December 9, 2024 • 51 mins
Discover the secrets of transforming your winter garden into a sustainable haven with native plants, guided by our expert guest, Brett Auttonberry. Brett shares his profound knowledge of native gardening, revealing how to create resilient landscapes that require less water, support local wildlife, and minimize maintenance efforts. Listen as Brett uncovers his top picks for native plants perfect for a Louisiana winter, like hollies and frostweed, while explaining the pitfalls of choosing non-native species that often struggle to survive.
Join us for a journey through the trials and triumphs of winter gardening, where personal experiences bring to life the symbiotic dance between plants and wildlife. From tales of gardening alongside cheeky chickens and clever rabbits to the heartwarming story of Puddles, the beloved Basset Hound, we paint a vivid picture of the joys and challenges of cultivating a garden in harmony with nature. You'll explore the ecosystem benefits of native plants and pick up practical tips for dealing with curious critters and cold-tolerant citrus.
The episode also tackles the pressing issue of invasive species like the Chinese tallow tree, sparking a conversation on the complex balance between ecological change and biodiversity preservation. Brett shares inspiring stories of local initiatives and the growing availability of native plants, encouraging listeners to embrace the unique beauty of these species. With insights into innovative gardening practices and the rewarding experience of supporting native flora, this episode is a treasure trove for those eager to nurture their gardens sustainably.
God, doubt, and proof walk into a podcast... it goes better than you’d expect!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Brett Auttonberry (00:05):
I'm Brett Auttonberry.
Keep listening to Porch andParish the podcast.
Mike Gennaro (00:10):
You know, there's something magical about a garden
that thrives through the wintermonths.
In a world that oftenprioritizes instant
gratification, native plantsoffer a timeless beauty and
resilience.
As someone who's always enjoyeda good garden, I've found that
the best gardens aren'tnecessarily the flashiest or the
most labor intensive.
They're the ones that work inharmony with the local ecosystem
.
You can't achieve that if yourplants die off completely in the
(00:32):
winter and never come back.
In today's episode, we'reexcited to talk to Brett
Auttonberry, a local expert innative gardening, about how to
cultivate a thriving wintergarden that's not only beautiful
but also sustainable.
Cultivate a thriving wintergarden that's not only beautiful
but also sustainable.
We'll learn how native plantscan transform our landscapes,
reduce water usage and supportlocal wildlife, all while
thriving through the wintermonths.
Brett is here to help usunderstand the many benefits of
(00:54):
using Louisiana native plants,and he'll guide us on how to
bring the beauty of nature toour homes during the colder
season.
As always, we're here to bringyou the best of Zachary in the
Baton Rouge area throughengaging conversations every
Monday from our Virginia Streetheadquarters.
This is Portion Parish, thepodcast.
Stay tuned, because thelightning round is coming up
next.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
I'm Keri Godbold, your top producing local realtor
here in Zachary for over 15years.
If you're looking to buy orsell real estate or just have
questions about the real estatemarket, give me a call or send
me a text 225-936-4898.
Mike Gennaro (01:36):
All right and we're back with a lightning
round.
So welcome Brett.
Hello, hey, how's it going?
What is your favorite nativeplant for a louisiana winter
garden?
Brett Auttonberry (01:47):
oh, I can't do a one.
It's like choosing a child rightit's like going to mcdonald's
and just getting fries, right, Iguess if I would have to choose
any, it'd be any of the ilexes,whether it be those are hollies
, possum hall and your ponds,because of of the bright red and
orange berries that persistthrough the winter and feed the
(02:10):
birds, or, I'm going to say it,verbencia virginica, that's
frostweed or white crownbeard,and it's a really cool showy
flower in the fall.
It was used as wedding bouquetsback in the early 19th century,
(02:31):
mid-19th century, but when itgets cold, these ribbons of
water shoot out of them and itlooks like taffy pulling out of
them.
Mike Gennaro (02:39):
Cool, cool, cool.
That's just a little sample ofwhat y'all are about to get from
Brett today.
You know just a little bit morebackground on you, brett.
You came out and did our nativegarden certification and I
didn't know.
You know I was very nervousabout it because it's like I
don't know if I'm about to betested or if he's just going to
(03:00):
come and identify that we haveplanted things in their living,
at least in the short term.
Right, and it was more of thelatter.
You came and inspected and Ilearned a ton about what we
actually had in our gardenoutside of the things that I
planted.
So if you look around your yard,you know you kind of assume
(03:21):
that your lawn is just thismonoculture of St Aug, but
really look closely and there'sa lot filling in those gaps and
a lot of those gap fillers arenatives.
Right, right, yeah, so I wantto take us into.
I don't want to leave anybodybehind, no listener left behind.
So let's start off this episodewith what is native gardening,
(03:43):
and how is it any different thangardening?
Gardening?
Brett Auttonberry (03:47):
well, native gardening, once you get it
started, really takes care ofitself.
Um, and I'm not one of thosepurists where you must have only
natives in your garden.
You know there are many thatwork together so you can have
those things that everybodyrecognizes, but it punctuated in
(04:11):
with plants that have evolvedhere with the wildlife and the
ecosystem over eons.
And so work hand in hand withthe environment and keep your
costs down, because you don'thave to water them, you don't
have to overwinter them, youdon't have to fertilize them,
blah, blah, blah.
Mike Gennaro (04:30):
It's great Is that .
I mean, God bless Home Depot.
I spent so much money there, mygoodness.
But is that kind of the gamethat we're playing?
Do they sell things that don'tsurvive?
Brett Auttonberry (04:48):
our environment has has evolved over
years and when you introducesomething new, it could be a
some type of fungal or some typeof bacteria into the soil from
these, these uh, tropicals thatare being bought to these places
that may have been grown three,four states over in different
situations.
Some of these things have beengrown by growers, say, in
(05:12):
Tennessee, and have a completelydifferent environment.
They get down here and hello,it's a big difference between
here and, say, nashville.
I mean, those are great foraccent things as long as you're
managing them right.
But really, if you wantlongevity, if you want plants
(05:34):
that work cohesively with what'sgoing on around you and don't
break your bank, basically withyour time and your money trying
to keep it going, you go withnatives.
Mike Gennaro (05:45):
Yeah, my bank has been broken many times, uh, just
from buying plants year afteryear.
Um, and the the bigheartbreakers to me yep, you
kind of helped me with this one.
It's like how many times have Ibought sasanko camellias and
I'm thinking that that's local,like?
Or you hear satsumas, that's alouisiana thing, right.
And then I planet and it's likewhy don't?
(06:07):
You don't seem to belong herevery yeah.
Brett Auttonberry (06:12):
Yeah, I mean, citrus is spanish okay, yeah,
thank you and these differentvarieties, uh satsumas being one
of them.
It's something that has beenbred through time from a species
that comes from theMediterranean.
Yeah, and so you fight withthem.
Mike Gennaro (06:30):
People fight with them, you go, protect them.
You're like I'm going to saveyou this year, I'm going to some
.
Some years I've spent just asmuch on the plant you know as I,
as the actual plant itself,just to cover it like putting
something over the top.
Brett Auttonberry (06:46):
The sides right tint it.
Yeah, I know people who willheat up um large rocks in a
bonfire and put on the groundunder them so that it the the
heat radiates off of them duringthat same night right and
you're doing crazy things in thefreezing weather and I'm
dancing rain odds on my fingersand toes.
I'm like freezing you know, it'sjust and then you think that
it's oh, it survived.
And then you come back and it'ssneaky when the rootstock will
(07:09):
shoot out.
It's thorny trifoliate, youknow invasive species that will
take over any woodland aroundhere.
So you got to be, you got towatch out for all that.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
Yeah, those citrus plants and the camellias.
Brett Auttonberry (07:21):
I mean they're more sustainable than
some, but they're also.
You have to spray them forthrips.
You have to make sure thatthey're fertilized.
They're still high maintenance.
They're not as high maintenanceas some things but they're
still high maintenance.
Mike Gennaro (07:40):
Yeah, absolutely.
Let's go with the camellia tip,because I appreciated the one
you shared with us.
You said they don't like wetfeet.
Maybe move this camellia thatis clearly dying over next to
another tree.
That way it would what the rootsystem of the larger tree would
(08:00):
dry the ground yeah, so likehelp me with that.
Brett Auttonberry (08:04):
The southern magnolia tree has shallow root
systems.
It almost creates a desertsituation under them.
That's why when you're around amagnolia, you don't see a lot
of other plants growing underthem.
Mike Gennaro (08:15):
That's why my woodland ferns probably died
under the magnolia.
Brett Auttonberry (08:19):
Probably so.
Okay, Probably it could be.
I mean, after they've workedcohesively together, they can
start to work together.
But getting them started isdifficult under a magnolia tree.
Okay, so if you move thatcamellia a little bit closer,
maybe not under it certainly,but closer where those root
systems can try to help keep itsroot systems well-drained it'll
(08:42):
help it.
Nice, certainly not inlow-lying ground that collects
water.
Mike Gennaro (08:46):
Yeah, what are some other fantastic species
that you can recommend thatreally like dry ground or
well-drained soil?
Oh gosh well-drained soil.
Brett Auttonberry (09:00):
Oak leaf hydrangea is fantastic.
Yeah, a lot of people strugglewith hydrangeas.
Mike Gennaro (09:05):
Right right.
Brett Auttonberry (09:06):
So this is one of those plants, and there's
a number of these that haveevolved in more of a rolling
hill type topography.
We're in alluvial soil here.
These things really started togrow where there was a lot of
rich loam from forests havingdropped and sloping topography
(09:32):
that really doesn't let the soilbecome saturated.
Yeah, it stays moist, but itdoesn't become saturated, and
you can mimic these situationsin your garden by building a bed
that will accommodate thosethings, and I see people do it
very successfully in thisalluvial plains, and they're
beautiful.
Mike Gennaro (09:54):
All right, let's speak to those.
All right, we just wereinundated with rain.
It feels like over the pastcouple of weeks, having come
from no rain at all for likefour weeks before that.
What would you tell thosefamilies that have, like these,
just huge wet spots in theiryards where, like you, can't
(10:16):
even walk without saturated yourtennis shoes?
What can you plant that'snative in those areas?
Brett Auttonberry (10:22):
Well, first, you have to.
You have to, or how would youapproach?
You have to ask yourself to say, hey, you know what?
I'm going to let go of the lawnin this area and make a swell
of some sort, because that'swhat your yard is doing it's
creating its own swell.
When it's doing that and youlook around at wetland areas, at
things that are doing that jobalready, and say, hey, I can do
(10:43):
that in this spot.
Okay, let me put some iriseshere, let me put a buttonbush
here, that will really draw up alot of water and also really
feed wildlife really well.
There's so many things that cantag into these.
Mike Gennaro (10:59):
See, I put the buttonbush under the magnolia
tree.
Speaker 3 (11:03):
I just saw that.
Mike Gennaro (11:04):
Okay, so now I'm getting.
I'm starting to get kind of thethe algo here.
Right it's don't put somethingthat wants a lot of water under
something that's sucking up allthe water right, yeah, if you,
if you've ever been out to LakeMartin and Brobridge, I have oh,
that's a fun family trip too.
Brett Auttonberry (11:19):
Yeah, buttonbush growing in the water,
and it just about any waterwayaround the LSU lakes.
You'll see buttonbush on theedges of of the LSU lakes, okay,
and I mean that's where theylike to be and they flourish.
Mike Gennaro (11:33):
Yeah, what about sea oats?
That's a um that one soundslike it needs to go around a wet
area.
It does, let's.
I want to speak to the rootsystem on sea oats specifically,
because I think the roots goreally, really deep, right,
really deep.
Brett Auttonberry (11:49):
A lot of the native grasses.
I say all the native grassesreally.
These prairie grasses can haveroot systems that go down 10, 12
feet.
It's crazy.
Think about that.
Mike Gennaro (12:00):
That's like look up at the door in whatever room
you're listening and add fourfeet.
That's how much water thisplant is using right and sucking
up right.
Brett Auttonberry (12:13):
And it's also the other way around
sequestering carbon out of theair down to that depth.
