Native Plants for Beginners - A HerKentucky Guest Post

Today, local garden enthusiast Retta Ritchie-Holbrook shares with us her efforts to fill her garden with native Kentucky plant species. Be sure to check out her fabulous list of resources, as well. Maybe my black thumb isn't so black after all! Maybe I just need to choose more native plants!

One of the flowers from my friend - Wild Columbine

My first true foray into gardening began when I bought a house and decided I wanted to make the landscape more appealing. My mother is an avid gardener and grows the most beautiful flowers. I guess you can say the desire to grow things runs in the family. The only problem was I didn’t seem to be very good at it. I would buy an array of bright, colorful plants only to watch them die. Sometimes, I would get lucky, and the plants would live for a few years until they became diseased, got pests or we would have a drought and I would miss watering them a few times because I was traveling for work. I would then have to yank them out and replace them. Gardening seemed like a lot of work and I simply didn’t have the time for it.

This process went on for a few years until a friend brought me some plants from her own garden and told me they were Kentucky native plants. I had not heard of native gardening at that time but those plants thrived and are still in my garden today. This encouraged me to learn more about native plants.

Native gardening or native landscaping is what its name implies: growing plants that are native to your area. I slowly started replacing my less hardy flowers with mostly native plants. They did so well that I began adding more and more flowerbeds with native plants and I’m currently in the process now of turning my backyard into mostly flowers and plants and less turf.

In my garden, left to right: a.) Butterfly Weed & Purple Coneflowers b.) Celadine Poppy (Good in Shade) c.) Rattlesnake Plant

Some benefits of native plants:

• They require less fertilizers and fewer pesticides.
• They require less water and often do better through droughts and other extreme types of weather.
• They provide shelter and food for wildlife. This also helps to manage the pests since wildlife feed on the pests, eliminating or greatly reducing the need for chemical pest control. I personally have not used pesticides for years.
• They are usually not invasive because they are a balanced part of the ecosystem and have natural predators.
• Native plants are beautiful, hardy and come in a wide variety of options. I recently added some native bushes, such as the spice bush, to encourage butterflies to breed there.

One of my flowerbeds doing well even after the early summer drought.

Because native plants are adapted to the local environment, they are easier to grow and create ecosystems for birds, pollinators and other beneficial critters. Now my yard is alive with butterflies, birds and more. I looked out the window just the other day to see a gold finch eating seeds out of the coneflower heads. I’ve seen several new species of birds and butterflies just this year alone that I had never seen in my yard before and I love it.

Left to right: a.) Lady Bug larva b.) Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

 

Just a few of my favorite plants (Many of these have several varieties to choose from):

• Joe Pye Weed
• Ironweed
• Native Asters
• Cup Plant
• Goldenrods
• Garden Phlox
• Coneflowers
• Royal Catchfly
• Coreopsis
• Wild Columbine
• Black-eyed Susan
• Prairie Blazing Star
• Wild Onions

Places to visit for inspiration:

• The Salato Native Plant Programhttp://fw.ky.gov/navigation.aspx?cid=174&navpath=C130
• The Arboretum, State Botanical Garden of Kentuckyhttp://www.ca.uky.edu/arboretum/
• McConnell Springshttp://www.mcconnellsprings.org/nature.html

Online Resources for Native Plant Species:

• Wildflower Centerhttp://www.wildflower.org/collections/collection.php?collection=KY

• Kentucky Native Plant and Wildlife Blog - Tom Barneshttp://kentuckynativeplantandwildlife.blogspot.com/
• Betty Hall Photographer and Native Plant Extraordinairehttp://www.bettyhallphotography.com/blog/
  Don’t miss her list of 25 Native Kentucky plants that attract birds and butterlieshttp://www.bettyhallphotography.com/resources/twenty-five-kentucky-native-plants-that-attract-birds-and-butterflies/

• Kentucky Native Plants: flickr grouphttp://www.flickr.com/groups/kynatives/
• My Kentucky Native Pinterest Boardhttp://pinterest.com/retta/ky-native-plants/

Where to buy native species:

• Shooting Star Nurseryhttp://shootingstarnursery.com/
  I started my first full native plant flower bed by buying one of Shooting Star’s plant collectionshttp://shootingstarnursery.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=38&osCsid=a756ad61404d5290eb0d78a753ed07b4
• Dropseed Nurseryhttp://www.dropseednursery.com/
• Springhouse Gardenshttp://www.springhousegardens.com/

