Quail Forever Partners with Hernando, Mississippi’s Parks and Recreation

Partnership helps improve city park with three-acre wildflower planting

By Rachel Holt

Yarrow, Black-eyed Susan, Coneflower, Milkweed, Partridge pea and Aster are all wildflowers you may expect to see as you walk through a wild native prairie somewhere out in the rural countryside…or Renasant City Park in Hernando, Mississippi.

Tucked just a mile from the town’s historic square, the 70-acre park is becoming something more than a traditional recreation space. On a three-and-a-half-acre patch of former row crop land, the city is working to restore it into a diverse, native wildflower meadow, a glimpse of what it once historically was.

“It’s been row crop as far back as we can see, even in satellite images from the 1950’s,” said Jared Barkley, director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Hernando. “So this is really about reclaiming that property and showing what it could have been before settlement.”

That restoration effort is being guided in part by Quail Forever, which partnered with the city to help design and implement the planting. 

Quail Forever biologists worked with local partners to develop a management plan and a carefully curated seed mix tailored to the site. Drawing on regional knowledge and existing plant communities, the team selected a diverse blend of native wildflowers and grasses that would thrive in Hernando’s soils, while also offering forbs with different bloom periods to stay aesthetically pleasing year-round.

“We wanted as much diversity as we could get,” said John Mark Curtis, Alabama and Mississippi state coordinator for Quail Forever. “But also, something that would be attractive and engaging for people walking through the park.”

That balance, between science and accessibility, is at the heart of the project.

Unlike many Quail Forever projects that focus on working lands or large-scale habitat restoration, this planting sits squarely within a suburban park setting. For Curtis, that makes it uniquely valuable.

“Not everybody has the opportunity to go out to the middle of public land or manage an acreage,” he said. “Having something like this available to everyone in the community is really important.”

The site itself is well-suited for the transformation. Located near a creek branch, the bottomland soil is fertile. With a mix of sun exposure and seasonal moisture, those conditions can support a wide variety of native plants. But getting it ready required patience.

Following guidance from Quail Forever, Hernando’s park staff spent much of 2025 preparing the ground. Multiple herbicide treatments targeted invasive species like Johnson grass and Bahia, followed by mowing to reduce dense growth and expose the soil. By fall, the site was finally ready.

Wildflowers, Curtis explained, drop their seeds in late fall and winter, allowing them to settle into the soil and experience natural cycles of cold and moisture before germinating. By planting during this same window, between late fall and early spring, managers give those seeds the best chance to succeed.

“We’re trying our best to mimic what those plants would naturally do,” Curtis said. “We’re giving them as much opportunity as possible to set them up for success.”

Positioned alongside walking trails and near a planned pavilion, the meadow is designed to be interactive. Visitors won’t just pass by; they’ll be encouraged to step closer and learn. From tracking seasonal blooms to documenting insects and birds, the site offers educational opportunities.

“It’s not meant to be a museum piece,” Barkley said. “We want people to get into it, to see what’s changing, what’s new and what they didn’t notice before.”

That educational component extends beyond casual visitors. The city envisions partnerships with local schools, extension offices and conservation groups, using the meadow as a living classroom.

Beyond benefitting pollinators and wildlife, the planting introduces people to the richness of native plant communities, something Curtis said is often overlooked.

“We have incredible floral diversity in the Southeast, and a lot of people just don’t realize it,” he said. “This gives them a chance to see it up close and appreciate it.”

Barkley hopes the project serves as a model, not only for other parks, but for private landowners as well. By demonstrating what’s possible and how to get there, it lowers the barrier for others interested in restoring native habitat.

“It can feel daunting if you don’t know where to start,” Barkley said. “But having partners like Quail Forever, and a place like this to point to, makes a big difference.”

In time, what once was a uniform field may become a patchwork of diversity and life. A place where people can stop and smell the roses, or in this case, maybe a Prairie Blazingstar.