Speaking Topics

Many pollinator species have suffered serious declines in recent years. It’s a serious problem for all of us since pollinators are responsible for the pollination of 80% of all flowering plants, and at least 30% of the food that we eat.  Unfortunately, most of our landscapes offer little in the way of appropriate habitat and forage. With simple strategies, you can attract and support not just bees, but an array of pollinators that have different requirements. Learn how to create a Pollinator Victory Garden to help win the war on pollinator decline.

If you want to attract and support pollinators, succession of bloom is an absolute imperative in any landscape.  From early spring through late fall, different species of pollinators look for different types of plants at different times of year. And, some plants are much more useful to pollinators than others.  Is your garden ready?  Learn what you need to know to make your garden beautiful and ecologically-supportive throughout the growing season with great choices of natives.

Flowering perennials are important for pollinators, but native trees are rarely considered as critical resources for pollinators, particularly important in early spring.  With their biomass and multiple ecological functions, native trees can help us win the war on pollinator decline.  Learn about the native trees that support pollinators with nectar, pollen, propolis, habitat or larval food.

Our native pollinators include many different species of bees, beetles, butterflies, moths, birds, flies, and even wasps. These different species of pollinators are attracted to and can utilize different native plants. A successful pollinator garden must feed all of them. Learn about our native pollinators and the native plants that feed them.

As beekeeping grows in popularity so does the demand for forage resources.  Learn how to keep your honey bees well fed, productive and making healthful, tasty honey using native plants.  Kim Eierman explains the forage needs of bees, the principles of honey bee garden design, and the best native plant choices for nutrition and accessibility. Whether you are planting in a large landscape or on a rooftop you will learn what you need to keep your honey bees well fed.

When you run out of planting room, or simply don’t have any in-ground garden at all, you can still plant for pollinators! Discover the best choices of pollinator-friendly native plants that you can grow in containers, and the important pollinators they will support.

Climate change is here and it is impacting our landscapes – increased flooding, more frequent droughts, more extreme weather events and increasing temperatures.  Ecological mismatches, record losses of native species and an increase of invasives are now the norm. Want to help fight climate change at home?  Learn how the plants you choose and the landscape practices you use can help reduce the impacts of climate change and improve the environment around you.  

When it comes to hellstrips and streetscapes, putting “the right plant in the right place” has never been more important. Road salt, soil erosion, dogs, leaching from cement walkways, reflected heat and frequent neglect, all require plants that can stand up to the abuse. Learn the realities of rough & ready native gardening and the ecologically valuable native plants that can stand up to the challenge.

Even the most beautiful landscapes are not always healthy ecosystems. A landscape is more than a combination of trees, shrubs and perennials – it’s complex system where all living things are connected. Landscaping with an ecosystem approach contributes to species diversity, attracting and supporting more birds, butterflies, pollinators, and beneficial insects. Kim Eierman explains how the design choices you make, the plants you select, and the maintenance practices you use can make a huge difference in creating a beautiful, healthy ecosystem, filled with life.

Learn how to create a healthy ecosystem garden filled with life with Kim’s practical tips for setting goals, making a plan and using designs that you can realistically achieve. And, learn how to measure your success. Don’t just settle for a garden when you can create a healthy ecosystem, too!

Whether you have limited gardening space or a large landscape, you can significantly boost the environment by using native plant “workhorses.”  These hardworking plants perform multiple ecological duties – whether offering nectar and pollen, serving as host plants for butterfly caterpillars, providing fruit for hungry birds or preferred habitat for wildlife. Get the information you need to make better plant choices and turn your landscape into an ecological wonderland!

With increasing development and diminishing natural areas, our landscapes have become the final frontier for environmental improvement.  Learn the latest tools to take any landscape to the next level. Leveraging ecosystem services, emulating natural systems, enhancing biodiversity,  moderating climate change, utilizing advanced plant selection techniques, and using cues to care, are just some of the strategies Kim Eierman will share.

Native landscapes do much more than look beautiful – they improve ecological health, attracting and supporting declining native species including songbirds, hummingbirds, butterflies, bees, and other pollinators.  A properly planned and well-executed native landscape is low maintenance, that delivers high ecological value.  Learn the best practices of native landscaping and improve the environment around you.

When choosing native plants, you have to ask the right questions to get the best results.  Kim Eierman will help you sort out the mysteries and complexities of native plant selection including:  Am I buying a genetic clone, and does it matter? What are local ecotypes and where can I buy them?  When are native cultivars ok?  Are dwarf cultivars ecologically-useful?  What’s the tradeoff with double flowers? Which native plants require pollination partners and how do I source them?  What are the pros and cons of planting native seeds vs. live plants?  Get the answers you need to make your native landscape both beautiful and eco-beneficial.

