Local horticulturist will define natives, nativars, and other key concepts
Burnsville specialist Shelby Jackson will bring a mountain perspective to the Speaking of Gardening symposium.
When it comes to landscaping and gardens, Shelby Jackson is a native speaker. The expert grower will bring that fluency to this summer’s Speaking of Gardening Symposium, the prestigious event founded in 1998 by the late esteemed horticulturist Hunter Stubbs.
Speakers come from all over the country and represent a wide range of horticulture-related professions; Jackson, part owner of Carolina Native Nursery in Burnsville, is one of six experts who will present over the two-day event. Her lecture “Natives, Nativars and Your Garden” will elucidate key differences for folks “in the plant-nerd kingdom,” as Jackson puts it. She’ll define a nativar (a cultivated but naturally occurring plant) as separate from a native straight-species plant (i.e. wild), a hybrid, and a selection (a plant tailored to the needs of its environment, as in drought-tolerant species).
“There are all these different ways we breed plants, grow plants, and name plants, and we’ll talk about that.”
And while Jackson’s roots in the native-plant kingdom are deep and firmly entrenched — she is an alumnus of the University of Tennessee plant-sciences department, where she specialized in natives — she will also bravely dig into a touchy subject. “Some folks are very strict about native plants, truly believe you should only plant native plants, and that if you plant a non-native, you’re not supporting your ecosystem or taking care of your local environment,” she explains.
Jackson takes a more measured approach. “I just believe we can all exist together. If you want a lilac bush, you should be able to plant one in your yard.”
Still, it was her passion for native plants that brought her to Carolina Native Nursery, which exclusively sells natives and is known for growing native azalea and rhododendron from seed — no easy endeavor. “It’s about a four-year process from start to finish, but it’s a fun job. We have about 20 working acres now, so we can grow 10,000 of this and 5,000 of that and sell to nurseries all along the eastern United States.”
While in college in Knoxville, Jackson often spent weekends in Asheville; she loved the town so much that after graduating, she took a job at B.B. Barns Garden Center in the Arden area. “I wanted to live in Asheville, and B.B. Barns is a beautiful garden center with gorgeous plants, and a wonderful place to work.”
She got to know Bill Jones — founder and owner of Carolina Native — when he delivered native plants to Barns. When an opportunity to work for Carolina Native opened in 2010, she jumped on it. “I wanted to get back to my roots, literally and figuratively. There were only about three employees at the time, so we all did everything.”
Since then, the business has nearly tripled in size and in 2014, she became a minority owner. It was excellent timing. “Native plants have really taken off in the industry,” says Jackson, who is also head of sales at Carolina Native. “Not just with landscapers and landscape architects, but the public as well, people putting in their own plants.”
The horticulturist quickly reels off a basic list of reasons for their popularity and purpose — they’re low maintenance, support the ecosystem, and support pollinators. “Without native plants, you don’t have the pollinators, and we firmly believe in supporting our pollinators, butterflies, hummingbirds, and bird habitats. Our motto at Carolina Native is ‘Saving the earth, one plant at a time.’”
Shelby Jackson of Carolina Native Nursery (1639 Prices Creek Road, Burnsville, carolinanativenursery.com) will deliver her talk “Natives, Nativars and Your Garden” at the Speaking of Gardening Symposium held Friday, Aug. 14 and Saturday, Aug. 15 at Hilton Asheville Biltmore Park. For pricing and more information, see speakingofgardening.org.