For Immediate Release

Shirley Luna – February 9, 2004

Native Plant Expert Featured at SFA Mast Arboretum Les Reeves Lecture Series

Jill Nokes, well-known author, landscape designer, wholesale nursery owner, and proponent of native plants, will be the featured speaker for the Les Reeves Lecture Series at 7 p.m. Feb.19 in the Agriculture Building, Room 110, at Stephen F. Austin State University. Her lecture, “Flor Y Canto – Flower and Song- Xoxhitl en Cuicatl,” will explore the ethnobotanical garden, a study in the plant lore of a race, in Oaxaca, Mexico. The lecture is free and open to the public. No reservations are required, and a rare plant raffle is held after the lecture.

Nokes' book on the propagation and cultivation of native Texas plants, “How to Grow Native Plants of Texas and the Southwest,” is one of the first books in the region to promote the use and production of native plants and naturalistic landscape design. Books will be available for purchase at the lecture.

In her landscape design business, Nokes works with both commercial and residential clients, helping them to develop a sustainable plan using native and adapted plants that thrive despite extreme climate demands. Recent projects include several award-winning houses: a ranch house near Laredo; a German-Texan heritage garden in Columbus; two writers’ residences in Marfa, Texas, for the Lannan Foundation; a new bank in Eagle Pass, Texas; as well as numerous residential projects in the Austin and Central Texas area.

Jill Nokes graduated from the University of Texas and earned a master's degree in horticulture from Texas A&M University. She has operated a wholesale nursery and worked as a landscape consultant and designer for more than 15 years. She is a frequent lecturer at workshops and conferences throughout the state and regularly appears on radio and television.

For more information, contact the SFA Mast Arboretum Education Office at (936) 468-1832.

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