Genuine Mississippi

August 6, 2019August 6, 2019Leave a comment

EYPartner18-GenuineMS

The Wildflower Trails of Mississippi is so happy to announce our newest partnership, Mississippi Department of Agriculture’s Genuine Mississippi. Genuine Mississippi makes it easy for you to find products created or produced by Mississippi farmers and entrepreneurs- which shows our state pride and keeps our economy strong.
You can find our Genuine Mississippi profile at by clicking here .

Be sure to listen to Genuine Mississippi’s podcast – Keep Mississippi Beautiful’s Executive Director, Sarah Kountouris, and our Wildflower Trails of Mississippi project is featured on episode 4, Beauty and the Bees with host, Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce Commissioner, Andy Gipson.

Also in the podcast, you can hear bee expert Dr. Jeff Harris with Mississippi State University Extension Service and Leilani Rosenbaum of Shroomdom and MisBEEhaving

Bees.

4th Annual Field Day

August 6, 2019Leave a comment

Thank you to everyone who participated in our 4th annual Wildflower Trails of Mississippi Field Day. Thanks to our partners Mississippi State University Extension Service and USDA, for your continued support.

The morning session began with Dr. Brett Rushing speaking on the Wildflower Trails of Mississippi program and about how communities can join and receive free wildflower seed. We also had MSU Extension Service’s Shaun Broderick speak on native plants and Jeff Harris speak on Pollinators. The final presentation was by Mississippi Department of Agriculture’s Lane Milton speaking on Genuine Mississippi.

We finished the field day by taking a wagon field tour of Dr. Rushing’s wildflower test plots throughout the years as well as Shaun Broderick’s native Mississippi collected seed plots.

3rd Annual Field Day

July 30, 2018July 30, 2018Leave a comment

Thank you to Dr. Brett Rushing and MSU Extension Service Coastal Plains Branch for hosting our 3rd Annual Wildflower Trails of Mississippi Field Day.

The day began by taking a tour of Dr. Rushing’s test plots where he showed us his research of the difference in planting times and herbicide applications as well as plots that were planted with seed collected wildflowers along Mississippi highways.

We had several speakers including Shaun Broderick, Truck Crops Experiment Station; Pat Drackett, Crosby Arboretum; and Beth Foose, Little Bluestem Farm.

Thank you to our Keep Mississippi Beautiful Affiliate Directors who were able to join us: Martha Stubbs, Keep Mendenhall Beautiful; Evelyn Copeland, Keep Simpson Co. Beautiful; and Robin Rosenthal, Keep Indianola Beautiful.

The field day was a great success and we hope to see you all again at next year’s field day event!

Save the Date: Wildflower Field Day

May 31, 2018Leave a comment

Interested in participating in the Wildflower Trails of Mississippi?

Join Wildflower Trails of Mississippi for the third-ever wildflower field day, planned for Thursday, June 21 from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The Mississippi State Extension Service will host the field day at the Coastal Plain Branch Experiment Station located at 51 Coastal Plains Road in Newton.

At the field day, we will discuss wildflowers and native ornamental plants as well as look at the latest in wildflower testing

Lunch will be provided. Limited seats are available.Please RSVP by June 8 at wildflowertrailsofms.eventbrite.com,email neeley@keepmsbeautiful.com or call 601.853.4441.

2017 Wildflower Field Day

July 27, 2017Leave a comment

Wildflowers have lots of fans! The Wildflower Trails of Mississippi works with its many partners to teach Mississippians about wildflowers. Recently, we hosted a Wildflower Field Day at Mississippi State Extension Service’s Coastal Plain Branch Experiment Station in Newton.

We learned about native seed production, backyard habitats and milkweed management as well as took a field tour.

A big thank you to all of our partners, including Keep Mississippi Beautiful, Mississippi Department of Transportation, Mississippi Association of Conservation Districts, Mississippi Master Gardeners, Mississippi Soil and Water Conservation Commission and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Wildflowers Plantings to Come to U.S. 82

June 29, 2017Leave a comment

Winona Mayor Jerry Flowers (left), State Sen. Lydia Chassaniol (right), and others meet to select sites for wildflower plantings.

In a year or two, new wildflower plantings along U.S. 82 between Carrollton to Kilmichael will give citizens a more beautiful drive. Through the Wildflower Trails of Mississippi, Keep Mississippi Beautiful (KMB) is working with local leaders to plant wildflowers along this 22-mile corridor in Mississippi.

KMB launched Wildflower Trails of Mississippi in 2015, and since then, wildflower plantings are thriving across the state – from the Coast to Crystal Springs.

“Wildflowers are native, meaning they are conditioned to thrive here and are resistant against drought and pests,” said Sarah Kountouris, KMB Executive Director. “They do wonderful things for our landscape, such as reduce erosion and provide much-needed habitat for pollinators like bees and butterflies as well as bobwhite quail. Plus, they’re beautiful.”

A wildflower planting along U.S. 51 in Crystal Springs. The goal is to have these new plantings bloom like these.

KMB is working with city officials in Carrollton, Winona and Kilmichael to plant wildflowers in the median along the U.S. 82, a major corridor across Mississippi. The plantings will include Black-eyed Susans, Plains Coreopsis, Purple Coneflower and a variety of native grasses. KMB worked closely with Mississippi State University Extension Service to select ideal plants for Mississippi roadways.

KMB plans to plant in the spring, meaning blooms as soon as next summer. As the plantings flourish, KMB expects more blooms over time.