Native Plant Societies:

• The Kentucky Native Plant Societyhttp://www.knps.org/
• Wild Ones Lexington Chapterhttp://www.wildones.org/chapters/lexington/

HerKentucky Story: Writer Megan Whitmer

 Today's HerKentucky Story spotlights Lexington-based writer Megan Whitmer.  I had the pleasure of meeting Megan this spring when her brother married my cousin/BFF.  Megan is exactly the kind of person you'd hand-pick to add to your extended family -- smart, creative, cool, and unique.  And she has two of the cutest little girls I've ever seen!  I hope y'all enjoy getting to know Megan as much as I have! -- HCW

Megan Whitmer grew up in Lancaster, KY and currently lives in Lexington. She attended Transylvania University and the University of Kentucky, and holds a bachelor's degree in psychology. When she's not working on her novel, Megan spends her time playing dress-up with her two daughters, drinking absurd amounts of Cherry Coke Zero, and wishing someone would pay her to tweet.  

You can learn more about Megan on her blog, or follow her on Twitter.

Every time I tell someone I’m a writer, I get two questions: 1. A real one? 2. Have you written anything I might have read? (Answers: 1. No, I’m imaginary. 2. Probably not. Yet.) 

I’ve written three books. The first was in elementary school, a picture book called Honey I Flunked the Squids. The second was many years later, and so ridiculously unmarketable I don’t even want to tell you about it. My latest is the first with a real chance at being published. It’s a young adult fantasy called Between, and you can read the first couple of pages of it on my blog.

In case you don’t know, getting a book published isn’t as easy as Amazon would have you believe. 

1. You write a book. 

2. You send query letters to literary agents telling them about your book and asking them to represent your work. 

3. They say no. 

 4. You keep trying. You hear stories of people who query agents for a day before they find someone who loves their book. You hear stories of people who queried for months. You take comfort that some bestsellers were repeatedly rejected before finding an agent. You reread your book and convince yourself it’s crap. You read it again and call yourself a genius. 

5. If you’re lucky enough to find an agent who thinks your book is publishable, he or she will shop your book to publishers.

 6. Hopefully, an editor at one of those publishing houses will read it, love it, go through a painfully long process involving editorial boards and marketing teams, and then your book will officially be on its way to bookshelves. (Or not. There’s no guarantee that your agent will be able to sell your book to an editor. But we’re going to ignore that piece of reality for the sake of my mental health.) 

I’m currently hanging out in step four. There are nearly 350 agents who represent the kind of book I wrote. I queried about 50 of them before I decided to stop. 

After I finished Between, I spent six months reading some really incredible manuscripts, and I realized that my book was nowhere near ready. It needed so much work that a simple revision wouldn’t cut it. 

It needed an autopsy. I needed to take it apart and put it back together again, figure out what parts worked and what didn’t, and at that point, I did the unthinkable. 

 I deleted every word. 

I could’ve written a new book. After all, if you’re starting at page one, doesn’t it make sense to just write a brand new book? I have a few other story ideas I could’ve put my sweat and tears into, but I couldn’t let go of Between. I’m so in love with my characters, and I didn’t want to feel like I hadn’t done everything I could for them. 

So I wrote Between. Again. It took three months of around-the-clock writing. I deleted one character completely, changed the ending, had one of my most loved characters die, and amped up the kissing. (When in doubt, always amp up the kissing.) 

I thought about quitting at least twice a day. In the hardest moments, when my brain was completely broken and I was sure all my words were stupid, I questioned the point of it all. Between wasn’t getting many bites from agents. Young adult fantasy is the hardest genre to break into. Why was I sacrificing sleep, meals, and time with my family for a book that might not get me anywhere? 

Then I reached The End. For the first time, I feel like my book is really and truly complete. It’s everything it needs to be. 

You know what? Between might never land me an agent. But at this point, I know if it doesn’t get published, it’s not because I didn’t give it everything I had. It won’t be because I was afraid to start over. None of my books will ever make it to a bookshelf if I’m afraid of looking at a blank page.

HerKentucky Story: s e e r s u c k e r + s a d d l e s

HerKentucky is excited to present a guest blog from Beth Parker of the popular Lexington-based fashion blog S e e r s u c k e r + S a d d l e s.  Documenting a  fashion love affair that dates back to when she was a young gal, Beth blogs about her love of fashion with an emphasis on her southern roots.  Beth's daily outfits combine classic preppy elements with equestrian flair and unexpected pops of color.   We simply adore her blog, and love the description that Beth provided for us:  S e e r s u c k e r + S a d d l e s – a place where the south and style collide. 

