Grow Native! Native Plant Festival and Sale

When: Saturday, September 19, 2025, from 9 am to 3 pm

Native Plant Nurseries:
Grow Wild Nursery (Brooktondale, NY)
Amanda’s Native Garden (Dansville, NY)
Spicebush Swallowtail Native Plants (Pittsford, NY)
Cornell Botanic Gardens (Ithaca, NY)
Lazy Dirt Wildflower Farm (Mexico, NY)

Fall is an excellent time to plant native trees, shrubs and perennials so please join us for fun, food and flowers at the 4th annual Grow Native! Native Plant Festival and Sale. Come early (9 am) for a guided nature walk with New York State Master Naturalist Volunteer, Pete Saracino, and stay for our special guest speakers:
Janice Wiles from Go Native! Perennials,
John Price from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Seed Bank
and Brian Hoven, Assistant Professor of Biology at SUNY Geneseo.

Learn how to create and manage habitats, meadows and native gardens and collect native seeds responsibly while getting updates on NY State’s native seed supply chain. Investigate the many ways invasive species get established and affect native ecosystems. Join our native pollinator expert from SUNY ESF Bee Campus, Jake Keller, for a bug sweep around the marsh or duck into the tent for a Plant Propagation Workshop with Krissy Boys from Finger Lakes Native Plant Society. Don’t forget to stop by for a chat with our own Wildlife Biologist, Linda Ziemba. Visit native plant vendors and artisans throughout the day. Enjoy wine tasting from Montezuma Winery and lunch from the Big Awesome BBQ Food Truck while listening to the tunes of the Amy Lynn Band. Follow it up with ice cream from Cayuga Lake Creamery and end your day with a birding adventure on the Wildlife Drive with Audubon Environmental Educator, Fred Leff.

This fall take a walk on the wild side and enjoy a fun-filled “day of discovery” at the Refuge!

“Come for the flowers, stay for the fun!”