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Native plants in public spaces

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Article by Plant NOVA Natives

Shopping center parking lots and other public spaces can be tree-lined havens from the summer heat, with beautiful blossoms to induce people to linger. Imagine yourself resting on a shaded bench, listening to the birds as you enjoy watching the people stroll by.  Do the commercial spaces in your town look like this, or do you find yourself hurrying from car to building to get out of the glaring heat? Wouldn’t you prefer to do your shopping at the place with more greenery? 

Commercial establishments across the region are starting to appreciate the return on investment of native plants. There are practical reasons related to the fact that they are adapted to the Virginia climate. Native Virginia plants require less watering (once established) than rows of annuals and only need to be planted once. Native shrubs such as Virginia Sweetspire require no pruning and provide more natural-looking alternatives to conventional landscaping choices that get leggy with continuous trimming. No fertilizers and pesticides are needed, either. Beyond the practicalities, though, companies that choose native plants are signaling to the public that they are good corporate citizens who care about our common home and are working to preserve our heritage. 

In many cases, property managers are taking the simple step of swapping out the non-native in their curbside beds for reliable natives such as Threadleaf Coreopsis, Common Yucca, Black-Eyed Susan and Common Yarrow. Winterberry Holly, with its bright red berries, has become a popular choice to place next to buildings. Some landscapers are installing innovative designs that give the property a whole new look, incorporating a wide variety of shrubs and ornamental trees such as Redbud and great swaths of native grasses such as Switchgrass waving in the breeze. An example of that can be seen at Caboose Commons in Fairfax, where imaginative landscaping adds a new dimension to the dining experience. Still other establishments such as Vienna Vintner have planted extensive pollinator gardens leading up to their entrances, with flowers that bloom in succession and attract butterflies from early spring to late fall. 

You may have noticed sidewalks and parking lots that have sunken islands. Stormwater retention areas, which are mandatory for new development, provide an opportunity for creative landscaping. Water and drought tolerant trees such as Red Maple and Serviceberry can provide shade while their roots absorb the runoff. Native grasses, perennials and shrubs help clean the water while adding color and interest to the design. 

Photos and details about landscaping with native plants in commercial spaces can be found on the Plant NOVA Natives website. The Caboose Commons project is highlighted in the first Plant NOVA Natives video for landscape professionals. Produced by volunteer Joe Bruncsak, owner of Blue Land Media, this series of very short videos will feature projects that exemplify landscape design at its best.

2nd Annual Native Plants for Beginners

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Saturday, February 8, 2020, 6:00-7:30pm

Northern Virginia Community College, Woodbridge VA

More details and registration info to follow. See plantnovanatives.org for more information.

Using native plants to deal with drought (and deluges)

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Margaret Fisher

Neither droughts nor deluges are new to Northern Virginia, but as everyone has noticed, weather extremes are becoming more common. The prolonged drought this year that followed a wet 2018 was particularly hard on plants, as roots that have been weakened by too much water and accompanying fungi are more vulnerable the following year. When choosing which species to plant, we need to keep in mind the likelihood of these stressors repeating themselves in the future.

People living in the western part of the United States are more used to xeriscaping – planting for a dry environment – than those of us on the east coast. Lawns in California are being converted to native plantings at a rapid rate. But Virginians have been lulled by plentiful rainfall into settling for empty expanses of turf grass as the default landscaping choice, and those lawns start to look pretty peaked after weeks of drought. Fortunately, most native Virginia plants that have been installed in appropriate conditions held up quite well during our recent long dry spell. The gorgeous asters and goldenrods that define our fall landscape were no less beautiful this year. Having evolved here, they are used to both wet and dry summers. The exceptions tended to be plant species that have been experiencing ongoing stresses from disease, such as the Flowering Dogwood, and new plantings – all plants need appropriate amounts of water until they get established. By “appropriate,” we mean “not too much!” After the first few days, rainfall may indeed provide all that is needed during a wet spell, and supplying so much water that the plant never dries out is a good way to kill many native plants.

Determining which plants can withstand drought is not entirely straightforward. For instance, some of the best trees for dry, compacted soil are ones such as Baldcypress that normally live in swamps. They tolerate standing water not so much because they need the extra moisture but because they can deal with conditions of low oxygen. One way to quickly assemble a list of drought-tolerant plants is to look at recommendations for rain gardens. Rain gardens are designed to hold water for a couple days after a storm but then to absorb the water into the soil, leaving the plants dry in between. Another good reference is the plant lists for professionals page on the Plant NOVA Natives website. The plants in bold have been curated to include those that are particularly reliable as well as widely available, with detailed notations about their cultural needs.

Are you puzzling over where to install native plants instead of turf grass? Start where it is difficult or dangerous to mow, or where grass is growing poorly already. Or simply plop some shade trees in the middle of your lawn. In time, the summer temperatures in your yard will be noticeably lower.