A quick little history lesson:

Our lovely Lexington, the beautiful place I now call home.  It’s where my 2 lovely ladies will grow up and learn to appreciate all things equestrian, wildcat, and bluegrass.  It’s my “SADDLES.”

However, the beachy, charming little town, Jupiter, Fl, is where I was born and raised.  It’s my “SEERSUCKER.”

A childhood chock full of boating, beaching, fishing, and the like, Florida will forever hold a near and dear place in my heart.  It is where my family still resides and we continually visit.  So what, you may ask, could possibly pull me away from this picturesque little town?  How about a Kentucky gentleman of course!  

 

Fast forward 8 years and I now consider myself a proud Kentuckian, married to a Harlan native, raising a lovely little brood,  and bleeding my fair share of blue (mixed with Garnet & Gold of course)!   So the takeaway of this little intro …I LOVE THE SOUTH!!!   Now onto the goodies…THE FASHION …

Oh it dates back to my younger years, indeed.   I have always been the type of gal that needs a creative outlet in one form or fashion, no pun intended.  Fashion & s e e r s u c k e r + s a d d l e s undoubtedly fit that creative bill.  For me, fashion is pure expression.  It is individuality & creativity wrapped up into one fun little rig (aka outfit).  

One rule of thumb I try to follow is to choose a piece that is versatile.   For me, buying something that I can use in a multitude of ways is pretty darn important.  For instance, let’s take this mustard blazer-perfect for work & play.  How about pairing her with a navy & white stripe tee, some skinny jeans, and leopard ballet flats for a weekender look? 

 

 Another fun little tidbit, treat leopard as a neutral.  In small doses,  it’s a fun little complement!

    

Take pleasure in the details.  I love the scallop cut to these shorts & the nautical rope handle on the tote…..seersucker all the way!

Family, friends, & fashion….it’s what I love, always have.  I sure hope s e e r s u c k e r +s a d d l e s provides a daily dose of closet inspiration…make it a good one, gang!

photos courtesy Kristin Tatem Photography

HerKentucky Story: Ashley Turner of Pink Julep Abroad

HerKentucky is thrilled to introduce y'all to Ashley Turner, the blogger behind the fashion and lifestyle blog Pink Julep Abroad.  Ashley, a Paintsville native, lives in London (England, not Laurel County) after stops in Miami, NYC, and Grand Cayman.  Girl knows a thing or two about travel! Ashley graciously agreed to share her travel story with us today.  You can get to know Ashley better on her Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, or Spotify.

I have lived all over the place... Miami, New York, The Cayman Islands and I now call London home. No matter how far I roam, my story started in Painstville, Kentucky, a tiny town known locally as "the land between the lakes." The one thing that really stays with me from my Eastern Kentucky upbringing is the music. Situated along US 23, also known as "the Country Music Highway", there was no shortage of musical inspiration with some of the greats like Loretta Lynn, Ricky Skaggs, Dwight Yoakam, The Judds and Keith Whitley coming from the surrounding area. 

Country Music Highway Museum, Paintsville

My family, like lots of others in Paintsville, was always a musical one. My parents were both musicians and music educators and my uncle played in a few rock bands in the 80's & 90's, later becoming a member of The Kentucky Opry, so we went to concerts all the time. Sometime around the age of 10 years old, I started singing and getting involved in small productions and choirs. By the time I was 13, I was performing in musicals at the local high school alongside Chris Stapleton, now a successful musician & songwriter in Nashville. At age 15, I started spending my summers working at Jenny Wiley Theatre, an outdoor summerstock ampitheatre located within the scenic Jenny Wiley State Park.

Ashley in blue on the far left in Oklahoma,  Jenny Wiley Theatre 1999.

Working summerstock is no easy task - the hours were long, the pay was almost nothing (the first year I made $50 a week before taxes) and the work was hard, but as a teenager, I had invaluable experiences there and met a lot of interesting people who would provide me with an education I'd have never gotten elsewhere. It was a fellow JWT cast member in 1997 who told me about the theatre program at the University of Miami, which is where I chose to attend college in 1999. I studied hard, played hard and worked hard for 4 years in Miami and when it was all said and done, I stopped off in Kentucky for 9 months to save money before heading to New York City. 

