East Nashville Native Garden

May 09, 2020

While times may be strange there is no shortage of gardening inspiration around here. Ian & Deb Dawe of East Nashville, TN open up their space to share how they cater to pollinators with their native garden.

Videography & Photography by Ian & Deb Dawe

This year I planned this event to fall right on Mother's Day weekend. I thought it would be perfect timing. Unfortunately, with COVID-19 lurking it turned out not to be so perfect BUT I'm happy to say that as always we can bring it to life here. Luckily, Ian & Deb were up for the challenge so here we are!

I met Ian over a year ago at the Nashville Lawn & Garden show. At that time I was just starting to collaborate with others on various garden & farm tours. He explained that he & his wife had been working hard on creating a garden using mostly native plants. Their focus is to attract pollinators. If you're new to native gardens, in a nutshell, it simply means growing plants that are native to your region. The advantage of this is that they are better adapted to the environment and typically require less fertilizer. Also, they create better habitats for wildlife. You can check out this handy tool to see what plants might support birds and other wildlife in your region.

After that initial meeting, I got the opportunity to meet Deb and stroll through their garden. It was filled to the brim with so many plants including herbs, phlox, espalier trees, peppers, and a pond! They have been creating this space for six years and counting. It's always evolving as they might say. Overall, it was easy to see their dedication to gardening and pollinators - even saving dandelion weeds for them. Check out some of the tips they shared with us and maybe there will be a day when we can visit - until then enjoy!

Native Garden Tips