Landscape professionals supporting our local wildlife

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article by  Plant NOVA Natives staff

On August 7, over a hundred people attended Plant NOVA Natives’ first conference on native plants for professionals, including representatives from 39 professional landscaping companies. Although homeowners can drive demand for native plants, most residential and commercial landscapes in Northern Virginia have been designed and installed by professionals. If our neighborhoods are to evolve in a way that supports the local ecosystem, landscaping industry leadership will be critical.

The Plant NOVA Natives campaign is not just about educating citizens about why and how to use native plants as a first step toward creating home habitat. The campaign also creates resources that are tailored to the needs of professionals. This has included the development of a reference guide that identifies locally native plants that are reliable, widely available, beautiful, and suitable for conventional landscape settings. Curb appeal is important to customers and can be easily obtained using the right native plants. This guide and other resources can be found in the professionals section of the Plant NOVA Natives website.

The conference agenda included three hour-long presentations. Brad Motter from Gone Native Landscapes reviewed the critical role of insects to our ecosystem and the ecological benefits of native plants in the food web supporting wildlife, and discussed how to promote them to customers. One of the examples he showed was the beautiful landscaping around Caboose Commons beer garden and coffee house in Fairfax. By coincidence, a landscape designer in attendance raised his hand to mention that he had been responsible for that design, news that was received with applause! Ginger Woolrich then highlighted the landscaping value of various trees and shrubs, information which can be found in her highly practical book Essential Native Trees and Shrubs, which she co-authored with Tony Dove. Ginger and Tony have included a wonderful cross reference of landscape usage and growing conditions to identify trees and shrubs for many different situations. Elisa Meara wrapped up the conference with a talk on the native perennials which she uses the most in her business, Native Plant Landscape Corp.

The conference was made possible by seed money provided by Transurban’s Express Lanes Community Grant Program and by the collaboration of several organizations. Merrifield Garden Center provided the venue, and the Northern Virginia Nursery and Landscape Association and the Audubon-at-Home program contributed essential logistical support. Meadows Farms and the Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professionals publicized the event on their email lists for professionals. The resulting turnout was very gratifying and demonstrated the need for further conferences in the future.

The fate of the birds, butterflies flies and other native creatures of Northern Virginia is in human hands, and in large part that depends on the actions of members of the landscape profession and their ability to educate their customers on how to become environmental stewards. This is a wonderful opportunity for them to make an important difference to the quality of life of all of us as we work together to protect the ecosystem and mitigate the climate crisis.

Service opportunities with Plant NOVA Natives

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Photo by Barbara J. Saffir

“Art Director” needed – Some concepts are expressed better with art than with photos or words. If you would like to coordinate the work of artists who might enjoy donating artistic interpretations for the PNN website and other purposes of things like  “Baby birds need insects, and insects need native plants,” email [email protected].

A second website manager needed – The work is light, but it is good to have more than one person doing updates to the PNN website.

Know of any good lawn and garden maintenance companies? PNN would like to compile a list of vendors that have experience in maintaining native plantings and/or environmentally friendly landscapes. Email your recommendations to [email protected]. PNN will then email the companies and ask them if they would like to self-identify as ones that have that kind of experience.

Help label plants at garden centers – There are now 16 garden centers where we are putting red stickers on the Virginia native plants. PNN needs more volunteers at several of those nurseries (particularly Lake Ridge Nursery in Dumfries, Merrifield Fair Oaks and Burke Nursery, but there are others as well). It is a great way to get to know your native plants, and very fun as well! PNN tries to have someone visit each nursery a couple times a month and to have at least two volunteers at each place. They also need help approaching garden centers that are not yet participating.

Another volunteer opportunity – Sept 29: NatureFest, Herndon. Sign up here.

Next Steering Committee meeting – All are welcome! The next meeting is scheduled for August 13 at 10:30 am, but please always check the Event Calendar in case there is a change.

Faith in action

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Photo by Ana Ka’ahanui

Margaret Fisher

A commitment to stewardship of the Earth has a spiritual foundation in most faith communities. In recent years, many have come to understand that their responsibility for nature begins at home, at their places of worship. The true residents of churches, temples and mosques are not the humans using the buildings, which often sit empty for much of the week, but the birds, butterflies, frogs and a host of other small congregants who share the property. When faith leaders ask “Who are our neighbors?”, they do not have far to look.

As you drive around Northern Virginia, you may notice more and more places of worship that are incorporating native plants into their landscaping. Six communities were given an extra hand with that process when the Audubon-at-Home program and Plant NOVA Natives awarded them grants provided by the National Audubon Society’s Coleman and Susan Burke Center for Native Plants. Members of each community created landscaping projects in visible areas of the property with signs to explain that native plants support birds and other wildlife. The new plantings were part of a greater educational process to demonstrate to congregants how they can take action on their own properties to save the local wildlife. As places of worship often include large areas of impervious surfaces, converting sections of lawn to conservation landscaping can bring significant benefits to our streams and the Chesapeake Bay.