So your turf grasses in youryard aren't doing anything.
Mike Gennaro (12:27):
They're very surface, they're a toupee.
Brett Auttonberry (12:29):
Okay, they're the toupee of grasses yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
Do you have a lawn?
Brett Auttonberry (12:34):
Brett, very, very little.
Yeah, we employed the chickensto scratch and scratch and
scratch and take care of ourlawn Delete it, yep, and then we
put them back in their pen andnow we have natives and some
native grasses finally gettingin there, some pink newly grass
and blue stem and things likethis.
They don't eat that.
(12:55):
No, what Well their rootsystems get so established that
sure they'll eat them.
Mike Gennaro (13:00):
But they come right back Got it, so you might
need to give it a sec.
They prune them.
Brett Auttonberry (13:04):
That's what they do they prune them, they
keep them, cut back.
Mike Gennaro (13:06):
That's interesting that you say that, because I
don't know if I've, if I was asmuch of a an animal keeper in
previous episodes, but latelythe homesteader in me has just
been just, you know, going totown.
We've got four bunnies, threeturkeys, three ducks.
I've got chickens and ducksincubated upstairs.
(13:27):
The problem is that theseanimals always eat the grass and
you end up with mud everywhereand it's gross.
So I can use native grass, letthe roots establish, and we
should kind of have a firmersoil.
Brett Auttonberry (13:44):
They will help firm the soil up better.
Speaker 3 (13:46):
Yeah.
Brett Auttonberry (13:48):
There's a number of resources out there.
That about keeping gardens withlivestock with small livestock
and with it, and.
I have yet to figure that out,exactly how these people are
being so successful with theseMartha Stewart looking.
Mike Gennaro (14:04):
Yeah, they just throw the ducks in the garden at
the last minute and take apicture, and then they toss them
out.
Brett Auttonberry (14:12):
Can I get some of that, please?
Yeah?
Mike Gennaro (14:14):
Yeah, um, I got an update for for listeners out
there, for anybody that you knowhas ever heard me mentioned
puddles the Bassett um, she gotout of the gate, you know, has
ever heard me mention puddlesthe the Basset?
Um, she got out of the gate,you know, speaking of wonderful
animal friends, and she was hiton main street a couple of weeks
back, um, but that was.
That was the ultimate gardenfriend and huge, huge tribute to
(14:36):
her.
She never dug anything upbecause the Basset breed is just
fantastic about just being lazyand not really caring about
anything except squirrels or.
But yeah, just wanted to give aquick, you know update and
tribute.
Brett Auttonberry (14:52):
I'm sure your your followers have been
following her too, as well asyou.
Mike Gennaro (14:56):
Oh, she was the brand on on my, my cabinet shop,
barn dog mill, and she's justbeen with me for a while and she
, I've felt like for a while anduh, she, I felt like she
encapsulated the communityspirit because you know, what do
dogs do?
They just, they bring peopletogether.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
They're always loving .
Mike Gennaro (15:13):
They're always hospitable, just, and that breed
is really cool because theydon't bite but they do wander.
You know that's.
That is one of the downsides Ifanybody's considering a hound
of any type like is it?
Speaker 3 (15:25):
thank you, it's open yeah.
Mike Gennaro (15:27):
It, their, their nose, surpasses any loyalty.
So, yeah, all right.
Well, um, moving on.
So, um, what?
What?
I promised people to talk about?
A winter garden right InLouisiana.
The winter involves so muchlike rain and, and just you know
, satsumas these are all winterproblems to me, right, um,
(15:51):
keeping them alive.
And I finally bought um somecold tolerant satsumas called
the arctic frost variety, um,and I put them out and you know
what those suckers are doing,great.
But the rabbits just just toreup their stalks or trunks, took
the cambium off.
Speaker 3 (16:10):
Just took it right off.
You saw it.
Mike Gennaro (16:12):
It left one little string and I said you know what
, I spent so much on thesethings.
You can't return it.
We're either going to feed therabbits, the branches or just
see what it does.
And so far it's not dead aftertwo weeks now.
So maybe it'll keep going.
Brett Auttonberry (16:26):
Just watch out for that rootstock coming
out.
Mike Gennaro (16:28):
Oh, thorns, oh, I think it's over, but it might
not be over Burn it if it does.
Okay.
Brett Auttonberry (16:35):
All right.
Mike Gennaro (16:36):
So what are some of the things that are on your
mind?
What problems do you try tosolve at this time of year in
your garden?
Speaker 3 (16:43):
Well.
Brett Auttonberry (16:44):
I mean, really, if I was to give anybody
any advice about the winter, isthat, yeah, it's unpredictable
for us, but these native plantshave really evolved to this
unpredictability.
If anything there may be somegetting used to with our change
(17:08):
of polar systems that we've beenhaving the past two, three
years, with these blasts thatcome through for a week that are
just so cold and then it getswarm again.
Yeah, um, those blasts can,those sustained cold blasts may
end up being issues for some ofour species, but I don't see
them being that big of an issueas far as overall.
(17:31):
With the native garden, yeah, Imean it is good to to allow
them to be for a while and andjust observe and watch once
they're established.
I mean really, they're likebring it.
Mike Gennaro (17:47):
Okay.
Brett Auttonberry (17:47):
Yeah.
Mike Gennaro (17:48):
Bring it and then we're going to like drop seeds
everywhere and just keepproliferating.
That's what I'm seeing.
So we earned the certificationthis year, but it's been a year
working up to this and I think Igot my plants in around July,
which is probably not a greattime to plant everything either.
But they all lived, except thewoodland ferns that now you all
know why they didn't live.
(18:08):
But I'm lived, except thewoodland ferns that now you all
know why they didn't live.
Um, but um, I'm seeing them alldrop these fabulous seeds
everywhere.
Uh, one of my favorite ones isthat the one with the purple
berries.
Uh, beauty berry, beauty berry,calicarpa americana.
And when I went to the localfarmer's market here in zachary,
there's this, um, there's thisincredible maker there that she
makes jelly right, but she makesLouisiana-specific jelly.
(18:32):
So when you go see her it'llsay Louisiana Hackberry,
louisiana Mayhaw, or in my case,I found Beautyberry Jelly.
It's so good, y'all.
Brett Auttonberry (18:46):
It's so good.
Mike Gennaro (18:47):
Well, it's sugar.
It's so good.
Yeah, I mean yeah.
I mean, you could call itanything and add some citric
acid and some sugar and ittastes great.
Brett Auttonberry (18:54):
It's a beautiful jelly, yeah, I mean
you don't get that color fromanything else.
No, no.
Mike Gennaro (19:01):
I mean, I also have some questions because at
the farmer's market you can findcertain people that you know
also raise species of thingsthat are like animals for
consumption.
Are there any combinations ofLouisiana animals that we can
raise to compliment the nativegarden that you can think of?
(19:25):
I'm guessing peacocks.
Brett Auttonberry (19:27):
That's a good question.
Probably not here, yeah.
Even though it seems like alouisiana thing yeah, I had
wanted peacocks forever oh, ifanything just just to annoy the
neighbors that sound they makeum, and.
But when I was a horticulturistat the batman zoo for a while,
yeah, and the destruction thatthey create in the garden.
(19:48):
It's like so many hours of workput in and they will absolutely
tear it up.
Mike Gennaro (19:53):
It's like a chicken on steroids.
Thanks for preparing dinner,Mom.
Yeah.
Brett Auttonberry (19:57):
Oh, look at those better yellow pansies.
Mike Gennaro (20:00):
Oh, it's a salad, that's right.
Brett Auttonberry (20:03):
Yeah, as far as I mean, I can't think, I mean
it's not my forte, but I think.
I mean that's not a question Ican answer no it's okay.
Mike Gennaro (20:14):
It's okay.
I was thinking like quail.
What could be Certainly quail?
Brett Auttonberry (20:20):
And that's a big prairie species.
Speaker 3 (20:25):
Yeah.
Brett Auttonberry (20:26):
And they like land.
They like expanse andgrasslands, tall grass, yeah,
and they like land.
They like expanse andgrasslands tall grass, yeah, and
that's something that I don'tknow that a lot of people want
to invest their small piece ofyard to yeah.
I mean, I know some people thathave acreage that have done
that for that reason.
Yeah, just let them loose.
(20:47):
Yeah, cool For quail and doveand things like that to foster
that so they can go and harvestthose, yeah, which is a lot of
fun.
But uh, I mean as far as, likein your yard, I can't imagine.
Mike Gennaro (21:00):
Yeah, prickly pear for tortoises maybe, oh yeah
well, y'all know that I've gotthe tortoises, but they are not
I, I wasn't smart enough to geta native tortoise now that that
would be the smart thing to do.
So I have to say, buyers,beware out there.
If you're seeing sulcatatortoises, this is like as
invasive of a species oftortoises you can possibly
(21:22):
imagine.
Um, they have a lot of eggs.
People are selling them andmaking money for now.
Brett Auttonberry (21:29):
It's problematic, it's problematic
and then they go reproduce,right and they're giant and they
get loose, our gopher tortoises, uh, which are our native
tourists yes um.
Can you know their populationscan be harmed like that if uh
yeah invasive species gets outthere and starts taking over
their, their territories,because they are very
territorial.
(21:49):
Yeah, now I somebody willprobably correct me and I, but I
think a gopher tortoise canhave a, a, you know, a mild yeah
Right.
Mike Gennaro (21:59):
I'll make a new friend if they want to comment
on that.
Speaker 3 (22:01):
Yeah, oh, you like tortoises, cool yeah.
Mike Gennaro (22:04):
But I mean where, where my mind is with all this?
I can put a box tortoise, a boxturtle out in the garden and
she'll be fine through thewinter.
Oh, yeah.
If I put a Salcata out as soonas it's like 50 degrees, it's
getting like organ failure.
So I have to keep a heat lamp,a special high maintenance,
special light, high maintenance.
Brett Auttonberry (22:23):
It's very much like the plants.
Yeah, yeah, like the plants.
Yeah, very much like the plants.
They're not supposed to be here.
Mike Gennaro (22:29):
It says evolution.
Brett Auttonberry (22:29):
They're not supposed to be here.
Mike Gennaro (22:31):
I don't know A Muscovy duck, though I think
that's a Mexican transplantClose enough.
Brett Auttonberry (22:36):
Neighbors, yeah, neighbors.
We'll say neighbors.
Mike Gennaro (22:38):
But man, that thing has claws, it can roost,
that is going to live, no matterwhat, in Louisiana.
All right, all right.
So let's, let's go into somemore surprising things about the
native world here.
So what is the when?
When did the paradigm shift foryou, you know?
(23:01):
Was there a point where it.
Brett Auttonberry (23:04):
I mean, it really was an evolution, and and
a pretty fast evolution overthe past decade for me.
But yeah I mean I started out asa kid I'm saying seven years
old and and on just walking inthe woods and I have always been
a plant guy because of it, um,and I've always had interest in
(23:26):
gardening and planning and allthat I'm.
I mean, I'm still considermyself a novice at it, but I'm
always finding ways to fail atsomething.
But when I got out of theservice and spent some time in
Los Angeles and really gotinvolved with some people over
there in their native plantmovement, yeah, and it was
(23:53):
fascinating to me because youknow I'm thinking desert, what's
here?
Speaker 3 (23:57):
Yeah.
Brett Auttonberry (23:57):
And it was amazing what you find, the
diversity that you find in that.
And when moved back here, Ireally got involved with some
people and worked with theCapital capital area native
plant society, which is stillout there, but we're not doing
anything, um, and I learnedthrough that and I made some
(24:20):
mistakes and and I as andlearned some from the, from the
old, from the, the aunties yeahright, native plant aunties and
learning.
Mike Gennaro (24:28):
Did they come up to your yard and like start
ripping out all the chinesetallow, or?
Speaker 3 (24:32):
oh no, I did that myself like you did over here.
Mike Gennaro (24:36):
I was like brett, my dad loves these chinese
tallows.
He's like sorry, I'd have to.
I'd have to take points off ifyou leave this rip I hope, I
hope you don't mind from myperspective I was.
