Native Plant Advocacy Program Highlights Lincoln Landscape Designer

Landscape designer and educator Sue Bartelette inspects ferns with an attendee at a Lincoln University Cooperative Extension workshop on May 2.

Landscape designer and long-time native plant advocate Sue Bartelette was recently recognized by Grow Native!, a Missouri Prairie Foundation program that promotes the use of native plants in natural and built landscapes.

Grow Native! recognized Bartelette both as the owner of Flower and Garden Design in Jamestown, Missouri, and as a member of Lincoln University Cooperative Extension’s (LUCE) Specialty Crops Program — both of which are professional members of Grow Native!

Bartelette came to Lincoln University of Missouri (LU) around 15 years ago and has been involved with Grow Native! since the beginning.

She said the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) began the program to encourage people to grow more native plants.

As a professional deeply rooted in native plant landscaping, Bartelette supported the program from the ground up. She supplied insights at meetings and conferences, offering the perspective of a working designer who had long used native plants in her projects.

“There’s something about gardening and feeding yourself where it doesn’t matter what else is going on," Bartelette said."You know what’s important? We need food, shelter and community. That’s what’s important. Food is a big part of that, and if we don’t have native plants, our food situation suffers.”

The MDC passed Grow Native! on to the Missouri Department of Agriculture, which eventually stepped away completely, leaving the Missouri Prairie Association to nurture the organization.

Bartelette became a Grow Native! Certified Professional in 2023. Launched in 2022, the certification program recognizes members’ knowledge and skill in working with native plants professionally. Grow Native! members must pass an exam to earn their certification and then earn continued education credits to maintain it.

Bartelette said the certification process was so engaging and informative she wishes she could take the exam again. She routinely attends webinars, events and workshops, demonstrating her commitment to continued education in native plants.

In addition to improving members’ knowledge of native plants, certification is also reflected in the Grow Native! Resource Guide.

The guide lists businesses and organizations that specialize in native plants, with certification serving as a mark of professional expertise.

Bartelette’s commitment to native plants runs deep. Since launching her landscape design business in 1995 — and through years of experience before that — she has always used native plants in her work. The biggest difference between now and then is the scope of Bartelette’s impact.

As a private business owner, she can only help one client at a time, and those are often wealthy individuals or larger businesses.

Joining Lincoln University Cooperative Extension gave Bartelette the ability to share her knowledge of native plants with a broader audience, reaching underserved communities through workshops and cooperative projects.

Bartelette works alongside Dr. Nadia Navarrete-Tindall in the Specialty Crops Program. While Navarrete-Tindall leads instruction on native plants and specialty crops, Bartelette guides participants in designing and installing gardens using native species.

“My job is kind of to fill in and enhance what she’s doing,” Bartelette said. “I’m pretty pleased to work with her and Grow Native!”

Grow Native! highlighted Bartelette’s design of LU’s Native Plant Outdoor Laboratory in 2009 and the LU Finca EcoFarm in 2012.

Located in front of LU’s Allen Hall, the Native Plant Outdoor Laboratory is an educational garden featuring a bounty of native plants. It was inducted as an inaugural Native Garden of Excellence by Grow Native! in 2021.

The Finca EcoFarm, located just down the street, features raised beds and greenhouses and produces native fruit, greens, flowers and more.

Grow Native! also recognized Bartelette’s design of a garden installed at Nottingham Apartments in Kansas City, Missouri in 2020. As part of a collaboration between LUCE Specialty Crops, Grow Native! and Westside Housing, residents of the apartments learned how to design, install and maintain a native plant garden.

When Bartelette found out Grow Native! was highlighting her work, she said she appreciated the recognition but didn’t need it. She said she measures success by her work’s impact.

“Success for me is when I see adult butterflies in April," Bartelette said. "If I see adult butterflies and moths in April, I know I’ve established a habitat for them to take shelter in over the winter."