29th Annual Winter Garden Seminar

Discover how to create a healthy landscape that will also attract butterflies. Winter is the perfect time to plan your natural yard & garden!
About the Guest Speaker:
Rita Venable is a skilled and talented nature writer, photographer, and speaker. She is the author of Butterflies Of Tennessee
Rita has published numerous articles and photographs in American Butterflies, American Gardener, Backpacker, Discover the
Outdoors, and more. She has won Excellence In Craft awards in writing and photography from the Tennessee Outdoor Writers
Association and Southeastern Outdoor Press Association, and was an artist-in-residence in creative writing with the Tennessee
Arts Commission for five years. Rita was editor of Butterfly Gardener, a publication of the North American Butterfly Association
Rita was an assistant State Biologist, conducting biological surveys in state parks and natural areas. She developed butterfly
checklists for individual parks, led field trips, and conducted training sessions for park naturalists.
Her greatest delight is connecting people with the butterflies that live around them.
About the Seminar:
Ever wonder how butterflies view your garden as “real estate?” Do they investigate and stay a while or quickly move out of the
neighborhood? Join Rita as we learn to plan a natural area or a butterfly garden. Learn what butterflies need to survive, what
gardeners need to know about the butterfly garden, and what problems some gardeners experience when planting a butterfly
garden. We will discuss whether butterfly houses work or not and some tips for plant selections. Her book, Butterflies of
Tennessee, which lists many specific plants known to be productive for butterflies in Tennessee, will be available for purchasing
and signing.
Spend a brisk winter morning learning how to create a more beautiful, more natural neighborhood. The seminar will be held at
the Recreation Building on Duck Island, at Warriors’ Path State Park. Although this event is free and open to all, we do ask that
you pre-register if you plan to attend.
 
For More Information and to Pre-register:
Warriors’ Path State Park, PO Box 5026
Kingsport, TN 37663, (423) 239-6786
email: Marty.Silver@tn.gov