This thing is most people lookat the Chinese tatler like, oh,
it's a trash plant anyway.
(24:56):
Right, but it's the only bit offall color we have anywhere.
Don't take it, it is gorgeouscolor.
Brett Auttonberry (25:02):
And the fruiting bodies are very
interesting.
You know, people call it apopcorn tree because those
fruiting bodies are like grainsof popcorn up in there.
But birds will eat them.
They get no nutritional valuefrom them.
They poop them out in the woods,under trees, on tree lines, on
fence lines, and they push outthe native flora that used to be
(25:28):
here.
We used to have um strawberrybush everywhere.
Uh, and that's one.
That's one of the things thatthe privet and the tallow have
really kind of pushed out likestrawberries euonymus Americanus
, it's a it's a beautiful uhgreen.
Uh, the stems are green.
It's a great plant.
(25:49):
It's related to the burningbush.
Mike Gennaro (25:51):
Okay, I've seen that the eonymous yeah, oh, it's
a huge pop of fall color.
Brett Auttonberry (25:57):
Right, huge, gorgeous red, orange color,
which you don't see it anymorebecause it's been pushed out by
these other things crowding itout.
So, yeah, tallow is definitelyit's.
It's even become successful inwet, swampy areas and are
destroying swamps.
Mike Gennaro (26:18):
So at what point you know I love that you said
you're not a purist at whatpoint do we accept the new, like
there's no way to get that out?
Come on, it's not like you know.
They shoot the nutrias and allthis stuff and take their tails.
I'm like it's you'd have to beshooting, Like each one of us
would have to go kill a thousanda day to get rid of nutrias at
(26:40):
this point, or make dog biscuitsout of it.
Brett Auttonberry (26:42):
There's a company that makes dog biscuits
out of nutria.
Mike Gennaro (26:45):
At.
At what point do you just saywe've been conquered?
Brett Auttonberry (26:49):
by the invaders.
We can only do what we can do.
I understand, but we have to dowhat we can do and if we can
control it on our own properties, then we can control it on our
own properties.
And sometimes it feels like alosing battle when your neighbor
doesn't see any worth in tryingto work for the environment and
just let these things just goor even plant them as a.
You know your neighbor doesn'tsee any worth in trying to work
(27:09):
for the environment and just letthese things just go or even
plant them as a.
You know cities that haveplanted them as I've never seen
that.
Mike Gennaro (27:18):
I've never seen that on purpose.
Brett Auttonberry (27:20):
In New Orleans, in the French quarter,
there are a number of tallowthat have been planted
specifically for a street trees.
What Wow?
And there's some beautiful ones, yeah, gorgeous ones.
Shout out to our swamp flyfriends.
In this, specifically for astreet tree.
What yes, wow okay, and there'ssome beautiful ones, yeah,
gorgeous ones shout out to ourswamp fly friends in new orleans
right, um, if y'all want,they're doing the good work.
Mike Gennaro (27:36):
Yeah, if you want, like um, to hit the easy button
and just have a native garden,bang, bang, bang, bang just pay
them.
You'll get a great consultation.
You'll work with some amazingpeople, learn something along
the way.
They'll give you a design greatspecimens beautiful specimens.
Brett Auttonberry (27:51):
Yeah, really, they really do a good job.
Brought to your house thisisn't a paid advertisement.
Mike Gennaro (27:56):
No, no, no no, we had them on the show before did
you?
Yeah, yeah, right on I even um,I even, you know, had them
consider our yarn.
It was just like ah, y'all, Ican't right now, so I'm gonna do
the good work myself and justgot my shovel out.
But seriously, if you canafford the easy button, and
that's the way you want to go,then by all means.
Brett Auttonberry (28:17):
And you'll get accolades from your
neighbors like this is beautiful.
Mike Gennaro (28:20):
Oh yeah, it's all native.
Brett Auttonberry (28:21):
What Are you kidding me, yeah?
Mike Gennaro (28:24):
I still don't think everybody understands that
and I think some people shoutout to my cousin Adrian, she was
like you're so annoying, Stoptalking about natives.
Nobody wants to hear that.
I'm like you, just surprised, Iam obsessed.
It's just everything.
It's how like if anything everwent wrong, let's say in
Louisiana, if you understandthis stuff, there's medicine in
(28:46):
it, there's survival.
Brett Auttonberry (28:53):
You know, just knowing your land is at the
essence of I don't knowsurvival, right, yeah, there's a
great program at gosh I'm goingto call myself stupid now
University in Lafayette, oh, ull.
There's a great program overthere of Acadian Medicine Garden
.
There's a great AcadianMedicine Garden over there that
they've, you know, or have allthese native plants that they
(29:18):
discovered and used when theystarted settling this area and
that the indigenous peoplestaught them how to use.
And it's I mean, it's there Itaught them how to use and it's,
I mean it's there.
So when things go awry, we'regoing to have to surry back to
what's been given us in thisarea.
Mike Gennaro (29:37):
Yeah, yeah, and I don't want that to have to be
the only reason either.
It's just genuinely rewardingwhen you see, but butterflies on
zinnias which are not native,correct Right, they're pretty
for a little while and you haveto wait until next season.
But when you see a butterfly onsomething native, it's going to
go and form a chrysalis andit's going to live there and
(30:00):
it's going to raise itsgeneration.
It's just different.
Speaker 3 (30:03):
Yeah.
Brett Auttonberry (30:04):
Right, and it clumps a bluestem Skippers I
think there's nine species ofskippers that use as a host
plant and their babies will growfrom that clump of blue stem,
and even in the winter, oncethat grass is, uh, dried and
brown, yeah, and it still givesinterest.
It's very structural, veryarchitectural, yeah, but if you,
(30:26):
when you are ready to cut itdown, leave it in place, because
those eggs may still be onthose stems and they will grow
from those stems in the spring,when it warms up.
Mike Gennaro (30:37):
It all works together, yeah yeah, so I think
a lot of people, if they alreadyhave gardens, myself included
I'm starting to see that it'sbeautiful in its own way, but
it's dormant in a lot of areas,so I really miss that spring and
(31:00):
summer color.
So what do I do?
Brett Auttonberry (31:03):
So you can really work with the specimens
that you choose, to keep avariety of color in there and
accent with some pansies.
They're not going to get awayand be invasive.
You know, these are the things.
If the non-native species thatyou want to use in your yard
play well with the environment,use them, okay.
(31:25):
Couple them with the thingsthat are actually going to give
benefits.
Mike Gennaro (31:28):
Don't use invasives Right.
Brett Auttonberry (31:30):
Don't use things that I mean you can check
the invasive plants list theUSDA, I think, has it out there,
usgs, I think, has it and youcan make sure that it's not
going to escape your garden andbecome a problem.
Yeah, and use them along withthe natives that you know are
(31:51):
going to do well, there are anumber of specimens that can add
great interest in the garden.
I mean, like I said, the Ilexes, the Yaupon and the Possum Hall
and Winterberry and things likethis.
Yeah, you know, large shrubs,they're not trees.
Large, large shrubs, they'renot trees, um, but the berries
(32:11):
are like like lights out therein your landscape.
Speaker 3 (32:15):
Yeah.
Brett Auttonberry (32:16):
Um, the evergreens, like Yucca
filamentosa, which you have one,you have a variegated version
of it, yeah.
Mike Gennaro (32:21):
Oh, I love that one, yeah, and it has this crazy
stem that that appearssometimes.
It's like the shoots up with?
Yeah it shoots up with theflowers.
Brett Auttonberry (32:29):
It's wild looking and I've got a great
story about yuccas and and moths, but that'll be for another
time, I guess, um and you mightget people too excited with the
moths.
You know, let's just save itthere's a moth that has evolved
for every yucca um, there is itbeige, please no the um, uh
(32:52):
rattlesnake master that'severgreen and is sculptural, and
blue, green and and has littlethorns on his edges?
Mike Gennaro (33:01):
uh, eryngium yucca folium yeah, it looks like a
yucca.
Imagine the pointy um, thepointy leaves.
It's almost cactus like, butwith nothing.
Brett Auttonberry (33:10):
It's very fleshy, and that's what the
yucca folia means.
It's a leaf folia, which givesit a yucca look, but it stays
green, a real bright green,structural, sculptural looking.
I have some that are shootingup bloom stalks right now.
Mike Gennaro (33:31):
Yeah, crazy is agave in the yucca family no,
that's a cool looking plant,yeah giant blue agave, agave
americana that's a big hugething, that's a century plant.
People will call it yeah yeah,to me that has the same appeal
as like tortoises, just giantand cool.
Um, yeah, there's something Iwanted to ask you shoot.
(33:55):
Oh, it's escaping me.
Yes, okay, can you give me likejust a very third grade
education level of of scientificnames and plants, like I asked
you what's japonica mean?
I see it everywhere.
What does virginica mean, like,can you speak my language a
little bit more well?
Brett Auttonberry (34:14):
virginica means white.
Okay, it's telling you thatit's going to have a white
flower.
Mike Gennaro (34:19):
Oh, um, uh, okay so guara, is there a virginica
guara and a pink version, orlike?
Brett Auttonberry (34:27):
well, the pink versions are are cultivars
of that virginica okay, yeah andthey've just been bred for that
color show and they'rebeautiful and they're great and
they're still beneficial in thelandscape because they are a
native uh, they're a version ofthe native, the virginica that's
okay has a higher, a higherplaced bloom, from what I
(34:51):
understand, um, so it stands uphigher above the plant okay, um,
all right, so they're usuallytwo names to every scientific
species.
So so you have the genus andthe species genus and species,
okay, okay.
So if, for instance, I would sayYucca filamentosa, the genus is
Yucca, the species isfilamentosa, sometimes you'll
(35:16):
have variants.
One of the variants that yousee a lot is Eliadei.
It has two I's at the end thatare pronounced differently,
which is fantastic, and that's atribute to, I think, the
scientists who discovered that.
So Elliot's blueberry isanother one, vaccinium eleati.
(35:39):
Well, that's a variant of it isthe eleati.
Mike Gennaro (35:47):
The Louisiana blueberry is one of those Is
rabbit eye.
Brett Auttonberry (35:52):
Louisiana or no.
I have to look into that.
Okay, that's all right, that'snot mine.
Mike Gennaro (35:56):
No, um, that's good.
That's good.
Um, uh, I've got a lot ofquestions about that, but that
that seems like a huge lessonthere.
So, um um, are we leavinganything out that you're dying
to talk about?
Brett Auttonberry (36:10):
Uh well, we certainly wanted people to have
resources where to go and getnative plants.
Mike Gennaro (36:16):
This is tough.
Even after you explained it,I'm like it's just too much, I
don't know what to do.
Brett Auttonberry (36:23):
So the availability has come a long way
in the past decade in the pastfive years really, but in the
past decades for sure, sinceI've been in Baton Rouge dealing
.
It used to be just a couple ofnurseries in Ameet and one up in
North Louisiana, and then you'dhave to go to Georgia, alabama,
(36:47):
florida, for natives that wouldcoexist here because of being
grown in a certain ecotype.
Yeah, but it's really developeda lot, one with more than three
or four new clubs or orassociations, societies that
(37:08):
have really popped into activityand are doing their own sales.
You got Beaver's Abundance.
That's doing really great work.
Mike Gennaro (37:20):
Yeah, that's where I got everything, and it's cool
.
It gives you a receipt that hasall of the scientific names
that someone like me would neverhave remembered.
And then, like I, I used thatreceipt months later when I
completely forgot every name ofthings that were in my garden,
except beauty Barry, becausethat one's easy and and I mean
(37:42):
green hand nursery which is inBaker.
Brett Auttonberry (37:45):
Oh they do a lot of good natives they do.
They do your typical beddingstuff as well and vegetables and
things like that, but they willalso do growings of natives and
they'll plant what you ask themto plant.
Mike Gennaro (38:01):
I feel terrible for not knowing about green hen
right under my nose.
Sorry, I didn't support local,will you give?
Brett Auttonberry (38:06):
me a flat of rattlesnake master.
