Growing native plants of Appalachia to rewild and reconnect your garden with nature!
We strive to offer healthy, genetically diverse, locally adapted plants native to the Appalachian region for gardening, landscaping, and restoration.
Our goals are…
to make gardening with native plants easy, fun and affordable.
to raise awareness of how the decisions individuals make in their yards impacts the environment for better or worse.
to help you create habitat to support wild bees, butterflies, birds and more!
to supply garden plants that are not only beautiful but also functional and low maintainance.
to promote understanding and appreciation of botany and ecology.
to build community and offer opportuties to meet, learn, and grow together.
We hope to grow and branch into an organization that provides the community with a place to grow connections, share knowledge, and plant seeds of hope for a more sustainable, biodiverse, and healthy ecosystem and future.
We hope to provide the plants and information you need whether your goal is to create a small garden that supports bees, butterflies, birds, and beautifies your yard, or if you have ambitions to rewild and restore habitats at a larger scale. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us and discuss your needs. We’ll do all we can to support you and to rewild, restore, and reconnect Appalachia.
Appalachia Flora is a partnership between skilled farmer Brian Ader and plant ecologist Amanda Benoit, PhD. Brian formerly owned and operated Lacewing Farm and sold organic produce at the Knoxville farmer’s market. In 2022 Brian decided to change directions and shift from growing veggies to native plants. He teamed up with Amanda, a plant evolutionary ecologist, who teaches field botany, plant ecology, among other classes, and is a native plant gardening enthusiast. Together Brian and Amanda work to source seeds and grow a diverse array of native plants with great ecological utility and unparalled beauty.