Roots on the Route

Roots on the Route Roots on the Route is a free native plant stand located on the uptown parade route.

The purpose of the stand is to promote the use of and access to native plants, while building community around a shared love of gardening with native plants.

08/25/2026

Let’s talk about Black Eyed Susans, part 2! We covered Rudbeckia hirta in part 1 and now we're going to dive into Rudbeckia fulgida. This is another spring and summer bloomer, but unlike R. hirta, it's a perennial, so it lasts more than one year.

If you're interested in learning more about different Rudbeckia species, be sure to watch the full series!

08/24/2026

Let’s talk about Black Eyed Susans! Black eyed susan is a generic common name that is often associated with many different species within the genus Rudbeckia. So I picked 5 species that I have in my garden and I’ll walk you through what conditions they grow best in and what they look like, beyond just the yellow flower. This is going to be a 5 part series, starting with Rudbeckia hirta.

08/22/2026

Although it may not have been a hurricane that came through yesterday, this time of year stirs up alot of feelings about living here, surviving here, and even gardening here. So, let the winds stay calm and your plants stay upright the rest of this season.

How are your free plants doing? Did they thrive or die?This Helianthus angustifolius that someone shared is now over 6' ...
08/21/2026

How are your free plants doing? Did they thrive or die?

This Helianthus angustifolius that someone shared is now over 6' tall and I can't wait for it to bloom!

08/19/2026

The seeds I sowed for a fall giveaway are lookin' good! For those interested in growing them yourselves, the Salvia coccinea seeds were sprinkled on the surface of the soil, not buried, while winecups were buried very lightly. I also forgot to mention in the video that in addition to the cold stratification, I poured hot water over the winecup seeds and let them soak for 24 hours before putting them in a damp paper towel and then inside a ziplock for 30 days. website has great information on how to do this and also provides the specific requirements for most of the species I'm giving away if you want to look them up.

08/17/2026

Who doesn't love the idea of floating yellow ghost in their garden? That's what Rudbeckia texana, Texas coneflower, looks like to me. I transplanted this in the spring from my front garden to my backyard as it wasn't getting enough sun under the oak tree and I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly it bloomed. I can't wait to see how it fills in next year! I won't have too many seeds to share but I still have some remnants of the original plant in the front yard that I plan to dig up and include in a future give away.

08/16/2026

I walk by this park every day and I can't help but feel like this city has just given up. Given up on the idea of living with water. Given up on the idea of doing something new, different, perhaps difficult. Given up on the idea of learning from the past. I don't expect a wild meadow here, but along the edges where the water rushes out onto Napoleon Ave, you could have put some native sedges and some native forbs to attract pollinators. There are many local organizations who would have likely volunteered their knowledge, maybe even their time, to make this happen. It could have been an educational opportunity for the neighboring school. They could have still had their area to run and play soccer.

As a former government employee, I know it can be extremely difficult to break through the status quo and push an agency in a different direction. I also understand the need to find compromise in order to build consensus. Maybe there were loud voices within the agency that tried to do something different in this park and lost out. If this message reaches you, I see you and I hear you.

Does anyone have any Monarda fistulosa (aka horsemint, wild bergamot) ready for seed harvesting in their garden and woul...
08/15/2026

Does anyone have any Monarda fistulosa (aka horsemint, wild bergamot) ready for seed harvesting in their garden and would be willing to share with me? I wasn't able to collect any from my own garden and would love to include this as a giveaway in the stand next spring (yes, I'm already planning for next year lol). Will happily trade you any seeds from my stash (I have around 25-30 species to choose from!).

08/14/2026

I could have sworn I only put one seed in each cell ...

I've been doing some test runs over the summer to get my methods down and work out the kinks so that by winter I can scale up and grow lots of native plants for you all! I'm researching each species and learning what it takes. My initial trials were done outside but it was becoming really hard to get the right amount of light while not frying the plants. Thankfully a generous friend of the stand donated their entire setup to me allowing me to grown indoors during this time.

I am far from an expert but perhaps I'll make a series soon covering each step from prepping the seeds to soil considerations to light requirements (which for me has been the hardest) and all the things that I've done wrong along the way 😊.

08/13/2026

I love Helenium autumnale (common sneezeweed) so much! I look forward to sharing these seeds with you all because I think everyone needs this cheery yellow plant in their garden. It gets a bit top heavy so I end up having to stake it; maybe next year I'll try chelsea chopping it before it buds.

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706 Napoleon Avenue
New Orleans, LA

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