Oh sure, sure, no problem.
Okay, and they're usually atthe Farmer's Market downtown
Baton Rouge.
Okay, where's Green Hen?
They're in Baker, right off ofGibbons Road.
Yeah, so right across thestreet from what used to be the
entrance to the zoo, so it goesstraight across.
(38:27):
That's Gibbons Road.
Speaker 3 (38:28):
Yeah.
Brett Auttonberry (38:31):
And they're right down there on on one of
the, on that little canal, Onfrontage.
Speaker 3 (38:35):
Yeah.
Mike Gennaro (38:36):
Like on commercial frontage.
Brett Auttonberry (38:37):
No, no, it's their house.
Speaker 3 (38:39):
It's a house, and they have the greenhouse and she
works for.
Brett Auttonberry (38:43):
Mila works for Southern university and
agriculture department.
Andiab does most of the work.
Um, they're at the greenhouseand typically their output is
for the farmer's market thatthey go to.
Mike Gennaro (38:56):
Okay, and and they have, uh, customers from their
farmer's market that come andshop at their place got it so
you kind of maybe need to makefriends first and then go visit
on that farmer's market yeah,downtown farmer's market down in
down in baton rouge.
Brett Auttonberry (39:09):
What's that?
Mike Gennaro (39:11):
Red Stick Farmer's .
Brett Auttonberry (39:12):
Market.
Mike Gennaro (39:13):
What else you got?
Speaker 3 (39:19):
There's also Maypop Hill.
Brett Auttonberry (39:19):
Nursery which is up in Norwood.
Betty Miley has been up there.
Betty Miley is an old handnative plant.
She's been doing it for decadesand she's had a nursery up
there for 20 years now and shedoes some interesting
propagation work of some oddthings that you can't find in
other places.
(39:40):
Also, there's the Native PlantInitiative, that's NPI, out of
New Orleans and they do a lot ofplant sales out of the city
park greenhouses.
Speaker 3 (39:52):
Yeah, cool.
Brett Auttonberry (39:53):
Sometimes once a month, and I mean talk
about really beautiful specimensand a lot of variety On that
note.
Mike Gennaro (40:00):
So when I first got into this, you got to
forgive me.
I had this whenever I wasshopping for the native species.
I would just roll up atwhatever market and you know,
you see all the beautiful stuffat, like clays, like all these
other, these big production.
You know facilities and then,like the, the native offerings
(40:25):
might look like just a bunch ofabsolute trash at first Right,
please trust me on this.
But as soon as it grows alittle bit it will look amazing.
But it's not satisfying, likegoing to buy flowers that are
already in full bloom at yourlocal big box garden center.
Brett Auttonberry (40:43):
Okay, I just wanted to get that out.
That had been bred to look likethat in a pot so they can make a
3 000 profit on it yeah, yeah,that's why yeah, yeah I mean,
and and this is the time rightnow is the time to do your own
seed sowing of native nativeplants and and you can do.
That sounds complicated, but no, it's so easy.
(41:05):
Yeah, it's some potting soilwith about a half an inch of
head space around it.
Put the seed spread on thereevenly and spaced a bit, cover
it with some sand and leave itoutside.
Mike Gennaro (41:21):
I thought you were just going to say take the
seeds and throw them in the air,like I do.
Brett Auttonberry (41:25):
So that's not as like okay, and you can do
that.
If you just want to direct sowinto a garden someplace.
I mean, this is what they do.
Yeah, this whole thing aboutgorilla gardening just throwing
them to empty empty lots andhave a field of echinacea and
cosmos and blanket flower andall that in this empty lot.
Mike Gennaro (41:42):
Seeds over in there.
Yeah, echinacea is awesome.
You got to have that staple.
It's the big purple cone flowernow I did to depot's, granted,
I saw some huge, a hugeselection of purple cone flower
this summer yeah, what was thatat home depot you're talking
about?
Yeah, it was crazy I thought Iwas seeing an oasis or something
, but and they are uh you'regonna say something bad they're
(42:07):
cultivars.
Brett Auttonberry (42:08):
Okay, so that , yes, they are echinacea
purpurea.
Okay, um, their nectar contentis a fraction of what the native
straight up species is sothey're not doing as much
benefit for the wildlife as this.
Yeah, they're beautiful.
Yeah, they're more compact, soyou can really do something
(42:29):
crazy and structural with them.
But, they're really not doingthe work that the wildlife are
looking for.
The butterflies will go to it,but they'll have to go to it a
lot.
The bees will go to it, butthey'll have to go to it a lot
because the sugar content isn'tthere where they really need the
fuel, the food, right.
(42:50):
I mean you lose something whenyou breed for a particular look
or a particular trait and whenyou say you breed for height,
you don't want it over a foottall, yeah, you're also going to
lose something when you breedit say, oh, I want one that's
(43:12):
more pink, or I want one that'sgreen.
There's a green one out there.
Have you seen that one?
No, green echinacea Crazy.
I'm like nope, alien.
Yeah.
Mike Gennaro (43:26):
I mean, there's so much to be said about what
colors actually do, differentcolor spectrums to animals, eyes
and all these things like wherethey?
You know?
Just watch some.
David Nate.
Your last name is confusing me.
David Attenberry, who's the guyfrom Planet Earth?
Speaker 3 (43:43):
Oh.
Brett Auttonberry (43:44):
Attenborough.
Mike Gennaro (43:44):
Attenborough, not to be confused with Attenberry.
Speaker 3 (43:49):
Dang.
Mike Gennaro (43:55):
But yeah, like animals pick up on the craziest
minutiae and they like use thatas their sole survival method
sometimes.
Brett Auttonberry (44:00):
And yeah, the seed sowing that I'm talking
about a lot of it requires threeor four months of being under a
certain temperature.
So if you're sowing them nowoutside, they're going to get
that.
This is the time to get that.
I mean, you can do it in a pillbottle in the refrigerator
doing a moist stratification.
But you know high maintenance.
(44:22):
Why don't you just sew themoutside and just let them do
their thing and you'll see themstart coming up All right.
Mike Gennaro (44:27):
Well, okay, I've got a bamboo question.
Louisiana has some nativebamboos right.
I live right next door to abeautiful, beautiful railroad
track.
Like we, we feel the the thetrain rumbling.
It's so close.
So I was going to plant abamboo screen and they're
(44:48):
running and clumping.
That's the traditional thingpeople talk about like uh-oh,
don't buy the running onebecause it'll take over
everything.
But, um, are there anylouisiana native bamboos?
Brett Auttonberry (44:58):
that's not a question.
Mike Gennaro (44:59):
I have an answer to oh shoot, you're just ready
for that that one, that one Icould certainly research for you
yeah but I don't have it at thetime I I find particular appeal
in the, the giant Mosso bamboothat Avery Island is famous for.
It's just like this forest ofbamboo and it's incredible, but
yeah.
Brett Auttonberry (45:21):
We've lost a lot of that cane break.
Cane break, yes, yes, and thereare particular birds that have
evolved specifically for thesecane breaks and were at risk of
losing some of these things.
Speaker 3 (45:35):
Yeah.
Brett Auttonberry (45:37):
Because that's not there anymore.
It's been swept away through.
Mike Gennaro (45:41):
It has nothing to do with sugar cane, because
that's what I thought cane breakwas.
It's bamboo related.
Yeah, okay, all right, it'sbamboo related.
Brett Auttonberry (45:48):
Yeah, okay, all right.
Well, feel free everybody toclock in and correct me when I'm
wrong, cause I am no crazydoctorate, you know we haven't,
um, I don't know.
Mike Gennaro (46:00):
I we've got wonderful followers out there
and listeners and not a ton ofcorrecting.
You know when it's usuallypolitical in nature, if it ever,
uh, comes up, you, you knowwhen it's usually political in
nature, if it ever comes up, youknow.
But like, specifically,politics, political, but when it
comes to native gardening, youknow what.
You're in a completely safespace here.
If somebody wants to startcritiquing this, you're just
(46:22):
going to make a new friendbecause I'm going to be like you
know what?
Brett Auttonberry (46:25):
I know nothing Totally.
If somebody wants to critiqueit, it's like oh, there's
another resource for knowledgeright there.
Mike Gennaro (46:30):
Yeah, there's another nerd that I can hang out
with.
Right, let's keep together.
Yeah, exactly.
Well, I think that's a goodplace to wrap today.
You know I asked you thisearlier.
Is there anything that we'releaving out, Cause this is a big
, old topic and maybe give ussomething to ponder?
Brett Auttonberry (46:47):
uh, for next time yeah, I, I mean really the
the biggest thing is to, to, toget the plants in and and let
them live and get used to wherethey are.
Start small, but plan well.
At the same time, know whereyou're going to be putting the
plants and find the plants thatare conducive for that spot.
Whether you know the hydrologyof be putting the plants and
(47:09):
find the plants that areconducive for that spot.
Whether you know the hydrologyof it.
How much water is in the soil,how much water stays in the soil
, how does it flow through thesoil?
That's a huge aspect, isn't it?
It's a huge aspect andsomething that a lot of people
don't think about.
They go and plant somethingjust like.
This is a good place for this.
It'll, it'll.
It'll look really well with theshed once it's done.
Yeah, but you know, you reallyhave to think about these things
(47:31):
, and not just with natives,with with other things as well.
So just start, small plan.
Well, you know, geek out overit for a minute and and and make
sure it's the thing that youneed.
Mike Gennaro (47:43):
Yeah, then go do it and fail a little bit, try
again you know, Well, that's a.
That's a great place to endthis thing, um.
So we're, we're wishing youwell during this, this season,
you know um and please, please,please, send us pictures of your
uh, of your efforts and gardensout there.
Brett Auttonberry (48:03):
Um, maybe we get a pnp garden club together,
but uh and also you can apply tohave your your native plant
garden certified, like you didyes absolutely native plant
society.
Uh, they have the certifiedhabitat program and tell me how
much I spent again I think so.
I think that's what I spent.
Mike Gennaro (48:24):
Yeah, that's what I wanted to say, and you get a
sign for your yard, pays for theplaque and a nice, a good new
friend to come over and talkplant right um, yeah, there's
immense value in that.
You know why I I I did thisbecause I read an article about
swamp fly and what they weredoing had no idea what natives
were.
And it said, like, look for thestars in your local, you know
(48:47):
area of people who got certifiedand looked at zachary.
I was like we don't have anystars at all.
And then I find one popped upduring that course.
It was, I think I don't want tosay somebody's private name and
all that, but yeah somebodyright around throw his drones
throw away from me, and we hadone star and all of Zachary and
(49:08):
I was like well, and that'spartly my fault, because there's
a couple of more that I haven'tput on the spreadsheet yet.
Brett Auttonberry (49:14):
Well, how many do you think there are?
Swampfly did one right overhere.
Mike Gennaro (49:18):
Okay.
Brett Auttonberry (49:18):
Another stone's throw through you, and
it's beautiful.
Mike Gennaro (49:21):
Yeah, it's not a big property probably a quarter
of an acre.
Brett Auttonberry (49:24):
Yeah, there's a guy up north of East
Feliciana Parish that had hiscattle ranch done no way, and
it's amazing.
It's a great place.
It's got a lot of bottomland toit, it's got some rolling hills
to it and it's 58 acres.
Mike Gennaro (49:46):
If you have 58 acres, just make up any species.
You're not going to go combover all of it.
You checked it.
Brett Auttonberry (49:53):
You did, I checked it all right, all right,
but yeah, that's then the sideby side and just went out.
Yeah, you did.
Oh well, on the four wheel yeah, yeah, we got on the four wheel
and went out um, that's great.
Mike Gennaro (50:05):
That's great.
Brett Auttonberry (50:05):
Okay, so maybe five yeah come on, y'all,
you may have been number fiveall right.
Mike Gennaro (50:10):
Well, out of 20,000 in in Zachary and then
add Slaughter and West Westfell,I mean I'm sure Westfell has a
bunch, because I think I wasn'tthere in.
Speaker 3 (50:20):
Slaughter.
