Wild Ones: Native Plants, Natural Landscapes promotes environmentally sound landscaping practices to preserve biodiversity through the preservation, restoration, and establishment of native plant communities Wild Ones is a not-for-profit environmental education and advocacy organization.

Wild Ones provides information and teaches people how to use native plants in their landscapes. Wild Ones distinguishes itself from other garden organizations by encouraging gardening with native plants and moving away from the use of chemicals, watering, excessive mowing and other practices commonly used by traditional gardeners. People come to Wild Ones to learn about environmentally friendly gardening—about plants native to our area that have evolved to survive our climate without help from artificial means.

The Rock River Valley Chapter carries out the mission of Wild Ones through a variety of activities, which typically includes any of the following:

• Informative Meetings, include how-to-do-it sessions, presentations by experts in prairie, woodland, and wetland native plants and related subjects and members profiling their own projects.
• Show Me/Help Me Day, members tour other members’ yards, share ideas, and offer suggestions.
• Woodland Native Plant Sale,with orders being taken February through April, for pick up in May. This sale offers mostly species for shady locations. The pick up location is in Rockford and will be April 30 and May 1. Sorry, no deliveries or shipments. Contact Woodland Native Plant Sale Chair for more information. For a flier and order form, Click here.
• Native Prairie Plant Sale, with orders being taken March through April, for pick up May 14 & 15. This sale offers mostly species for sunny to part shade locations. For a flier and order form, Click here. Sorry, no deliveries or shipments. Contact Native Plant Sale Chair for more information.
• Native Tree and Shrub Sale, with orders being taken in August and September, for pick up late September near Durand, IL. A sale flier will be available in August 2010. For more information, contact John Peterson, 815-248-2110 or Tree and Shrub Sale Chairman.
• Plant Rescues, where members dig plants in the path of development. The rescued plants go to home landscapes or are used for restoration efforts in the local area.
• Seed Exchanges, we meet in November to exchange native plant seed that members have collected.
• Seeds For Education Program,a grant and education progrm.The chapter educates and supports community efforts to establish natural areas and to work with educational institutions and other areas of learning. Contact SFE Chair for more information. For a flier, Click here.

The Rock River Valley Chapter publishes a monthly newsletter for its members which contains informative and timely articles about upcoming events, past events, related events, and other useful information. For more information and a sample newsletter, click here.

The Chapter was established in July 1994. Currently we have about 170 household and business memberships. The chapter is lead by dedicated officers and chairs. For contact information, click here.

Visitors are welcome at most events and are invited to join the growing membership. For information about membership, click here or contact our Membership Chair.

    Feb 18, 2010 (Thu)    

Landscaping with Native Plantings


Patricia Hill, a professional landscape designer for more than twenty-five years and author of Design Your Natural Midwest Garden, will take us through the steps of including native plants within our existing landscapes. She will also show us how we can plan and develop an eye-pleasing totally native landscape for our homes. Join us at our February meeting and learn how you can include native plantings that will attract a wider variety of birds, bees, and butterflies into your landscape. Ms. Hill will also have copies of her book available for purchase and signing. We meet at Burpee Museum of Natural History , 737 N. Main in Rockford. 7:00 - 9:00 PM. This program is free and open to the public. Contact Kim Risley at 815-962-4584 for more information.

    Mar 01, 2010 (Mon)    

Woodland Native Plant Sale


Wild Ones, Rock River Valley chapter, is offering native woodland native plants at affordable prices just in time for spring planting. Orders are being taken February through April 20. The deadline for ordering is April 20, 2010. Now you can plant those shady areas with 25 woodland wildflowers, 5 woodland grasses and sedges and 5 woodland ferns native to Winnebago and surrounding counties. The Rockford pick up will be April 30 and May 1 and the location is in the brochure. For a flier and order form, Click here. Sorry, no deliveries or shipments. Contact Woodland Native Plant Sale Chair for more information.

    Mar 05, 2010 (Fri)    

Native Prairie Plant Sale


Wild Ones, Rock River Valley chapter, is offering 54 native plant species for sunny locations in its annual Native Prairie Plant Sale. The plants offered in this sale are all indigenous to Winnebago and surrounding counties. Orders are being taken March through April. The deadline for ordering is May 1, 2010. The pick up date will be May 14 and 15 in Machesney Park, IL. Sorry, no deliveries or shipments. For a flier and order form, Click here. Contact Prairie Native Plant Sale Chair or 815-282-0316 for more information.

    Mar 17, 2010 (Wed)    

Native Prairie Plant Sale


The Wild Ones plant sale offers healthy native prairie wildflowers, grasses, and sedges at a reasonable price. Order the plants you want, in multiples of four, to make up your custom-designed flat(s) of 32 plants. The pick up date and location is listed in the flyer and is in Rockford. Sorry, no deliveries or shipments. For a flyer listing the plants or more information, please contact Constance McCarthy at 815-282-0316 or Native Prairie Plant Sale Chair for more information.

    Mar 18, 2010 (Thu)    

One Drop at a Time


With its green roof, bioswale, rain gardens, and other "green" applications, this residential pilot project in Elmhurst brings to life the principles of responsible treatment of rainwater within a residential landscape. Marcus de la fleur will speak about the rationales of the applied sustainable practices, explain how to make a yard not only beautiful but also useful and "green", and describe and quantify the larger cumulative effect of taking these eminently doable "green" steps. This program is presented by the Rock River Valley chapter of Wild Ones: Native Plants, Natural Landscapes, and is generously co-sponsored by the Four Rivers Environmental Coalition and the University of Illinois Extension--Winnebago County. We will meet at Klehm Arboretum, 2715 S. Main St. in Rockford, IL. We meet 7:00 - 9:00 PM. This program is free and open to the public. Contact Kim Risley at 815-962-4584 for more information.