I went to New York City to be a Broadway star (as you do), but after seeing the long audition lines that often came with a fruitless return, I quickly decided that wouldn't be the life for me, so I put my management degree to work and got a PR & Marketing job on Broadway instead. That fantastic opportunity eventually led to working for Roundabout Theatre Company and later Film Forum, an art film house in SoHo. Living in New York was a great experience, but when my soon-to-be fiance was transferred to the Cayman Islands, I knew it was time to leave so I followed him to the sunny Caribbean where we stayed for nearly 3 years.

Grand Cayman Island, 2008

I was like a fish out of water in Cayman. I was fashion obsessed on an island with very little shopping and afraid of the ocean (too much Shark Week!) in a major dive destination. Aside from a few cover bands and a community theatre, there wasn't much going on. It seems as though everyone in Cayman is a stay-at-home mom, a lawyer, a banker or an accountant so how does a country music-lovin Broadway girl fit in? Like most other expats in the Cayman Islands, I went to work in the finance industry. It was about 6 months after I arrived on the island when I saw that some of friends from dance class in high school were blogging in Kentucky and shortly after that, Pink Julep was born in the Dunkin Donuts on 7 Mile Beach. I finally had something on the island that I could create and get interested in, but it was also a way that I could keep up with what was going on at home, not just in Kentucky, but the entire USA. 

After the first 2 years, we reached our expiration date in Cayman, After months of planning, saving and applying for various visas, we packed everything we owned into 14 bags and came to London with no jobs, no prospects, very few contacts and a vacation rental apartment to stay in for 3 months. I didn't know what I wanted to do, but I knew it wasn't finance. While in Cayman I did a lot of reading and became fascinated with lifestyle brands, magazines and blogs, so I set out to find a way to incorporate that into my new life abroad.

London has proven to be a great choice! It's been a fantastic time to be here with the Royal Wedding, Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics, not to mention the ever-growing British fashion industry! I worked for a while at a digital agency in the social media department and I'm now a freelance content writer and social media consultant in addition to writing my lifestyle blog Pink Julep full-time. When I'm in need of inspiration, I always find myself looking to home and the music of where I grew up. It's been more than 10 years since I left home to go to University and it's exciting to see a lot of the people I knew from home making names for themselves in the music industry! If you find yourself in the Eastern Kentucky area, I'd recommend checking out a show at Jenny Wiley Theatre, a visit to the Country Music Museum, or head to the Mountain Arts Center to see The Kentucky Opry or one of their other many entertainment offerings!

HerKentucky Story: Krissie Bentley of LexRunLadies

Today, we're kicking off a new feature called HerKentucky Story.  We've asked friends, writers, and fellow bloggers to tell their stories about Kentucky life.  Today's story comes from Krissie Bentley, coordinator of LexRunLadies, a group of Lexington-based women runners.  

You can keep up with Krissie on Twitter (@krissieb) or on her blog, My Radical Commitment.  If you'd like to learn more about LexRunLadies, you can visit their website, Twitter (@lexrunladies), or their Facebook Group. , You can also email them here.

You know those people you see in your neighborhood? Those people who lace up their shoes, pack on their water packs, and run with blatant disregard for precipitation, temperature, or condition of sidewalks?

Yeah. I am one of those people.

I admit that I started running to lose weight, but that’s not why I still run. I keep running because of what running has given me. Not only do I pay more attention to my body and the changing of the seasons, I pay more attention to where I live, work, and play.

Sunrise in Midway

I have learned so much about Lexington and surrounding areas because I spend so much time on foot. When I run downtown, I find shops and restaurants that I return to when I’m clean and dry. I smell food and coffee as I run by restaurants that I return to at the end of my run. I like to explore areas on foot that I’m not familiar with and areas I know well. I pay more attention when I’m moving a little more slowly. Things look different when I’m not behind the wheel of a car.

Lexington also has an impressive trail system, including the Legacy Trail and the Brighton Rail Trail. Many of the roads in the Lexington area are lightly traveled and also fun to run. The area around Keeneland is one of my favorite places to run, not only because of the challenge of the course but also because I never know who I’ll come in contact with.

I ran across these guys in the area surrounding Keeneland.

