My name’s Dan Holtmeyer, and I’m founder and owner of Ozark Roots, a native plant nursery with a mission to help the Ozarks region adapt to a changing climate while protecting its essential natural resources. I do this by growing wildflowers, grasses, shrubs and trees that are tolerant of drought and other extremes, native to the Ozark Plateau region, wild-type and beneficial in a variety of contexts, including home gardens and natural areas. My greenhouse is in Cave Springs, Arkansas.
I’ve always been fascinated by the natural world and our place in it, and I’ve often felt anxious and overwhelmed by the many environmental issues we’ve caused, not just pollution and climate change but also the fact that there’s less habitat, less diversity, less abundance — less nature.
Native plants can’t solve all of these problems alone, but amazingly, they can help with all of them at once. They make a difference. They give me hope. They can do the same for you.