Tennessee Plants for Wildlife Habitat & Conservation Landscaping
Following are WindStar Wildlife Institute’s plant recommendations for wildlife habitats in Tennessee:
Trees
Hornbean; Red Buckeye; River Birch; Hackberry; Redbud; Fringe Tree; Flowering Dogwood; Witch Hazel; Possum Haw; American Holly; Black Walnut; Sweet Gum; Sweetbay; Black Gum; Sourwood; Shortleaf and Loblolly Pine; Sycamore; Wild Plum; Carolina Buckthorn
Shrubs
Downy Serviceberry; Juneberry; Indigo Bush; American Beautyberry; Carolina Allspice; Buttonbush; Pogoda Dogwood; Southern Bush Honeysuckle; Wahoo; Yaupon; Winterberry; Spicebush; Christmas Berry; Huckleberry; Shining and Smooth Sumac; Sparkleberry; Black Haw; Witherod Viburnum
Wildflowers
Sweet Flag; Blue Star; Columbine; Jack-in-the-pulpit; Wild Ginger; Swamp Milkweed; Butterflyweed; Bushy, New England and Frost Aster; White False Indigo; Wild Hyacinth; American Bellflower; Turtlehead; Early and Tall Coreopsis; Shooting Star; Purple Coneflower; Rattlesnake Master; Joe- pye Weed; Narrow-leaved and Ox-eye Sunflower; Marsh Blazing Star; Gayfeather; Blazing Star; Cardinal Flower; Great Blue Lobelia; Partridge Berry; Carolina and Blue Phlox; Black-eyed Susan; Cut-leaf Coneflower; Golden Ragwort; Blue-stemmed, Sweet and Rough-leaved Goldenrod; Foam Flower; Rose Vervain; Common Blue and Birdsfoot Violet
Cardinal Birds are very common in Tennessee and can be easily spotted when bird watching.
Vines
Crossvine; Virgin’s Bower; Yellow Jessamine, Coral Honeysuckle; Virginia Creeper; Passionflower
Grasses
Big and Little Bluestem; Broom Sedge; Switchgrass; Inland Sea Oats; Purple Lovegrass; Sugarcane Plume; Bottlebrush; Gulf Muhly; Indiangrass; Eastern Gamagrass
Stretching 440 miles from east to west, Tennessee characterized by 6 main land regions; The Blue Ridge, the Appalachian Ridge and Valley Region, the Appalachian Plateau, the Highland Rim, the Nashville Basin and the Gulf Coastal Plain. The Blue Ridge area lies on the eastern edge of Tennessee is characterized by high mountains, including the Great Smoky Mountains, the Chilhowee Mountains, and the Snowbird Mountains. The Appalachian Ridge and Valley Region is covered by fertile valleys separated by wooded ridges. The Appalachian Platieau is covered with flat-topped mountains separated by sharp valleys. The Highland Rim is an elevated plain that surrounds the Nashville Basin.The Nashville Basin is characterized by rich, fertile farm country. The Gulf Coastal Plain is, in terms of area, the predominant land region in Tennessee. The Gulf Coastal Plain is divided into three sections that extend from the Tennessee River, in the east, to the Mississippi River in the west. The Tennessee Native Plant Society can provide lists of plants for a specific region.
For more information on improving your wildlife habitat, visit the WindStar Wildlife Institute web site. On the web site, you can also apply to certify your property as a wildlife habitat, register for the “Certified Wildlife Habitat Naturalist e-Learning course, become a member and sign up for the FREE WindStar Wildlife Garden Weekly e-mail newsletter.