A nonprofit TN organization supporting horticulture education in TN, the use of perennial plants and effective gardening techniques
āABOUT US
The Perennial Plant Society of Middle TN is a nonprofit TN organization supporting horticulture education in TN, the use of perennial plants in the landscape and giving advice about effective gardening techniques. Our activities include:
Monthly public meetings with expert speakers, private garden tours, meeting plant swaps, a huge annual plant sale, and funding of horticultural scholarships to Tennessee students.
WHAT'S NEW AT PPS
PLANT SOCIETY MEETING 2025
Date: Tuesday, Aug 19
Time: Social Hospitality: 6:00 pm Meeting at 7:00 pm
Location: Ed Jones Auditorium at Ellington Agricultural Center in Nashville
Program Topic:Nature Journaling
Presenter: Mary Priestley
Mary Priestley thinks of nature journaling as having its roots in the journals of European explorers of the New World and then epitomized by John Muir. Many of today's naturalists enjoy observing and reflecting on the natural world right around them. Priestley has been doing that for years as a naturalist and believes nature journaling has great potential for perennial gardeners. She will talk about some early journalers and gardeners, and her own practice, with emphasis on potential applications for perennial gardeners
Speaker bio:
Mary Patten Priestley is a Sewanee Herbarium Associate, and the editor and illustrator of the Friends of the Herbarium newsletter, The Sewanee Plant Press. She is the author, editor, and/or illustrator of several books, including The Essential Mack Prichard: Writings of a Conservation Hero; Under the Sun at Sewanee, third edition; Sewanee Wildflowers in Color; William’s Wildflowers children’s guide to wildflowers; What if Trees Could Walk? a Sewanee Tree Book; and Fiery Gizzard, Voices from the Wilderness. A member of the Tennessee Native Plant Society, she has served as their president and assisted in writing and editing the TNPS field guide, Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians.
She teaches classes for the Tennessee Naturalist Program and the Tennessee Valley chapter of Wild Ones Certificate in Native Plants. A former schoolteacher, she has been natural journaling for 25 years and has conducted several nature journaling workshops, including for the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
Benefits of Membership
The Perennial Plant Society of Middle Tennessee is for people who enjoy landscaping, gardening and growing flowers, especially perennials that come back every year. The group and its invited speakers offer ideas, education and friendship to all. Members include amateurs and professionals, beginners and 'old hands,' and their gardens range from large estate landscapes to small plots beside the kitchen door.
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Invitations to attend private garden tours at some of the most beautiful gardens in the Middle Tennessee area.
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Attend monthly society meetings with special program presentations from guest speakers
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Swap plant ideas and plants with other society members
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Be a part of one of the largest plant sales in Tennessee
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Help fund scholarships for local deserving horticultural students
The 2025 Plant Sale is Over. Thanks to all our customers and volunteers for another successful plant sale.
