Banner year for Virginia's Throwing Shade VA program
The Virginia Department of Forestry (DOF) wrapped up another Throwing Shade VA campaign in May and the numbers are in. Across Virginia, approximately 3,500 customers purchased 10,500 native trees and shrubs at 31 participating nursery locations. This represents an increase of nearly 3,000 trees over last year.
“Now in our fourth year of the Throwing Shade program, Virginians have responded enthusiastically across the Commonwealth,” said Urban and Community Forestry Partnership Coordinator Molly O’Liddy. “This discount program helps DOF meet our goal of getting more native trees and shrubs into the hands of customers, who then get them into the ground. Together, Virginians are expanding biodiversity, and providing necessary food and habitat for wildlife, especially to sustain our indispensable pollinators. We are grateful to all of our nursery partners who have embraced and supported this program across the state.”
DOF added four new nurseries this year, bringing the total number of participating nurseries to 19 and the total number of locations to 31. New areas included the Eastern Shore (Grizzard Farms and Nurseries), Southside (Puckett Nursery and Greenhouses) and two in Southwestern Virginia (Thomas Hollow Nursery and Davis Brothers Nursery).
“It was an honor to participate in the program because it took our core goal of providing native plants to the community to the next level,” said Charlie Grizzard, owner of Grizzard Farms and Nurseries. “Beyond the obvious ecological and environmental benefits, the program more than doubled our business this spring. It attracted a wave of new customers who have now become regulars at our nursery.”
Since the Throwing Shade VA program launched in 2023, DOF has partnered with retail nurseries to offer discounts on eligible native trees and shrubs. Customers are incentivized to use natives in their landscaping plans with a $25 discount on eligible trees valued at $50 or more. As native plants evolve in Virginia’s ecosystems, they are more adapted to their natural environment and thus more likely to thrive.
Support for this program comes from state water quality improvement funds, which DOF uses to reimburse nurseries for the discounts. All trees planted through this program are reported as part of the state’s Phase III Watershed Implementation Plan. Customer surveys help DOF track progress towards the Commonwealth’s water quality improvement goals. This also helps inform DOF of funding decisions for future planting projects.