Ever notice that certain native plants grow together in the wild? Why don’t we garden this way? There are important ecological reasons to garden with a plant community approach. Learn about some of our common plant communities, why they are important, and how to emulate them in your landscape.

The Smoky Mountains boast some of the healthiest ecosystems and greatest biodiversity in North America. Our Northeastern landscapes have quite a few of the same native plants, but far less healthy ecosystems.  Learn how the beauty and the ecology of the Smoky Mountains can be modeled in your own landscape. Boost your own garden ecosystem with these gardening inspirations from the Smokies.

With a little bit of planning your native garden can look beautiful in all seasons, even as flowers fade.  Discover how to extend the color show and textural interest in your landscape through fall and winter with beautiful foliage, striking structure, and colorful branches, berries and seed pods.  And, support the wildlife around you while you enjoy the show!

Learn which native plants are the best choices to plant successfully in containers. Invite butterflies, beneficial insects, and hummingbirds into your yard, patio, deck or balcony with the great native plants that support them. Have you run out of room to plant in your garden? Can’t grow certain plants because you don’t have the right soil conditions? Tired of replacing annuals in containers? Native container gardening is the new frontier – beautiful and eco-beneficial!

Native plants can add beauty to your garden while providing you with edible fruits, nuts, and berries. Kim Eierman shares the best choices of edible native plants that actually improve your backyard (and front yard) ecosystem, supporting beneficial insects, birds and valuable pollinators. Have you ever tasted a Juneberry pie or served PawPaw ice cream at a dinner party? Kim explains how you can use these nutritious, edible native plants in your garden and in your kitchen.

Ready to reduce your lawn (the “green desert”), but don’t know which native groundcovers could work?  Explore the many native groundcovers that bring beauty and ecological function to your landscape. Whether you have a shady, moist garden or a sunny, dry hillside, learn which native groundcovers are your best choices.

Whether your landscape is plagued by Japanese Stiltgrass, Burning Bush, Porcelain Berry, Garlic Mustard, or any other troublesome invasive plants – there are great native plants that can take their place.  Discover what regional native plants are the best, and most ecological, alternatives for your landscape.

Many of the herbs we choose to plant are exotic plants from the Mediterranean.  Why not try gardening with native herbs, that have culinary or medicinal uses and support your ecosystem at the same time? Discover which native herbs you can grow successfully, how to use them, and what creatures they support in our backyard ecosystems.

Even with limited space you can still plant beautifully and ecologically with a wide array of small native trees. Learn which choices are most suitable for your region and provide important ecological services including: nectar, pollen, fruit, seeds, nuts and berries, cover, and bird nesting sites. Get the information you need to source and correctly plant the best small native trees.

Frustrated by your shady landscape? Gardening in the shade can be both beautiful and ecologically supportive with the right selection of native plants. Whether you have dry, average, moist or wet conditions, part shade, full shade or filtered shade, Kim Eierman will show you how to create a beautiful native garden that supports your ecosystem.

Tired of that lifeless, boring lawn? Want to plant something that is beautiful, low maintenance, deer-resistant and ecologically-beneficial? Learn how to create a meadow or a meadow-like garden in your own landscape, using the best native plants. Kim Eierman explains the different techniques for meadowscaping in any landscape – from a pocket meadow to a large landscape.    

The great American love affair with the Green Desert (aka lawn) has a long tradition with a very high ecological cost. Exotic grass lawns are virtual wastelands in our local ecosystems, providing little to our native species, while demanding tremendous amounts of water, labor and fertilizer. Kim Eierman explains how to turn a lifeless lawn into a thriving ecological system filled with native plant alternatives.

Attracting birds to your landscape requires an ecological approach – different species have different requirements. Learn the best landscaping techniques and native plants that provide the food, shelter and nesting sites, which these birds depend upon. The bonus is a beautiful landscape with a vastly improved ecosystem that benefits many living creatures.

Put down the pesticide and pick up your gardening trowel instead! Kim Eierman explains how to reduce garden pests, without the collateral damage from hazardous pesticides. Learn how to attract beneficial insects, nature’s pest control, with the habitat and native plants that support them. Think all organic pesticides are safe? Think again. Kim explodes these common myths and shows how we can become better environmental stewards of our own landscapes.

Lepidoptera (butterflies, skippers and moths) are some of the most beautiful creatures to grace our gardens. Unfortunately quite a few species are declining, not just the iconic Monarch butterfly. Learn how to provide these treasured insects with the habitat, native host plants and native nectar plants they need to flourish.