Wildflowers for Wildlife Native Plant Sale

Create a beautiful native garden with colorful flowers that attract butterflies, birds, and pollinating insects, and find the plants to use. The Horicon Marsh Education and Visitor Center is the location for the 2025 Wildflowers for Wildlife event on Saturday, May 17 from 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. 

This year, we are continuing our partnership with a brand-new native plant business called Bombus. Nestled in the hills of Wisconsin’s driftless area near Dodgeville, WI, Bombus is a woman-owned small business. The name “Bombus” comes from the Bumblebee’s scientific genus name and is a nod to the company’s commitment to the health of our native pollinators. While Bombus itself is new on the scene, founder Corrine Daniels, “Corrie”, is not. She and her husband, Patrick, have more than 25 years of restoration and native nursery experience. Corrie formerly served as the director of Applied Ecological Services’ Taylor Creek Restoration Nurseries. She now grows natives full-time on her family’s historic dairy farm with the help of her husband, daughters, and 80-year-old father. The family is thrilled to bring life back to the former dairy farm where Corrie and her father grew up and where her grandmother was born. They are equally delighted to bring you natives lovingly grown in the rich farmlands of Wisconsin.

Why native plants? Native landscaping restores ecosystems that once covered the Midwestern landscape but are now reduced to small parcels. Once native plants are restored, the birds, mammals, reptiles, and beneficial insects return, too. Native plants also enrich the soil, decrease run-off, and filter pollution. In the long run, native landscaping can save money annually in maintenance costs. Native plants have evolved to thrive in a local environment, which means less watering, fertilizer, and time. Experts will be on hand to answer all of your questions!

Partners include Bombus, Friends of Horicon Marsh Education and Visitor Center, WDNR, Friends of Horicon National Wildlife Refuge, and the USFWS.

Native plants are available for pre-order until March 31, 2025. NEW this year: we will have both paper and online pre-orders. Information for both can be found at www.horiconmarsh.org.

For more information about plants, contact Jennifer Kakatsch at jennifer.kakatsch@wisconsin.gov or by phone at (920) 387-7889. For details about the sale, please contact Liz Herzmann at elizabeth.herzmann@wisconsin.gov or 920-210-9054.

The Horicon Marsh Education and Visitor Center is located between Horicon and Mayville on Highway 28. For a detailed list of all Horicon Marsh Education and Visitor Center special events, please visit the Friends of Horicon Marsh website at www.horiconmarsh.org.