The Friends camellia and native plant sale is being held during the Bayou Gardens Open House event

February 10, 2024

The Friends of Louisiana Wildlife Refuges, Inc. will hold their annual camellia and native plant sale during the 2024 Bayou Gardens Open House event. The plant sale will begin promptly at 9 AM on event day and will continue until the last plant is sold.

The Bayou Gardens Open House event is held each year as the extensive collection of camellias on the grounds of the  Southeast Louisiana National Wildlife Refuges Headquarters Complex is in bloom. The event is free and is from 9 AM until 3 PM on February 24, 2024, at the US Fish & Wildlife Service's refuge complex at 61389 LA-434 in Lacombe, LA.

Details on the Bayou Gardens Open House can be found HERE

This is a list of camellia varieties we will be selling at the February 24th Bayou Gardens Open House (order from left to right starting on the top row of the photo):

Black Magic Dr. Tinsley Leslie Ann Kumasaka White Empress Jeffery Hood

R. L. Wheeler Lady Claire Nina Avery Sugar Daddy

The camellias will be priced at $25 for a three-gallon pot.

Mizell's Camellia Hill Nursery is our supplier for the sale. We greatly appreciate their working with us on a consignment basis for our sale. Paige Mizell of Mizell's Camellia Hill Nursery will be one of the guest speakers during the event, so she can fill in our purchasers with all they need to know to grow camellias successfully.

We will also be selling native plants. The native plant/pollinator garden movement has taken off nationwide in recent years. People have learned that typical home landscaping offers little support to butterflies and other pollinators. The movement began when it became apparent that the number of these pollinators was in a significant decline.

Native plants we will be selling are shown above. (Part one, left to right from top.)

• Asclepias perennis (Aquatic Milkweed) *Florida genetics

• Chasmanthium latifolium (Inland Wood Oats)

• Eryngium integrifolium (Blueflower Eryngo)

• Eupatorium serotinum (Late Boneset)

• Lythrum alatum (Winged Loosestrife)

• Monarda punctata (Spotted Horsemint)

Native plants we will be selling are shown above. (Part two, left to right from top.)

• Penstemon tenuis (Gulf Coast Penstemon)

• Pycnanthemum albescens (Whiteleaf Mountain Mint)

• Scutellaria drummondii (Drummond's Skullcap)

• Stokesia laevis (Stoke's Aster)

• Symphyotrichum lateriflorum (Calico Aster)

• Verbesina virginica (Frostweed)

• Viola sororia (Common Blue Violet)

Native plants we will be selling are shown above. (Part three, left to right from top.)

• Pyrropappus caroliniana

• Dracopis amplexicaulis, Clasping Coneflower

• Lyreleaf Sage

• Monarda Citriodora, Lemon Bee Balm

• Coreopsis tinctoria

• Coral Honeysuckle vine

This sale is an important fundraiser for our yearly activities in support of the Southeast Louisiana refuges and helping the US Fish & Wildlife Service put on free events like the Bayou Gardens Open House and Wild Things. It also is a draw that brings people out to the event.

If you would like to personally make a difference in being sure our Southeast Louisiana National Wildlife Refuges accomplish all of its varied purposes, you can do so by volunteering to help with our plant sale. Please send us an email at lwrfriends@gmail.com if you'd like to.

Friends Photography Club?

February 8, 2024

Several years ago the Friends of Louisiana Wildlife Refuges had a member's Photography Club. We are now interested in seeing if our membership is interested in re-establishing the club.

The club would be a way for our members who are interested in photography to share their pictures, techniques, and information on their equipment. (Some of our members are professional photographers.) The original Photo Club reached a total membership of over 50 people.

If you are interested in participating in a Friends of the Refuge Photo Club, please send us an email at lwrfriends@gmail.com

Refuge Highlight: Mandalay National Wildlife Refuge

February 8, 2024

The US Fish & Wildlife's Mandalay National Wildlife Refuge is located near Houma, La. The 4,619-acre refuge is composed of freshwater marsh and cypress-tupelo swamp. The refuge provides habitat for waterfowl, wading birds, and songbirds.

The refuge's freshwater marshes attract thousands of migratory waterfowl. Forested habitats provide critical spring and fall habitat for migratory birds. A unique habitat at Mandalay is a floating marsh called a flotant marsh. The refuge is intersected with levees and man-made canals and bisected by the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway.

It has a one-mile out-and-back nature trail that is considered an easy route, that takes an average of 25 minutes to complete. However, you may want to stroll and linger because this is a popular spot for birding, and its remoteness allows you to enjoy some solitude during quieter times of the day. It has a short boardwalk at its end that overlooks the marsh. You'll need to leave pups at home — dogs aren't allowed on this trail.

There are Louisiana irises growing along the nature trail that typically bloom during mid to late March. They were in full bloom during the third week of March in 2023.

Other access is by boat only, and foot travel is extremely difficult due to the soft marsh environment. The refuge is open year-round to the public from sunrise to sunset, with seasonal restrictions in some areas. Wildlife observation, boating, and fishing are allowed on the refuge year-round except in areas closed to public access. Hunting is permitted on the refuge in specific areas and under date, time, and lottery restrictions, but not near the nature trail.

Parking is limited to a few cars, but rarely too many people visit at one time for this to create a problem.

Access to the parking lot is down the gravel Rue de la Manson Road off Black Bayou Drive (Hwy 182).