Learn more about Wildflower Trails of Mississippi. Also, please let us know what type of wildflowers you are seeing in your area by becoming one of our Wildflower Watchers.

Wildflower Trails Project Wins Keep America Beautiful Award

February 13, 2017Leave a comment

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Many of our state’s cleaning and greening leaders attended Keep America Beautiful’s conference recently.

Wildflower Trails of Mississippi was recently received Keep America Beautiful’s prestigious Innovation Award. Our project, led by Keep Mississippi Beautiful, was one of several to receive awards at Keep America Beautiful’s annual conference in Washington, D.C.

A leading national nonprofit, Keep America Beautiful inspires and educates people to take action every day to improve and beautify their community environment. Keep Mississippi Beautiful is part of the Keep America Beautiful network, and Wildflower Trails of Mississippi is its premiere beautification effort in the state.

Additionally, at the conference, Keep Mississippi Beautiful Executive Director Sarah Kountouris spoke about the project during the “I Am Keep America Beautiful” session.

Flower Field Day

August 31, 2016Leave a comment

By Wildflower Trails of Mississippi

Earlier this month, 75 local and state leaders, wildflower enthusiasts, conservation partners and Keep Mississippi Beautiful affiliates gathered in Newton, Mississippi for our first-ever wildflower field day. The field day was held at the Coastal Plain Experiment Station of Mississippi State University’s Extension Service.

It was a great day! We learned about the importance of pollinators (we owe them for one out of every three bites of food) as well as proper maintenance before wildflower plantings.

A big thanks to all of our partners who made it possible, including MSU’s Extension Service, KMB, Mississippi Soil and Water Conservation Service, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, Mississippi Department of Transportation and Mississippi Master Gardeners.

We’re also proud of all of our KMB affiliates who joined us! We had representatives from Keep Ridgeland Beautiful, Keep Simpson County Beautiful, Keep Natchez Beautiful, Keep Clinton Beautiful, Keep Madison the City Beautiful, Keep Pearl Beautiful, Keep Morton Beautiful, Keep Harrison County Beautiful, Keep Kosciusko Beautiful and Keep Oxford Beautiful.

Looking for Wildflower Seeds?

August 16, 2016August 16, 20161 Comment

People frequently ask us if we sell or distribute packets of wildflower seeds. Unfortunately, we don’t at this time. We have a limited quantity of seeds that we’re using for community-size projects.

But don’t despair! You can still find wildflower seeds for your yard. We’ve poked around the Internet as well as asked some of our friends for some in-state and out-of-state vendors.

Additionally, be sure to contact your local office of the Mississippi State University Extension Service for their tips and recommendations.

In-state Vendors

Barton & Sons, Inc., Lucedale, 601-947-2675
Ole Grady’s Nursery, Inc., Lucedale, 601-945-2523
Under the Oak Nursery, Lucedale, 601-508-6686
Bond’s Nursery PO Box 1523, Lucedale, 601-550-4063
Hutto’s Home and Garden Center, Jackson, 601-973-2277
Marc Pastorek, wildflower and native grass seed contractor, http://www.meadowmakers.com/
Martinson’s Garden Works, Ridgeland, 601-856-3078
Penick Organics, Macon, 662-726-5224, www.penickforestproducts.com

Regional Vendors

Turner Seed, www.turnerseed.com
Roundstone, www.roundstoneseed.com/
Ernst Conservation Seeds, www.ernstseed.com/
Native American Seed, www.seedsource.com/
Bamert Seed, www.bamertseed.com/

This list is a work in progress. Please let us know of any recommended vendors that you’ve found!

Keep America Beautiful Blog: Keep Mississippi Beautiful’s ‘Wildflower Trails’ are Taking Bloom

August 11, 2016August 11, 2016Leave a comment

Keep America Beautiful recently highlighted Wildflower Trails of Mississippi on their blog. Check out their post below:

Mississippi is well known for its natural beauty. But over the years, the amount of native wildflowers has dwindled because of the common threats of habitat loss and invasive plants.

To address the loss of wildflowers, Keep America Beautiful state affiliate Keep Mississippi Beautiful (KMB) took action to transform its public spaces into beautiful places by launching the Wildflower Trails of Mississippi project during Keep America Beautiful’s 2015 Great American Cleanup.

After a year of working with many community partners and volunteers, the project is blooming, planting the seeds to ensure Mississippi residents and visitors to the Magnolia state — as well as pollinators — will appreciate the sights and smells of wildflowers. The project complements other KMB beautification initiatives throughout the state.

KMB got the Wildflowers Trails of Mississippi project started after receiving a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to purchase wildflower seeds. Keep Mississippi Beautiful worked closely with the Mississippi State University Extension Service to develop a seed mix that features a variety of colorful blooms and foliage, thrives in Mississippi and is easy to maintain.

The project brought together a variety of partners, including the Mississippi Soil and Water Conservation Commission, Mississippi Department of Transportation, The Garden Clubs of Mississippi, and Mississippi State University’s Extension Service. And, after a year, the Wildflower Trails of Mississippi’s flowers are showing off their colors.

Keep America Beautiful conducts its National Planting Day on the first Saturday after Labor Day each September with community-based activities happening throughout the month.

National Planting Day celebrates the critical nature of native plants and trees in enhancing biodiversity and rebuilding ecosystems. Keep America Beautiful is asking National Planting Day participants to celebrate the theme of “Keep America Bee-utiful” by focusing their efforts on planting pollinators, in addition to native species. Register your 2016 National Planting Day event today!

View Keep America Beautiful’s blog here.