Nearly 80 years of innovation demonstrate why the most resilient landscapes begin with the right plants—and the right roots.
LOS ANGELES, July 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — For nearly 80 years, Forrest Keeling Nursery has quietly helped shape healthier forests, stronger waterways, stronger communities, and more resilient landscapes across North America. That story will soon reach a national audience through an upcoming feature on the award-winning educational television series Empowered with Meg Ryan.
Every successful landscape begins long before the first tree is planted. It begins with choosing plants that belong—native plants adapted to their region and capable of thriving for generations rather than merely surviving for a season.
That belief has guided Forrest Keeling Nursery since 1948. Long before ‘green infrastructure’ and ‘nature-based solutions’ became industry buzzwords, the family-owned nursery understood that healthy ecosystems, vibrant communities, and enduring landscapes all begin with healthy roots.
Today, under the leadership of President Kim Lovelace, Forrest Keeling continues that vision by helping landscape architects, municipalities, conservation organizations, government agencies, developers, growers, foresters, and landowners design landscapes that perform—not just at planting, but decades into the future.
“People don’t buy plants. They buy outcomes. They buy cleaner water, healthier forests, stronger communities, more productive farms, and landscapes that perform for decades. That’s the business we’re really in.” – Kim Lovelace
Based in Elsberry, Missouri, Forrest Keeling produces more than 1.5 million native seedlings, liners, and container-grown plants annually. Through its patented RPM® (Root Production Method), rigorous regional seed sourcing, and decades of research, the nursery has become one of the nation’s leading sources of native plant materials for restoration, urban forestry, agroforestry, wetland mitigation, conservation, and resilient landscape design.
Following the devastating Mississippi and Missouri River floods of the early 1990s, CEO Wayne Lovelace recognized that rebuilding forests required more than replacing trees. It required producing plants with stronger, more fibrous root systems and matching them to the environments where they naturally belong. That philosophy continues to define Forrest Keeling today.
The nursery’s work has helped restore landscapes after Hurricane Katrina, contributed to reforestation efforts supporting healthier urban environments before the Beijing Olympics, aided recovery following Iowa’s derecho and the 2025 St. Louis tornado, and supported thousands of public and private projects where long-term performance matters.
Forrest Keeling believes native plants are more than landscape products—they are living infrastructure. Healthy roots stabilize streambanks, improve water quality, reduce maintenance costs, support wildlife, strengthen urban forests, and build healthier, more resilient communities.
This philosophy is embodied in the company’s guiding principle: Design Once. Perform for Decades.™ Rather than designing landscapes that require continual correction, Forrest Keeling helps create landscapes that belong from the beginning and improve over time.
Beyond growing exceptional plants, Forrest Keeling is committed to advancing the profession through education. Its nationally recognized Fall Field Day, participation in conferences including Partners in Conservation, a YouTube video suite, and books such as ‘Tales and Trails with Grandpa Wayne’ and ‘Native Plants Are Urban Infrastructure’ reflect a commitment to helping others understand that people don’t simply buy plants—they invest in outcomes.
Those outcomes are measured by cleaner water, healthier forests, restored habitat, productive farms, thriving wildlife, cooler cities, and communities strengthened by landscapes built to endure.
As viewers watch the upcoming Empowered feature, they will discover a company that has quietly helped protect and shape the future of American landscapes for nearly eight decades—not by following trends, but by helping nature do what it has always done best.
At Forrest Keeling, ‘Native is our Brand.’ It is more than a tagline; it reflects a decades-long commitment to growing regionally appropriate native plants that restore ecological function while creating landscapes of lasting beauty and performance.
For Forrest Keeling Nursery, success has never been measured by how many plants leave the nursery. It is measured years later by forests still growing, waterways running cleaner, wildlife returning, and landscapes still performing.
Restoring the earth’s ecosystems. One tree at a time.
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SOURCE Empowered with Meg Ryan
