Native Plant Series- Redefining Your Lawn, DIY Lawn Signs, & Plant Sale

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Event Summary

Build conservation practices at home by adding native plants to your landscape. Check out our new 2026 format below!

Learn from local experts through a new Native Plant Series. Johnson County Conservation will host four native plant sales and a speaker series in the spring and fall of 2025: May 3, June 14, and Sept. 13.  Each date will include a native plant sale. Troutleaf Native Plants, based out of Johnson County, and Otter Creek Natives, based in Zearing, Iowa, will both be vending the May event. You do not need to register to attend the plant sale but registration is required for the native plant series. 

* Please note: You must register for each date of the Native Plant Series separately. 

Program Schedule: 

• 9:00-9:40 am- Native Plant Sale (Optional)
• 9:45 - 11:00 am- Redefining Your Lawn w/Karla McGrail
• 11 am- 12:30 pm-  Native Plant Social Hour + DIY Lawn Sign Making (Optional)
• 12:30 - 1 pm- Program ends but plant sale continues until 1 pm

Session Descriptions: 

Redefining Your Lawn w/Karla McGrail

Having a lawn can be great fun and very useful for people. However, traditional turf grass is not much use to our ecosystem, and its maintenance can actually be detrimental to the environment. We will look to the past and learn how we can enhance what is growing in that area between our gardens which we like to keep mowed.  

 

Native Plant Social Hour + DIY Lawn Signs

In 2026, we are trying something new! During the second half of our our Native Plant Series, we will offer a social hour with refreshments where like-minded folks can visit, share garden plans, and troubleshoot problem areas with native plant enthusiast volunteers. We will also have some sort of optional hands-on activity or experience during this time.

In May, thanks in part to the support of the Wild Ones Chapter of Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, we will be making DIY lawn signs. These signs can brighten your native garden space and share with your neighbors what your garden is all about. Think signs with phrases like, "this garden supports pollinators" or even "native plants rock!" Get crafty, hang with friends, and walk away with something to put in your home garden space.

Speaker Bio: 

Karla McGrail:

Karla McGrail is a Linn County Master Gardener and a board member for the Wild Ones Cedar Rapids and Iowa City chapter. She has been a self-professed "nature nerd" for as long as she can remember - since looking for wild orchids and box turtles in the woods as a kid growing up in Tennessee. She lives and gardens in Cedar Rapids where she has been gradually introducing more native plants and naturalized landscaping to their city lot over the last 25 years.  

Thanks to our partner organizations!

The plant sales and speaker series are being supported by the Johnson County Master Gardeners of Iowa,  Troutleaf Native Plants, and Otter Creek Natives.

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Programs

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