Brett Auttonberry (50:22):
Slaughter was there in Slaughter.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah sure, Isaw like two in Slaughter.
Mike Gennaro (50:26):
Is that about right?
Brett Auttonberry (50:28):
Yes, that sounds right.
Mike Gennaro (50:29):
Okay, all right.
So let's get on the map.
People Come on, get on the map.
Brett Auttonberry (50:34):
Let's bling the map up.
Mike Gennaro (50:35):
Bling the map up.
Yeah, go for gold, becausethere's bronze, silver and gold.
Maybe you'll be the first onesto get platinum out there, I
don't know.
But until next time.
This is Mike G saying happyholidays and good planting to
you.
Best of luck, bye-bye.
Brett Auttonberry (50:58):
America, america.
May God thy gold refine.
I'm Brett Auttonberry.
Keep listening to Porch andParish the podcast.
Mike Gennaro (00:10):
You know, there's something magical about a garden
that thrives through the wintermonths.
In a world that oftenprioritizes instant
gratification, native plantsoffer a timeless beauty and
resilience.
As someone who's always enjoyeda good garden, I've found that
the best gardens aren'tnecessarily the flashiest or the
most labor intensive.
They're the ones that work inharmony with the local ecosystem
.
You can't achieve that if yourplants die off completely in the
(00:32):
winter and never come back.
In today's episode, we'reexcited to talk to Brett
Auttonberry, a local expert innative gardening, about how to
cultivate a thriving wintergarden that's not only beautiful
but also sustainable.
Cultivate a thriving wintergarden that's not only beautiful
but also sustainable.
We'll learn how native plantscan transform our landscapes,
reduce water usage and supportlocal wildlife, all while
thriving through the wintermonths.
Brett is here to help usunderstand the many benefits of
(00:54):
using Louisiana native plants,and he'll guide us on how to
bring the beauty of nature toour homes during the colder
season.
As always, we're here to bringyou the best of Zachary in the
Baton Rouge area throughengaging conversations every
Monday from our Virginia Streetheadquarters.
This is Portion Parish, thepodcast.
Stay tuned, because thelightning round is coming up
next.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
I'm Keri Godbold, your top producing local realtor
here in Zachary for over 15years.
If you're looking to buy orsell real estate or just have
questions about the real estatemarket, give me a call or send
me a text 225-936-4898.
Mike Gennaro (01:36):
All right and we're back with a lightning
round.
So welcome Brett.
Hello, hey, how's it going?
What is your favorite nativeplant for a louisiana winter
garden?
Brett Auttonberry (01:47):
oh, I can't do a one.
It's like choosing a child rightit's like going to mcdonald's
and just getting fries, right, Iguess if I would have to choose
any, it'd be any of the ilexes,whether it be those are hollies
, possum hall and your ponds,because of of the bright red and
orange berries that persistthrough the winter and feed the
(02:10):
birds, or, I'm going to say it,verbencia virginica, that's
frostweed or white crownbeard,and it's a really cool showy
flower in the fall.
It was used as wedding bouquetsback in the early 19th century,
(02:31):
mid-19th century, but when itgets cold, these ribbons of
water shoot out of them and itlooks like taffy pulling out of
them.
Mike Gennaro (02:39):
Cool, cool, cool.
That's just a little sample ofwhat y'all are about to get from
Brett today.
You know just a little bit morebackground on you, brett.
You came out and did our nativegarden certification and I
didn't know.
You know I was very nervousabout it because it's like I
don't know if I'm about to betested or if he's just going to
(03:00):
come and identify that we haveplanted things in their living,
at least in the short term.
Right, and it was more of thelatter.
You came and inspected and Ilearned a ton about what we
actually had in our gardenoutside of the things that I
planted.
So if you look around your yard,you know you kind of assume
(03:21):
that your lawn is just thismonoculture of St Aug, but
really look closely and there'sa lot filling in those gaps and
a lot of those gap fillers arenatives.
Right, right, yeah, so I wantto take us into.
I don't want to leave anybodybehind, no listener left behind.
So let's start off this episodewith what is native gardening,
(03:43):
and how is it any different thangardening?
Gardening?
Brett Auttonberry (03:47):
well, native gardening, once you get it
started, really takes care ofitself.
Um, and I'm not one of thosepurists where you must have only
natives in your garden.
You know there are many thatwork together so you can have
those things that everybodyrecognizes, but it punctuated in
(04:11):
with plants that have evolvedhere with the wildlife and the
ecosystem over eons.
And so work hand in hand withthe environment and keep your
costs down, because you don'thave to water them, you don't
have to overwinter them, youdon't have to fertilize them,
blah, blah, blah.
Mike Gennaro (04:30):
It's great Is that .
I mean, God bless Home Depot.
I spent so much money there, mygoodness.
But is that kind of the gamethat we're playing?
Do they sell things that don'tsurvive?
Brett Auttonberry (04:48):
our environment has has evolved over
years and when you introducesomething new, it could be a
some type of fungal or some typeof bacteria into the soil from
these, these uh, tropicals thatare being bought to these places
that may have been grown three,four states over in different
situations.
Some of these things have beengrown by growers, say, in
(05:12):
Tennessee, and have a completelydifferent environment.
They get down here and hello,it's a big difference between
here and, say, nashville.
I mean, those are great foraccent things as long as you're
managing them right.
But really, if you wantlongevity, if you want plants
(05:34):
that work cohesively with what'sgoing on around you and don't
break your bank, basically withyour time and your money trying
to keep it going, you go withnatives.
Mike Gennaro (05:45):
Yeah, my bank has been broken many times, uh, just
from buying plants year afteryear.
Um, and the the bigheartbreakers to me yep, you
kind of helped me with this one.
It's like how many times have Ibought sasanko camellias and
I'm thinking that that's local,like?
Or you hear satsumas, that's alouisiana thing, right.
And then I planet and it's likewhy don't?
(06:07):
You don't seem to belong herevery yeah.
Brett Auttonberry (06:12):
Yeah, I mean, citrus is spanish okay, yeah,
thank you and these differentvarieties, uh satsumas being one
of them.
It's something that has beenbred through time from a species
that comes from theMediterranean.
Yeah, and so you fight withthem.
Mike Gennaro (06:30):
People fight with them, you go, protect them.
You're like I'm going to saveyou this year, I'm going to some
.
Some years I've spent just asmuch on the plant you know as I,
as the actual plant itself,just to cover it like putting
something over the top.
Brett Auttonberry (06:46):
The sides right tint it.
Yeah, I know people who willheat up um large rocks in a
bonfire and put on the groundunder them so that it the the
heat radiates off of them duringthat same night right and
you're doing crazy things in thefreezing weather and I'm
dancing rain odds on my fingersand toes.
I'm like freezing you know, it'sjust and then you think that
it's oh, it survived.
And then you come back and it'ssneaky when the rootstock will
(07:09):
shoot out.
It's thorny trifoliate, youknow invasive species that will
take over any woodland aroundhere.
So you got to be, you got towatch out for all that.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
Yeah, those citrus plants and the camellias.
Brett Auttonberry (07:21):
I mean they're more sustainable than
some, but they're also.
You have to spray them forthrips.
You have to make sure thatthey're fertilized.
They're still high maintenance.
They're not as high maintenanceas some things but they're
still high maintenance.
Mike Gennaro (07:40):
Yeah, absolutely.
Let's go with the camellia tip,because I appreciated the one
you shared with us.
You said they don't like wetfeet.
Maybe move this camellia thatis clearly dying over next to
another tree.
That way it would what the rootsystem of the larger tree would
(08:00):
dry the ground yeah, so likehelp me with that.
Brett Auttonberry (08:04):
The southern magnolia tree has shallow root
systems.
It almost creates a desertsituation under them.
That's why when you're around amagnolia, you don't see a lot
of other plants growing underthem.
Mike Gennaro (08:15):
That's why my woodland ferns probably died
under the magnolia.
Brett Auttonberry (08:19):
Probably so.
Okay, Probably it could be.
I mean, after they've workedcohesively together, they can
start to work together.
But getting them started isdifficult under a magnolia tree.
Okay, so if you move thatcamellia a little bit closer,
maybe not under it certainly,but closer where those root
systems can try to help keep itsroot systems well-drained it'll
(08:42):
help it.
Nice, certainly not inlow-lying ground that collects
water.
Mike Gennaro (08:46):
Yeah, what are some other fantastic species
that you can recommend thatreally like dry ground or
well-drained soil?
Oh gosh well-drained soil.
Brett Auttonberry (09:00):
Oak leaf hydrangea is fantastic.
Yeah, a lot of people strugglewith hydrangeas.
Mike Gennaro (09:05):
Right right.
Brett Auttonberry (09:06):
So this is one of those plants, and there's
a number of these that haveevolved in more of a rolling
hill type topography.
We're in alluvial soil here.
These things really started togrow where there was a lot of
rich loam from forests havingdropped and sloping topography
(09:32):
that really doesn't let the soilbecome saturated.
Yeah, it stays moist, but itdoesn't become saturated, and
you can mimic these situationsin your garden by building a bed
that will accommodate thosethings, and I see people do it
very successfully in thisalluvial plains, and they're
beautiful.
Mike Gennaro (09:54):
All right, let's speak to those.
All right, we just wereinundated with rain.
It feels like over the pastcouple of weeks, having come
from no rain at all for likefour weeks before that.
What would you tell thosefamilies that have, like these,
just huge wet spots in theiryards where, like you, can't
(10:16):
even walk without saturated yourtennis shoes?
What can you plant that'snative in those areas?
Brett Auttonberry (10:22):
Well, first, you have to.
You have to, or how would youapproach?
You have to ask yourself to say, hey, you know what?
I'm going to let go of the lawnin this area and make a swell
of some sort, because that'swhat your yard is doing it's
creating its own swell.
When it's doing that and youlook around at wetland areas, at
things that are doing that jobalready, and say, hey, I can do
(10:43):
that in this spot.
Okay, let me put some iriseshere, let me put a buttonbush
here, that will really draw up alot of water and also really
feed wildlife really well.
There's so many things that cantag into these.
Mike Gennaro (10:59):
See, I put the buttonbush under the magnolia
tree.
Speaker 3 (11:03):
I just saw that.
Mike Gennaro (11:04):
Okay, so now I'm getting.
I'm starting to get kind of thethe algo here.
Right it's don't put somethingthat wants a lot of water under
something that's sucking up allthe water right, yeah, if you,
if you've ever been out to LakeMartin and Brobridge, I have oh,
that's a fun family trip too.
Brett Auttonberry (11:19):
Yeah, buttonbush growing in the water,
and it just about any waterwayaround the LSU lakes.
You'll see buttonbush on theedges of of the LSU lakes, okay,
and I mean that's where theylike to be and they flourish.
Mike Gennaro (11:33):
Yeah, what about sea oats?
That's a um that one soundslike it needs to go around a wet
area.
It does, let's.
I want to speak to the rootsystem on sea oats specifically,
because I think the roots goreally, really deep, right,
really deep.
Brett Auttonberry (11:49):
A lot of the native grasses.
I say all the native grassesreally.
These prairie grasses can haveroot systems that go down 10, 12
feet.
It's crazy.
Think about that.
Mike Gennaro (12:00):
That's like look up at the door in whatever room
you're listening and add fourfeet.
That's how much water thisplant is using right and sucking
up right.
Brett Auttonberry (12:13):
And it's also the other way around
sequestering carbon out of theair down to that depth.
So your turf grasses in youryard aren't doing anything.
Mike Gennaro (12:27):
They're very surface, they're a toupee.
Brett Auttonberry (12:29):
Okay, they're the toupee of grasses yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
Do you have a lawn?
Brett Auttonberry (12:34):
Brett, very, very little.
Yeah, we employed the chickensto scratch and scratch and
scratch and take care of ourlawn Delete it, yep, and then we
put them back in their pen andnow we have natives and some
native grasses finally gettingin there, some pink newly grass
and blue stem and things likethis.
They don't eat that.
(12:55):
No, what Well their rootsystems get so established that
sure they'll eat them.
Mike Gennaro (13:00):
But they come right back Got it, so you might
need to give it a sec.
