistic approach to rehabbing my suburban backyard to host more of everything—birds, wildlife, and pollinators—as well as identifying and removing invasives, including my most treasured shade tree… a Brazilian pepper tree.  

This pursuit also led me to join my HOA Landscaping Committee, so I could help do the same for my entire community! Here was my opportunity to make real change. I came prepared to my first several meetings with copies of Tallamy’s books, and pamphlets and handouts from FNPS to distribute to the other members (five or six long standing residents, plus the HOA manager… making decisions for a community of well over 2,000 houses, 145 acres of common area, and seven parks!)  I was met with quizzical looks, and even disdain when one member stated, “Great, so you want to make everything all overgrown and chaos.”  

I was initially clueless as to the true function of the committee, which was burdened with the responsibility of maintaining hedges and our pathways, refinishing deteriorating signs, and coordinating the beautification of our roadsides and medians, all in honor of upholding the prestige and property value of our neighborhood. I respected and revered their commitment to these never-ending, tedious, but very important tasks.

Yet they were advocating to replace aged laurel oaks with giant crepe myrtles… because those were prettier, more economical, and less of a nuisance. After yet another meeting discussing this suggestion, I found my voice and implored, “You are not only changing the aesthetic of the boulevard, but changing the ecology that supports the birds and wildlife in our neighborhood.”  Being that our community borders a large, lush state park, I tried to remind them why most people move here—proximity to nature and lush canopied streets. (While I was not present for the decision, we now replace all of our dying laurel oaks with live oaks.)

These meetings were always followed by me lingering a little longer to befriend and plead my case by way of brief discussions with the HOA manager, downloading my little knowledge of sustainable ecology. She was always open to listening and learning, and even agreed with me on almost all counts. But her job was to level the practicalities of my lofty dreams of installing butterfly gardens and ‘wilding’ areas in our parks… Who would install the plants? Was there proximity to irrigation for said plants, and who would maintain these gardens, etc.? All very real and legitimate concerns, which I knew I, as a mother of two children and operator of my own business, lacked the energy and time to help resolve. 

Then I purchased, but ultimately listened to on Spotify, the entire reading of Doug Tallamy’s 2020 New York Times best seller, Nature's Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard. Afterwards, I heard his virtual talk about his latest online project, Homegrown National Park, a resource designed to motivate individuals to ‘regenerate biodiversity’ by planting native habitats within their own yard no matter how small, and then log their yard on a national map. It is a call to action to get to work in your own backyard and spread the word, thereby creating friendly corridors for nature to thrive.

What HOA could refuse the idea of a sweet, harmless little plant sale? My request for putting one together was met with full acceptance as long as I did all of the work and carried all of the responsibility. My favorite plant sales were run not by nearby proprietors, but the passionate volunteers at FNPS’ quaint chapter sales. I pitched the idea of an HOA-approved neighborhood plant sale to Mark Kateli, my Cuplet Fern chapter president, and was met with an exuberant yes. 

The absolute luxury of facilitating a FNPS plant sale in conjunction with my HOA meant that all I needed to do was secure a date, enlist community volunteers to unload plants on delivery day and provide support during the sale, and promote the sale far and wide. Mark would handle all of the ordering and delivery of plants, as well as plant checkout/sales. 

I posted a request for volunteers on our community’s Facebook page and was met with a solid core of people wanting to help out, most of whom were already avid gardeners. However, I made sure even those who just casually read my Facebook posts got a sprinkling of education on why native plants are important, why this plant sale was different, and why purchasing natives gave the buyer autonomy in doing something about the environment. The sale itself provided an excellent opportunity to mingle and help build comradery with like-minded individuals. 

I reached out to the Girl Scouts and invited our high school’s Environmental Club to set up booths to help educate people about the varieties for sale and conduct propagation demonstrations. Colorful homemade signs on bright poster boards, decorated with hand-drawn butterflies and hummingbirds, were created and set out the week of the sale, alongside the other garage sale signs, promising a personal and festive little event.

I am happy to report our first collaborative native plant sale last November was a resounding success. We welcomed the curious, who walked away with information and something more than ornamental for their yard. We introduced some of our most avid gardeners (including a few landscape committee members) to some native varieties they were completely unaware of. Our high schoolers got their volunteer hours by learning/educating the public. Our Cuplet Fern chapter now has 11 new members and two new plant sales on their calendars. I walked away with 16 names and emails of neighbors who were interested in coming together to learn more and do more for our community by way of native plants and gardens. And we used the idea of a sweet, harmless little plant sale to bring our community together while aiding our birds, pollinators, and wildlife with new prospects for food and homes in our neighborhood.

By Tracie Cervero