Being a part of the running community has introduced me to new places to run outside of Lexington as well. Midway is a beautiful place to run. I have met up with friends to run their familiar routes in Louisville. I love to run the trails at Shaker Village in Harrodsburg. Because I am on the lookout for new places to run, I am frequently finding new places to explore.

From the top of a hill on a Shaker Village Trail

The running community in the Lexington area is thriving. I coordinate LexRunLadies and we are often out and about. I have met so many friends through this running group. I am frequently amazed at how strong and quick I can connect with someone while we’re out for a run. It seems like so many personal barriers just come down when we are running. The support, encouragement, and challenges I have felt from this community have changed the way I view myself and my strengths.

LexRunLadies at the Run the Bluegrass Half Marathon, March 2012

We welcome and encourage anyone – ladies and dudes, as we call them – from the absolute beginner to the multiple marathoner. We meet at various locations in and around Lexington. You’ll find encouragement, feedback and answers to all sorts of questions, even the embarrassing ones. If you have ever thought about wanting to run and are interested in support, please reach out to us.

Her Kentucky Entertaining: A Piece of Home in the Big City

Her Kentucky is thrilled to present a guest post from Amy Hille Glasscock.  Amy works on energy issues as a lobbyist by day, and by night she likes to throw parties of all sorts.  Amy is from Berea, Kentucky, holds degrees from Berea College and the University of Kentucky and currently lives in Washington, DC with her husband, Will and their cat, Kira.  When she isn't planning a party she likes to blog about her party adventures at MidCitySaturdays.com. 

This past weekend my husband and I held our annual holiday party at our apartment in Washington, DC. I think the most comments I received came from one item of holiday décor we had prominently displayed over our dining table. It was rustic, yet elegant, modern yet timeless, rough yet sparkling. And I’m going to tell you how to make it too!

You see, a few years ago I saw a picture of a white branch with Christmas ornaments hanging over a dining table as a DIY suggestion in the cb2 catalogue. It seemed like a fun idea, but utterly impossible to recreate in an apartment in the city. First of all you have to find a branch. This requires some sort of recent severe storm to have occurred so that you can walk to a park and find a branch worthy of your project. If I were to find the perfect branch I would hope that it would be in the exact length I desired because I certainly do not have a saw in my small tool box! Then I would have to walk to the local hardware store and buy a can of spray paint, which wouldn’t be that hard, but there also wouldn’t be a great selection (I do love and support my local hardware store though!). But then where do I spray this thing? The only options would be to borrow a friend’s yard (I have no friends with yards) or carefully cover my patio in newspaper so that I do not spray any of the concrete. It’s just not easy.

When my husband and I decided to drive home to Kentucky this Thanksgiving instead of flying, a light bulb popped up over my head and I thought “branches, painting, sawing, crafting, Kentucky!” Yes, my old Kentucky home, where all things are easier. As soon as I got to Kentucky, I picked up a can of glossy white paint at Lowe’s. Then my dad and I walked around in the woods at their home outside of Berea looking for the perfect branch. His recommendation was to look for cedar or pine as most of the bark would already be gone. After about 45 minutes of searching (so many options!) my dad went to get his saw and I sawed a great branch off of a fallen cedar tree.

I was able to spray to my heart’s content outside at my parents’ place without ruining anything except for some grass that will grow back. It took me a couple of days to spray the branch. I ended up getting a different can of paint with a built in primer which worked much better than the first can (dried wood is very absorbent). It didn’t end up being super glossy white, but it looked more rustic and I was definitely okay with that. I asked Dad if he could spare some extra fishing line for hanging the branch, and he gladly cut off about six feet. When it was time to load the car and head back to DC, the branch fit in the back seat easily.

Fast forward to last week (oh, and yes, we had a lovely Thanksgiving, and you?). We used the fishing line to attach the branch to our light fixture above the table and found some sparkly purple and silver ornaments at Target to hang from the branch (with white thread). I saw a similar purple and silver branch display in a Manhattan store front the week before and was inspired by the color combination. 

Come party time last Saturday, with the lights down, and candles lit, our branch looked suspended in mid- air and absolutely fantastic! The total cost was about $15 and the new ornaments accounted for $10 of that. You may already have some you’d like to use! 

While the hanging holiday branch was beautiful, it also represented in some ways a combination of where I’m from and where I live now. I couldn’t have done it without the resources available to me back home and help from my parents, but the inspiration came from a catalogue and a city sidewalk dressed in holiday style.