They prune them.
Brett Auttonberry (13:04):
That's what they do they prune them, they
keep them, cut back.
Mike Gennaro (13:06):
That's interesting that you say that, because I
don't know if I've, if I was asmuch of a an animal keeper in
previous episodes, but latelythe homesteader in me has just
been just, you know, going totown.
We've got four bunnies, threeturkeys, three ducks.
I've got chickens and ducksincubated upstairs.
(13:27):
The problem is that theseanimals always eat the grass and
you end up with mud everywhereand it's gross.
So I can use native grass, letthe roots establish, and we
should kind of have a firmersoil.
Brett Auttonberry (13:44):
They will help firm the soil up better.
Speaker 3 (13:46):
Yeah.
Brett Auttonberry (13:48):
There's a number of resources out there.
That about keeping gardens withlivestock with small livestock
and with it, and.
I have yet to figure that out,exactly how these people are
being so successful with theseMartha Stewart looking.
Mike Gennaro (14:04):
Yeah, they just throw the ducks in the garden at
the last minute and take apicture, and then they toss them
out.
Brett Auttonberry (14:12):
Can I get some of that, please?
Yeah?
Mike Gennaro (14:14):
Yeah, um, I got an update for for listeners out
there, for anybody that you knowhas ever heard me mentioned
puddles the Bassett um, she gotout of the gate, you know, has
ever heard me mention puddlesthe the Basset?
Um, she got out of the gate,you know, speaking of wonderful
animal friends, and she was hiton main street a couple of weeks
back, um, but that was.
That was the ultimate gardenfriend and huge, huge tribute to
(14:36):
her.
She never dug anything upbecause the Basset breed is just
fantastic about just being lazyand not really caring about
anything except squirrels or.
But yeah, just wanted to give aquick, you know update and
tribute.
Brett Auttonberry (14:52):
I'm sure your your followers have been
following her too, as well asyou.
Mike Gennaro (14:56):
Oh, she was the brand on on my, my cabinet shop,
barn dog mill, and she's justbeen with me for a while and she
, I've felt like for a while anduh, she, I felt like she
encapsulated the communityspirit because you know, what do
dogs do?
They just, they bring peopletogether.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
They're always loving .
Mike Gennaro (15:13):
They're always hospitable, just, and that breed
is really cool because theydon't bite but they do wander.
You know that's.
That is one of the downsides Ifanybody's considering a hound
of any type like is it?
Speaker 3 (15:25):
thank you, it's open yeah.
Mike Gennaro (15:27):
It, their, their nose, surpasses any loyalty.
So, yeah, all right.
Well, um, moving on.
So, um, what?
What?
I promised people to talk about?
A winter garden right InLouisiana.
The winter involves so muchlike rain and, and just you know
, satsumas these are all winterproblems to me, right, um,
(15:51):
keeping them alive.
And I finally bought um somecold tolerant satsumas called
the arctic frost variety, um,and I put them out and you know
what those suckers are doing,great.
But the rabbits just just toreup their stalks or trunks, took
the cambium off.
Speaker 3 (16:10):
Just took it right off.
You saw it.
Mike Gennaro (16:12):
It left one little string and I said you know what
, I spent so much on thesethings.
You can't return it.
We're either going to feed therabbits, the branches or just
see what it does.
And so far it's not dead aftertwo weeks now.
So maybe it'll keep going.
Brett Auttonberry (16:26):
Just watch out for that rootstock coming
out.
Mike Gennaro (16:28):
Oh, thorns, oh, I think it's over, but it might
not be over Burn it if it does.
Okay.
Brett Auttonberry (16:35):
All right.
Mike Gennaro (16:36):
So what are some of the things that are on your
mind?
What problems do you try tosolve at this time of year in
your garden?
Speaker 3 (16:43):
Well.
Brett Auttonberry (16:44):
I mean, really, if I was to give anybody
any advice about the winter, isthat, yeah, it's unpredictable
for us, but these native plantshave really evolved to this
unpredictability.
If anything there may be somegetting used to with our change
(17:08):
of polar systems that we've beenhaving the past two, three
years, with these blasts thatcome through for a week that are
just so cold and then it getswarm again.
Yeah, um, those blasts can,those sustained cold blasts may
end up being issues for some ofour species, but I don't see
them being that big of an issueas far as overall.
(17:31):
With the native garden, yeah, Imean it is good to to allow
them to be for a while and andjust observe and watch once
they're established.
I mean really, they're likebring it.
Mike Gennaro (17:47):
Okay.
Brett Auttonberry (17:47):
Yeah.
Mike Gennaro (17:48):
Bring it and then we're going to like drop seeds
everywhere and just keepproliferating.
That's what I'm seeing.
So we earned the certificationthis year, but it's been a year
working up to this and I think Igot my plants in around July,
which is probably not a greattime to plant everything either.
But they all lived, except thewoodland ferns that now you all
know why they didn't live.
(18:08):
But I'm lived, except thewoodland ferns that now you all
know why they didn't live.
Um, but um, I'm seeing them alldrop these fabulous seeds
everywhere.
Uh, one of my favorite ones isthat the one with the purple
berries.
Uh, beauty berry, beauty berry,calicarpa americana.
And when I went to the localfarmer's market here in zachary,
there's this, um, there's thisincredible maker there that she
makes jelly right, but she makesLouisiana-specific jelly.
(18:32):
So when you go see her it'llsay Louisiana Hackberry,
louisiana Mayhaw, or in my case,I found Beautyberry Jelly.
It's so good, y'all.
Brett Auttonberry (18:46):
It's so good.
Mike Gennaro (18:47):
Well, it's sugar.
It's so good.
Yeah, I mean yeah.
I mean, you could call itanything and add some citric
acid and some sugar and ittastes great.
Brett Auttonberry (18:54):
It's a beautiful jelly, yeah, I mean
you don't get that color fromanything else.
No, no.
Mike Gennaro (19:01):
I mean, I also have some questions because at
the farmer's market you can findcertain people that you know
also raise species of thingsthat are like animals for
consumption.
Are there any combinations ofLouisiana animals that we can
raise to compliment the nativegarden that you can think of?
(19:25):
I'm guessing peacocks.
Brett Auttonberry (19:27):
That's a good question.
Probably not here, yeah.
Even though it seems like alouisiana thing yeah, I had
wanted peacocks forever oh, ifanything just just to annoy the
neighbors that sound they makeum, and.
But when I was a horticulturistat the batman zoo for a while,
yeah, and the destruction thatthey create in the garden.
(19:48):
It's like so many hours of workput in and they will absolutely
tear it up.
Mike Gennaro (19:53):
It's like a chicken on steroids.
Thanks for preparing dinner,Mom.
Yeah.
Brett Auttonberry (19:57):
Oh, look at those better yellow pansies.
Mike Gennaro (20:00):
Oh, it's a salad, that's right.
Brett Auttonberry (20:03):
Yeah, as far as I mean, I can't think, I mean
it's not my forte, but I think.
I mean that's not a question Ican answer no it's okay.
Mike Gennaro (20:14):
It's okay.
I was thinking like quail.
What could be Certainly quail?
Brett Auttonberry (20:20):
And that's a big prairie species.
Speaker 3 (20:25):
Yeah.
Brett Auttonberry (20:26):
And they like land.
They like expanse andgrasslands, tall grass, yeah,
and they like land.
They like expanse andgrasslands tall grass, yeah, and
that's something that I don'tknow that a lot of people want
to invest their small piece ofyard to yeah.
I mean, I know some people thathave acreage that have done
that for that reason.
Yeah, just let them loose.
(20:47):
Yeah, cool For quail and doveand things like that to foster
that so they can go and harvestthose, yeah, which is a lot of
fun.
But uh, I mean as far as, likein your yard, I can't imagine.
Mike Gennaro (21:00):
Yeah, prickly pear for tortoises maybe, oh yeah
well, y'all know that I've gotthe tortoises, but they are not
I, I wasn't smart enough to geta native tortoise now that that
would be the smart thing to do.
So I have to say, buyers,beware out there.
If you're seeing sulcatatortoises, this is like as
invasive of a species oftortoises you can possibly
(21:22):
imagine.
Um, they have a lot of eggs.
People are selling them andmaking money for now.
Brett Auttonberry (21:29):
It's problematic, it's problematic
and then they go reproduce,right and they're giant and they
get loose, our gopher tortoises, uh, which are our native
tourists yes um.
Can you know their populationscan be harmed like that if uh
yeah invasive species gets outthere and starts taking over
their, their territories,because they are very
territorial.
(21:49):
Yeah, now I somebody willprobably correct me and I, but I
think a gopher tortoise canhave a, a, you know, a mild yeah
Right.
Mike Gennaro (21:59):
I'll make a new friend if they want to comment
on that.
Speaker 3 (22:01):
Yeah, oh, you like tortoises, cool yeah.
Mike Gennaro (22:04):
But I mean where, where my mind is with all this?
I can put a box tortoise, a boxturtle out in the garden and
she'll be fine through thewinter.
Oh, yeah.
If I put a Salcata out as soonas it's like 50 degrees, it's
getting like organ failure.
So I have to keep a heat lamp,a special high maintenance,
special light, high maintenance.
Brett Auttonberry (22:23):
It's very much like the plants.
Yeah, yeah, like the plants.
Yeah, very much like the plants.
They're not supposed to be here.
Mike Gennaro (22:29):
It says evolution.
Brett Auttonberry (22:29):
They're not supposed to be here.
Mike Gennaro (22:31):
I don't know A Muscovy duck, though I think
that's a Mexican transplantClose enough.
Brett Auttonberry (22:36):
Neighbors, yeah, neighbors.
We'll say neighbors.
Mike Gennaro (22:38):
But man, that thing has claws, it can roost,
that is going to live, no matterwhat, in Louisiana.
All right, all right.
So let's, let's go into somemore surprising things about the
native world here.
So what is the when?
When did the paradigm shift foryou, you know?
(23:01):
Was there a point where it.
Brett Auttonberry (23:04):
I mean, it really was an evolution, and and
a pretty fast evolution overthe past decade for me.
But yeah I mean I started out asa kid I'm saying seven years
old and and on just walking inthe woods and I have always been
a plant guy because of it, um,and I've always had interest in
(23:26):
gardening and planning and allthat I'm.
I mean, I'm still considermyself a novice at it, but I'm
always finding ways to fail atsomething.
But when I got out of theservice and spent some time in
Los Angeles and really gotinvolved with some people over
there in their native plantmovement, yeah, and it was
(23:53):
fascinating to me because youknow I'm thinking desert, what's
here?
Speaker 3 (23:57):
Yeah.
Brett Auttonberry (23:57):
And it was amazing what you find, the
diversity that you find in that.
And when moved back here, Ireally got involved with some
people and worked with theCapital capital area native
plant society, which is stillout there, but we're not doing
anything, um, and I learnedthrough that and I made some
(24:20):
mistakes and and I as andlearned some from the, from the
old, from the, the aunties yeahright, native plant aunties and
learning.
Mike Gennaro (24:28):
Did they come up to your yard and like start
ripping out all the chinesetallow, or?
Speaker 3 (24:32):
oh no, I did that myself like you did over here.
Mike Gennaro (24:36):
I was like brett, my dad loves these chinese
tallows.
He's like sorry, I'd have to.
I'd have to take points off ifyou leave this rip I hope, I
hope you don't mind from myperspective I was.
This thing is most people lookat the Chinese tatler like, oh,
it's a trash plant anyway.
(24:56):
Right, but it's the only bit offall color we have anywhere.
Don't take it, it is gorgeouscolor.
Brett Auttonberry (25:02):
And the fruiting bodies are very
interesting.
You know, people call it apopcorn tree because those
fruiting bodies are like grainsof popcorn up in there.
But birds will eat them.
They get no nutritional valuefrom them.
They poop them out in the woods,under trees, on tree lines, on
fence lines, and they push outthe native flora that used to be
(25:28):
here.
We used to have um strawberrybush everywhere.
Uh, and that's one.