    Apr 15, 2010 (Thu)    

Butterflies in the Garden


Join us in learning how to identify many of the butterflies you will see flitting around your landscape. In the process, you will pick up important pointers on how to attract and keep these beautiful pollinators in your yards. Janie Grillo is an avid gardener and an active participant in Monarch Watch. Living in St. Charles, Illinois, Janie strives to plant native flowers, which will attract the many native butterflies to her gardens. We meet at Burpee Museum of Natural History , 737 N. Main in Rockford. 7:00 - 9:00 PM. This program is free and open to the public. Contact Kim Risley at 815-962-4584 for more information.

    May 08, 2010 (Sat)    

Woodland Open Yard Tours


Wondering how to make a beautiful garden of your shady yard? Take your time and stroll through two landscapes created using native woodland plants. See how you can take a typical wooded yard (or the deep shade under a tree or two) and create an oasis of your own. Two yards will be open to the public 1:00 to 4:00 pm and the homeowners will be on hand to answer questions and share their experiences. The tours will be at 3703 Highcrest Rd (61107) and 3007 Vinton Ave (61101). This event is free and open to the public. Contact Kim Risley at Lenae Weichel at 815-962-2725 for more information.

    May 20, 2010 (Thu)    

Mushrooms of Illinois


Do you ever wonder what types of mushrooms are growing in your yard? Are they edible or poisonous? How can you tell the difference between them? Gregory Mueller, coauthor with Joe McFarland of Edible Mushrooms of Illinois and Surrounding States, first published in 2009, will show us using very clear and concise pictures just how we can tell the difference between the ‘good’ and the ‘bad’ mushrooms we see growing in Illinois.
We meet at Burpee Museum of Natural History , 737 N. Main in Rockford. 7:00 - 9:00 PM. This program is free and open to the public. Contact Kim Risley at 815-962-4584 for more information.

    Jun 17, 2010 (Thu)    

Photographing Wildflowers and Gardens


Tim Lewis will show you how capture the beauty of native wildflowers and gardens with your digital camera. He will cover the basics of getting good photographs using simple principles that are easy to remember. You will be able to go out and start taking better pictures right away. The principles that he will present can be applied to everyday photography. We meet at Burpee Museum of Natural History , 737 N. Main in Rockford. 7:00 - 9:00 PM. This program is free and open to the public. Contact Kim Risley at 815-962-4584 for more information.

    Jul 15, 2010 (Thu)    

Annual Yard Tour and Social


This members only yard tour will be at the Weichel-Holdmann home in northwest Rockford. Contact Kim Risley at 815-962-4584 for more information.

    Aug 19, 2010 (Thu)    

The Missing Link


Professor John Harrington of the University of WI - Madison, will explore the native shrubs and smaller trees that make up the midstory of our forests, prairies and wetlands. The first part of the talk will cover the environmental conditions under which our native plants grow, the challenges to successfully growing them in our yards, and their use in design. A discussion on several native shrubs and small trees emphasizing where they grow, how they grow, the services they provide, and possible landscape uses will follow. The third part will be a discussion on what has been covered through questions and the opportunity to share our experiences. We meet at Burpee Museum of Natural History , 737 N. Main in Rockford. 7:00 - 9:00 PM. This program is free and open to the public. Contact Kim Risley at 815-962-4584 for more information.

    Sep 01, 2010 (Wed)    

Native Tree and Shrub Sale


Wild Ones, Rock River Valley chapter, is offering native trees and shrubs at affordable prices just in time for fall planting. Contact Native Tree and Shrub Sale for more information.

    Sep 16, 2010 (Thu)    

Reptiles and Amphibians in Our Backyards


Lisa Johnson will help us discover some of our native reptiles and amphibians. We will explore the important role these reptiles and amphibians play in our ecosystems. Then she will show us, through a PowerPoint display and live creatures, how to identify them. Finally, we will learn ways to encourage these reptiles and amphibians to move into our restored habitats. We meet at Burpee Museum of Natural History , 737 N. Main in Rockford. 7:00 - 9:00 PM. This program is free and open to the public. Contact Kim Risley at 815-962-4584 for more information.

    Oct 21, 2010 (Thu)    

Pruning Techniques for Trees and Shrubs


Trees and shrubs add a great deal of structure and dimension to a landscape, both in the wild and in our "manicured" home landscapes. For many years now, our chapter of Wild Ones has had a native tree and shrub sale, adding hundreds of native plants into the landscapes of Winnebago and surrounding counties. A certified arborist for over 24 years, John Richards, owner and president of Tree Care Enterprises in Rockford, will tell us how to prune native trees and shrubs to maintain healthy plants. He will also provide a hands-on presentation focused on the proper techniques of pruning. We meet at Burpee Museum of Natural History , 737 N. Main in Rockford. 7:00 - 9:00 PM. This program is free and open to the public. Contact Kim Risley at 815-962-4584 for more information.

    Nov 18, 2010 (Thu)    

Annual Potluck and Seed Exchange


Members Only Event Members enjoy a time to socialize and dine with fellow chapter members and then share native plant seeds with each other. We meet at Burpee Museum of Natural History , 737 N. Main in Rockford. 7:00 - 9:00 PM. Contact Kim Risley at 815-962-4584 for more information.

Guests are welcome at most events. If you would like to receive a complimentary three month subscription to our newsletter please contact Newsletter Editor. You can request an electronic version (PDF) via email or a paper version via standard mail.