That's one of the things thatthe privet and the tallow have
really kind of pushed out likestrawberries euonymus Americanus
, it's a it's a beautiful uhgreen.
Uh, the stems are green.
It's a great plant.
(25:49):
It's related to the burningbush.
Mike Gennaro (25:51):
Okay, I've seen that the eonymous yeah, oh, it's
a huge pop of fall color.
Brett Auttonberry (25:57):
Right, huge, gorgeous red, orange color,
which you don't see it anymorebecause it's been pushed out by
these other things crowding itout.
So, yeah, tallow is definitelyit's.
It's even become successful inwet, swampy areas and are
destroying swamps.
Mike Gennaro (26:18):
So at what point you know I love that you said
you're not a purist at whatpoint do we accept the new, like
there's no way to get that out?
Come on, it's not like you know.
They shoot the nutrias and allthis stuff and take their tails.
I'm like it's you'd have to beshooting, Like each one of us
would have to go kill a thousanda day to get rid of nutrias at
(26:40):
this point, or make dog biscuitsout of it.
Brett Auttonberry (26:42):
There's a company that makes dog biscuits
out of nutria.
Mike Gennaro (26:45):
At.
At what point do you just saywe've been conquered?
Brett Auttonberry (26:49):
by the invaders.
We can only do what we can do.
I understand, but we have to dowhat we can do and if we can
control it on our own properties, then we can control it on our
own properties.
And sometimes it feels like alosing battle when your neighbor
doesn't see any worth in tryingto work for the environment and
just let these things just goor even plant them as a.
You know your neighbor doesn'tsee any worth in trying to work
(27:09):
for the environment and just letthese things just go or even
plant them as a.
You know cities that haveplanted them as I've never seen
that.
Mike Gennaro (27:18):
I've never seen that on purpose.
Brett Auttonberry (27:20):
In New Orleans, in the French quarter,
there are a number of tallowthat have been planted
specifically for a street trees.
What Wow?
And there's some beautiful ones, yeah, gorgeous ones.
Shout out to our swamp flyfriends.
In this, specifically for astreet tree.
What yes, wow okay, and there'ssome beautiful ones, yeah,
gorgeous ones shout out to ourswamp fly friends in new orleans
right, um, if y'all want,they're doing the good work.
Mike Gennaro (27:36):
Yeah, if you want, like um, to hit the easy button
and just have a native garden,bang, bang, bang, bang just pay
them.
You'll get a great consultation.
You'll work with some amazingpeople, learn something along
the way.
They'll give you a design greatspecimens beautiful specimens.
Brett Auttonberry (27:51):
Yeah, really, they really do a good job.
Brought to your house thisisn't a paid advertisement.
Mike Gennaro (27:56):
No, no, no no, we had them on the show before did
you?
Yeah, yeah, right on I even um,I even, you know, had them
consider our yarn.
It was just like ah, y'all, Ican't right now, so I'm gonna do
the good work myself and justgot my shovel out.
But seriously, if you canafford the easy button, and
that's the way you want to go,then by all means.
Brett Auttonberry (28:17):
And you'll get accolades from your
neighbors like this is beautiful.
Mike Gennaro (28:20):
Oh yeah, it's all native.
Brett Auttonberry (28:21):
What Are you kidding me, yeah?
Mike Gennaro (28:24):
I still don't think everybody understands that
and I think some people shoutout to my cousin Adrian, she was
like you're so annoying, Stoptalking about natives.
Nobody wants to hear that.
I'm like you, just surprised, Iam obsessed.
It's just everything.
It's how like if anything everwent wrong, let's say in
Louisiana, if you understandthis stuff, there's medicine in
(28:46):
it, there's survival.
Brett Auttonberry (28:53):
You know, just knowing your land is at the
essence of I don't knowsurvival, right, yeah, there's a
great program at gosh I'm goingto call myself stupid now
University in Lafayette, oh, ull.
There's a great program overthere of Acadian Medicine Garden
.
There's a great AcadianMedicine Garden over there that
they've, you know, or have allthese native plants that they
(29:18):
discovered and used when theystarted settling this area and
that the indigenous peoplestaught them how to use.
And it's I mean, it's there Itaught them how to use and it's,
I mean it's there.
So when things go awry, we'regoing to have to surry back to
what's been given us in thisarea.
Mike Gennaro (29:37):
Yeah, yeah, and I don't want that to have to be
the only reason either.
It's just genuinely rewardingwhen you see, but butterflies on
zinnias which are not native,correct Right, they're pretty
for a little while and you haveto wait until next season.
But when you see a butterfly onsomething native, it's going to
go and form a chrysalis andit's going to live there and
(30:00):
it's going to raise itsgeneration.
It's just different.
Speaker 3 (30:03):
Yeah.
Brett Auttonberry (30:04):
Right, and it clumps a bluestem Skippers I
think there's nine species ofskippers that use as a host
plant and their babies will growfrom that clump of blue stem,
and even in the winter, oncethat grass is, uh, dried and
brown, yeah, and it still givesinterest.
It's very structural, veryarchitectural, yeah, but if you,
(30:26):
when you are ready to cut itdown, leave it in place, because
those eggs may still be onthose stems and they will grow
from those stems in the spring,when it warms up.
Mike Gennaro (30:37):
It all works together, yeah yeah, so I think
a lot of people, if they alreadyhave gardens, myself included
I'm starting to see that it'sbeautiful in its own way, but
it's dormant in a lot of areas,so I really miss that spring and
(31:00):
summer color.
So what do I do?
Brett Auttonberry (31:03):
So you can really work with the specimens
that you choose, to keep avariety of color in there and
accent with some pansies.
They're not going to get awayand be invasive.
You know, these are the things.
If the non-native species thatyou want to use in your yard
play well with the environment,use them, okay.
(31:25):
Couple them with the thingsthat are actually going to give
benefits.
Mike Gennaro (31:28):
Don't use invasives Right.
Brett Auttonberry (31:30):
Don't use things that I mean you can check
the invasive plants list theUSDA, I think, has it out there,
usgs, I think, has it and youcan make sure that it's not
going to escape your garden andbecome a problem.
Yeah, and use them along withthe natives that you know are
(31:51):
going to do well, there are anumber of specimens that can add
great interest in the garden.
I mean, like I said, the Ilexes, the Yaupon and the Possum Hall
and Winterberry and things likethis.
Yeah, you know, large shrubs,they're not trees.
Large, large shrubs, they'renot trees, um, but the berries
(32:11):
are like like lights out therein your landscape.
Speaker 3 (32:15):
Yeah.
Brett Auttonberry (32:16):
Um, the evergreens, like Yucca
filamentosa, which you have one,you have a variegated version
of it, yeah.
Mike Gennaro (32:21):
Oh, I love that one, yeah, and it has this crazy
stem that that appearssometimes.
It's like the shoots up with?
Yeah it shoots up with theflowers.
Brett Auttonberry (32:29):
It's wild looking and I've got a great
story about yuccas and and moths, but that'll be for another
time, I guess, um and you mightget people too excited with the
moths.
You know, let's just save itthere's a moth that has evolved
for every yucca um, there is itbeige, please no the um, uh
(32:52):
rattlesnake master that'severgreen and is sculptural, and
blue, green and and has littlethorns on his edges?
Mike Gennaro (33:01):
uh, eryngium yucca folium yeah, it looks like a
yucca.
Imagine the pointy um, thepointy leaves.
It's almost cactus like, butwith nothing.
Brett Auttonberry (33:10):
It's very fleshy, and that's what the
yucca folia means.
It's a leaf folia, which givesit a yucca look, but it stays
green, a real bright green,structural, sculptural looking.
I have some that are shootingup bloom stalks right now.
Mike Gennaro (33:31):
Yeah, crazy is agave in the yucca family no,
that's a cool looking plant,yeah giant blue agave, agave
americana that's a big hugething, that's a century plant.
People will call it yeah yeah,to me that has the same appeal
as like tortoises, just giantand cool.
Um, yeah, there's something Iwanted to ask you shoot.
(33:55):
Oh, it's escaping me.
Yes, okay, can you give me likejust a very third grade
education level of of scientificnames and plants, like I asked
you what's japonica mean?
I see it everywhere.
What does virginica mean, like,can you speak my language a
little bit more well?
Brett Auttonberry (34:14):
virginica means white.
Okay, it's telling you thatit's going to have a white
flower.
Mike Gennaro (34:19):
Oh, um, uh, okay so guara, is there a virginica
guara and a pink version, orlike?
Brett Auttonberry (34:27):
well, the pink versions are are cultivars
of that virginica okay, yeah andthey've just been bred for that
color show and they'rebeautiful and they're great and
they're still beneficial in thelandscape because they are a
native uh, they're a version ofthe native, the virginica that's
okay has a higher, a higherplaced bloom, from what I
(34:51):
understand, um, so it stands uphigher above the plant okay, um,
all right, so they're usuallytwo names to every scientific
species.
So so you have the genus andthe species genus and species,
okay, okay.
So if, for instance, I would sayYucca filamentosa, the genus is
Yucca, the species isfilamentosa, sometimes you'll
(35:16):
have variants.
One of the variants that yousee a lot is Eliadei.
It has two I's at the end thatare pronounced differently,
which is fantastic, and that's atribute to, I think, the
scientists who discovered that.
So Elliot's blueberry isanother one, vaccinium eleati.
(35:39):
Well, that's a variant of it isthe eleati.
Mike Gennaro (35:47):
The Louisiana blueberry is one of those Is
rabbit eye.
Brett Auttonberry (35:52):
Louisiana or no.
I have to look into that.
Okay, that's all right, that'snot mine.
Mike Gennaro (35:56):
No, um, that's good.
That's good.
Um, uh, I've got a lot ofquestions about that, but that
that seems like a huge lessonthere.
So, um um, are we leavinganything out that you're dying
to talk about?
Brett Auttonberry (36:10):
Uh well, we certainly wanted people to have
resources where to go and getnative plants.
Mike Gennaro (36:16):
This is tough.
Even after you explained it,I'm like it's just too much, I
don't know what to do.
Brett Auttonberry (36:23):
So the availability has come a long way
in the past decade in the pastfive years really, but in the
past decades for sure, sinceI've been in Baton Rouge dealing
.
It used to be just a couple ofnurseries in Ameet and one up in
North Louisiana, and then you'dhave to go to Georgia, alabama,
(36:47):
florida, for natives that wouldcoexist here because of being
grown in a certain ecotype.
Yeah, but it's really developeda lot, one with more than three
or four new clubs or orassociations, societies that
(37:08):
have really popped into activityand are doing their own sales.
You got Beaver's Abundance.
That's doing really great work.
Mike Gennaro (37:20):
Yeah, that's where I got everything, and it's cool
.
It gives you a receipt that hasall of the scientific names
that someone like me would neverhave remembered.
And then, like I, I used thatreceipt months later when I
completely forgot every name ofthings that were in my garden,
except beauty Barry, becausethat one's easy and and I mean
(37:42):
green hand nursery which is inBaker.
Brett Auttonberry (37:45):
Oh they do a lot of good natives they do.
They do your typical beddingstuff as well and vegetables and
things like that, but they willalso do growings of natives and
they'll plant what you ask themto plant.
Mike Gennaro (38:01):
I feel terrible for not knowing about green hen
right under my nose.
Sorry, I didn't support local,will you give?
Brett Auttonberry (38:06):
me a flat of rattlesnake master.
Oh sure, sure, no problem.
Okay, and they're usually atthe Farmer's Market downtown
Baton Rouge.
Okay, where's Green Hen?
They're in Baker, right off ofGibbons Road.
Yeah, so right across thestreet from what used to be the
entrance to the zoo, so it goesstraight across.
(38:27):
That's Gibbons Road.
Speaker 3 (38:28):
Yeah.
Brett Auttonberry (38:31):
And they're right down there on on one of
the, on that little canal, Onfrontage.
Speaker 3 (38:35):
Yeah.
Mike Gennaro (38:36):
Like on commercial frontage.
Brett Auttonberry (38:37):
No, no, it's their house.
Speaker 3 (38:39):
It's a house, and they have the greenhouse and she
works for.
Brett Auttonberry (38:43):
Mila works for Southern university and
agriculture department.
Andiab does most of the work.
Um, they're at the greenhouseand typically their output is
for the farmer's market thatthey go to.
Mike Gennaro (38:56):
Okay, and and they have, uh, customers from their
farmer's market that come andshop at their place got it so
you kind of maybe need to makefriends first and then go visit
on that farmer's market yeah,downtown farmer's market down in
down in baton rouge.
Brett Auttonberry (39:09):
What's that?
Mike Gennaro (39:11):
Red Stick Farmer's .
Brett Auttonberry (39:12):
Market.
Mike Gennaro (39:13):
What else you got?
Speaker 3 (39:19):
There's also Maypop Hill.
Brett Auttonberry (39:19):
Nursery which is up in Norwood.
Betty Miley has been up there.
Betty Miley is an old handnative plant.
She's been doing it for decadesand she's had a nursery up
there for 20 years now and shedoes some interesting
propagation work of some oddthings that you can't find in
other places.
(39:40):
Also, there's the Native PlantInitiative, that's NPI, out of
New Orleans and they do a lot ofplant sales out of the city
park greenhouses.
Speaker 3 (39:52):
Yeah, cool.
Brett Auttonberry (39:53):
Sometimes once a month, and I mean talk
about really beautiful specimensand a lot of variety On that
note.
Mike Gennaro (40:00):
So when I first got into this, you got to
forgive me.
I had this whenever I wasshopping for the native species.
I would just roll up atwhatever market and you know,
you see all the beautiful stuffat, like clays, like all these
other, these big production.
You know facilities and then,like the, the native offerings
(40:25):
might look like just a bunch ofabsolute trash at first Right,
please trust me on this.
But as soon as it grows alittle bit it will look amazing.
But it's not satisfying, likegoing to buy flowers that are
already in full bloom at yourlocal big box garden center.
Brett Auttonberry (40:43):
Okay, I just wanted to get that out.
That had been bred to look likethat in a pot so they can make a
3 000 profit on it yeah, yeah,that's why yeah, yeah I mean,
and and this is the time rightnow is the time to do your own
seed sowing of native nativeplants and and you can do.
That sounds complicated, but no, it's so easy.
(41:05):
Yeah, it's some potting soilwith about a half an inch of
head space around it.
Put the seed spread on thereevenly and spaced a bit, cover
it with some sand and leave itoutside.
Mike Gennaro (41:21):
I thought you were just going to say take the
seeds and throw them in the air,like I do.
Brett Auttonberry (41:25):
So that's not as like okay, and you can do
that.
If you just want to direct sowinto a garden someplace.
I mean, this is what they do.
Yeah, this whole thing aboutgorilla gardening just throwing
them to empty empty lots andhave a field of echinacea and
cosmos and blanket flower andall that in this empty lot.
Mike Gennaro (41:42):
Seeds over in there.
Yeah, echinacea is awesome.
You got to have that staple.
It's the big purple cone flowernow I did to depot's, granted,
I saw some huge, a hugeselection of purple cone flower
this summer yeah, what was thatat home depot you're talking
about?
Yeah, it was crazy I thought Iwas seeing an oasis or something
, but and they are uh you'regonna say something bad they're
(42:07):
cultivars.
Brett Auttonberry (42:08):
Okay, so that , yes, they are echinacea
purpurea.
Okay, um, their nectar contentis a fraction of what the native
straight up species is sothey're not doing as much
benefit for the wildlife as this.
Yeah, they're beautiful.
Yeah, they're more compact, soyou can really do something
(42:29):
crazy and structural with them.
But, they're really not doingthe work that the wildlife are
looking for.
The butterflies will go to it,but they'll have to go to it a
lot.
The bees will go to it, butthey'll have to go to it a lot
because the sugar content isn'tthere where they really need the
fuel, the food, right.
(42:50):
I mean you lose something whenyou breed for a particular look
or a particular trait and whenyou say you breed for height,
you don't want it over a foottall, yeah, you're also going to
lose something when you breedit say, oh, I want one that's
(43:12):
more pink, or I want one that'sgreen.
There's a green one out there.
Have you seen that one?
No, green echinacea Crazy.
I'm like nope, alien.
Yeah.
Mike Gennaro (43:26):
I mean, there's so much to be said about what
colors actually do, differentcolor spectrums to animals, eyes
and all these things like wherethey?
You know?
Just watch some.
David Nate.
Your last name is confusing me.
David Attenberry, who's the guyfrom Planet Earth?
Speaker 3 (43:43):
Oh.
Brett Auttonberry (43:44):
Attenborough.
Mike Gennaro (43:44):
Attenborough, not to be confused with Attenberry.
Speaker 3 (43:49):
Dang.
Mike Gennaro (43:55):
But yeah, like animals pick up on the craziest
minutiae and they like use thatas their sole survival method
sometimes.
Brett Auttonberry (44:00):
And yeah, the seed sowing that I'm talking
about a lot of it requires threeor four months of being under a
certain temperature.
So if you're sowing them nowoutside, they're going to get
that.
This is the time to get that.
I mean, you can do it in a pillbottle in the refrigerator
doing a moist stratification.
But you know high maintenance.
(44:22):
Why don't you just sew themoutside and just let them do
their thing and you'll see themstart coming up All right.
Mike Gennaro (44:27):
Well, okay, I've got a bamboo question.
Louisiana has some nativebamboos right.
I live right next door to abeautiful, beautiful railroad
track.
Like we, we feel the the thetrain rumbling.
It's so close.
So I was going to plant abamboo screen and they're
(44:48):
running and clumping.
That's the traditional thingpeople talk about like uh-oh,
don't buy the running onebecause it'll take over
everything.
But, um, are there anylouisiana native bamboos?
Brett Auttonberry (44:58):
that's not a question.
Mike Gennaro (44:59):
I have an answer to oh shoot, you're just ready
for that that one, that one Icould certainly research for you
yeah but I don't have it at thetime I I find particular appeal
in the, the giant Mosso bamboothat Avery Island is famous for.
It's just like this forest ofbamboo and it's incredible, but
yeah.
Brett Auttonberry (45:21):
We've lost a lot of that cane break.
Cane break, yes, yes, and thereare particular birds that have
evolved specifically for thesecane breaks and were at risk of
losing some of these things.
Speaker 3 (45:35):
Yeah.
Brett Auttonberry (45:37):
Because that's not there anymore.
It's been swept away through.
Mike Gennaro (45:41):
It has nothing to do with sugar cane, because
that's what I thought cane breakwas.
It's bamboo related.
Yeah, okay, all right, it'sbamboo related.
Brett Auttonberry (45:48):
Yeah, okay, all right.
Well, feel free everybody toclock in and correct me when I'm
wrong, cause I am no crazydoctorate, you know we haven't,
um, I don't know.
Mike Gennaro (46:00):
I we've got wonderful followers out there
and listeners and not a ton ofcorrecting.
You know when it's usuallypolitical in nature, if it ever,
uh, comes up, you, you knowwhen it's usually political in
nature, if it ever comes up, youknow.
But like, specifically,politics, political, but when it
comes to native gardening, youknow what.
You're in a completely safespace here.
If somebody wants to startcritiquing this, you're just
(46:22):
going to make a new friendbecause I'm going to be like you
know what?
Brett Auttonberry (46:25):
I know nothing Totally.
If somebody wants to critiqueit, it's like oh, there's
another resource for knowledgeright there.
Mike Gennaro (46:30):
Yeah, there's another nerd that I can hang out
with.
Right, let's keep together.
Yeah, exactly.
Well, I think that's a goodplace to wrap today.
You know I asked you thisearlier.
Is there anything that we'releaving out, Cause this is a big
, old topic and maybe give ussomething to ponder?
Brett Auttonberry (46:47):
uh, for next time yeah, I, I mean really the
the biggest thing is to, to, toget the plants in and and let
them live and get used to wherethey are.
Start small, but plan well.
At the same time, know whereyou're going to be putting the
plants and find the plants thatare conducive for that spot.
Whether you know the hydrologyof be putting the plants and
(47:09):
find the plants that areconducive for that spot.
Whether you know the hydrologyof it.
How much water is in the soil,how much water stays in the soil
, how does it flow through thesoil?
That's a huge aspect, isn't it?
It's a huge aspect andsomething that a lot of people
don't think about.
They go and plant somethingjust like.
This is a good place for this.
It'll, it'll.
It'll look really well with theshed once it's done.
Yeah, but you know, you reallyhave to think about these things
(47:31):
, and not just with natives,with with other things as well.
So just start, small plan.
Well, you know, geek out overit for a minute and and and make
sure it's the thing that youneed.
Mike Gennaro (47:43):
Yeah, then go do it and fail a little bit, try
again you know, Well, that's a.
That's a great place to endthis thing, um.
So we're, we're wishing youwell during this, this season,
you know um and please, please,please, send us pictures of your
uh, of your efforts and gardensout there.
Brett Auttonberry (48:03):
Um, maybe we get a pnp garden club together,
but uh and also you can apply tohave your your native plant
garden certified, like you didyes absolutely native plant
society.
Uh, they have the certifiedhabitat program and tell me how
much I spent again I think so.
I think that's what I spent.
Mike Gennaro (48:24):
Yeah, that's what I wanted to say, and you get a
sign for your yard, pays for theplaque and a nice, a good new
friend to come over and talkplant right um, yeah, there's
immense value in that.
You know why I I I did thisbecause I read an article about
swamp fly and what they weredoing had no idea what natives
were.
And it said, like, look for thestars in your local, you know
(48:47):
area of people who got certifiedand looked at zachary.
I was like we don't have anystars at all.
And then I find one popped upduring that course.
It was, I think I don't want tosay somebody's private name and
all that, but yeah somebodyright around throw his drones
throw away from me, and we hadone star and all of Zachary and
(49:08):
I was like well, and that'spartly my fault, because there's
a couple of more that I haven'tput on the spreadsheet yet.
Brett Auttonberry (49:14):
Well, how many do you think there are?
Swampfly did one right overhere.
Mike Gennaro (49:18):
Okay.
Brett Auttonberry (49:18):
Another stone's throw through you, and
it's beautiful.
Mike Gennaro (49:21):
Yeah, it's not a big property probably a quarter
of an acre.
Brett Auttonberry (49:24):
Yeah, there's a guy up north of East
Feliciana Parish that had hiscattle ranch done no way, and
it's amazing.
It's a great place.
It's got a lot of bottomland toit, it's got some rolling hills
to it and it's 58 acres.
Mike Gennaro (49:46):
If you have 58 acres, just make up any species.
You're not going to go combover all of it.
You checked it.
Brett Auttonberry (49:53):
You did, I checked it all right, all right,
but yeah, that's then the sideby side and just went out.
Yeah, you did.
Oh well, on the four wheel yeah, yeah, we got on the four wheel
and went out um, that's great.
Mike Gennaro (50:05):
That's great.
Brett Auttonberry (50:05):
Okay, so maybe five yeah come on, y'all,
you may have been number fiveall right.
Mike Gennaro (50:10):
Well, out of 20,000 in in Zachary and then
add Slaughter and West Westfell,I mean I'm sure Westfell has a
bunch, because I think I wasn'tthere in.
Speaker 3 (50:20):
Slaughter.
Brett Auttonberry (50:22):
Slaughter was there in Slaughter.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah sure, Isaw like two in Slaughter.
Mike Gennaro (50:26):
Is that about right?
Brett Auttonberry (50:28):
Yes, that sounds right.
Mike Gennaro (50:29):
Okay, all right.
So let's get on the map.
People Come on, get on the map.
Brett Auttonberry (50:34):
Let's bling the map up.
Mike Gennaro (50:35):
Bling the map up.
Yeah, go for gold, becausethere's bronze, silver and gold.
Maybe you'll be the first onesto get platinum out there, I
don't know.
But until next time.
This is Mike G saying happyholidays and good planting to
you.
Best of luck, bye-bye.
Brett Auttonberry (50:58):
America, america.
May God thy gold refine.
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On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!