Grace Presbyterian now has several very visible pollinator gardens buzzing with bees. Organizer Dave Lincoln reports, “It seems every few weeks one of our Pastors brings up our obligations as stewards of God’s Creation, and most times they mention the importance of restoring productivity in our landscaping choices.”

According to Nancy Davis at Beth El Hebrew Congregation, “Service to the community is a basic part of Judaism. Our planting day with students in grades three through seven was a tremendous success. With the help of master gardeners, the students put in hundreds of native species purchased with money from the Audubon Burke grant, in a little more than two hours. Each student planted from one to three plugs or plants. Preschoolers did some planting on another day.”

Steve Wharton of St. Peter’s in the Woods writes, “Reaction to the Pollinator Garden has been very positive. This past Sunday the minister, Reverend Susan, stopped me to tell me that she usually pauses as she enters or leaves and takes a moment to see what is visiting the flowers. She said, “Yesterday there were the usual Bees, a Monarch Butterfly and a Hummingbird all in the garden at once.”  She was quite excited about it.  On my way out I was pleased to see a clear winged “hummingbird” moth. The bergamot in particular really draws in a wide variety of pollinators.  Cannot wait to see what the garden attracts when the garden is more mature a couple years from now.”

The planting of native plants on the grounds of Our Lady Good Counsel Church and School has enhanced the awareness of nature particularly for families of preschool and elementary grade children. This focus on environmental stewardship is advocated by Pope Francis.

Crossroads United Methodist has long been involved in educating their own congregation and the surrounding community about the value of native plants. In 2017, they held a public screening of the movie Hometown Habitat, targeted at homeowners associations. They made use of the Burke Grant by converting large areas of lawn to native plantings near the church office entry. Beautiful sun and shade gardens now grace those areas.

McLean Islamic Center and Mosque held two plantings, one for the mosque’s entrance beds and one for the Gild Scout troop bed, and both were well attended. The Community Service Committee and the Sunday School followed up with a day that they initially called “How Green is your Deen?” “Deen” refers to religion, and children learned about the importance Islam places on preserving the environment and caring for other creatures.

For more details and many photos of these projects as well as ones at other places of worship, see the faith community section of the Plant NOVA Natives website. This web section is designed to help faith communities decide how to use native plants in their landscaping and how to educate themselves and the greater community about the importance of providing sanctuary on our own properties for our fellow beings. To see a few of those creatures in a church garden, watch this one minute video.

How to promote native plants, training June 29th

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Photo: Barbara J. Saffir (c)

Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fairfax
2709 Hunter Mill Road, Oakton VA 22124
Saturday, 29 June 2019
9:30am -12:30 pm

Please join Plant NOVA Natives as they discuss various ways in which community volunteers can spread the word about the value of adding native plants to their landscaping. Learn how you can work with your
• homeowners or condo association
• neighbors
• faith community
• local garden center
After hearing presentations on these and other topics, we will break up into small groups to brainstorm about our individual action plans. We will have snacks, but bring a bag lunch if you like.

See details and sign up here.

Summer is for visiting native plant gardens

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Margaret Fisher

Are you feeling inspired by the plants in the Native Plants for Northern Virginia guide but want to see them in a garden setting before choosing ones for your yard? Northern Virginia has numerous native plant gardens that are open to the public and which can be located using the new map on the Plant NOVA Natives website. They range from public gardens and demonstration gardens maintained by professionals or by Master Gardeners, to landscaping projects at places of business or places of worship, and from formal grounds to a cottage garden look. The summer vacation season is a great time to see the panoply of gardening choices that can include native plants.

If you are travelling up or down the East Coast this summer, public gardens are a great place to stop. Many of the species of plants that are native to Northern Virginia can also be found north or south of here. More and more public gardens are incorporating sections of natives into their designs, and several gardens use native plants exclusively.

Do you know of any native plant gardens or landscaping projects that are missing from our map? Please email the name with a description – and photos if you have them – to [email protected].

There is one location that you might never guess: the Dale City rest stop on northbound I95 has a huge native meadow that was planted and maintained by volunteers. There is also a smaller monarch waystation at the southbound rest stop. Check out our one-and-a-half minute video about the critters that take advantage of those oases.

 

NVSWCD recognizes Plant NoVA Natives Campaign Partners as 2018 Cooperator of the Year

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(Republished from the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District site)

Established in 2011, the Plant NOVA Natives initiative has been key in increasing awareness of native plants across Northern Virginia and working across non-profit, government, and industry sectors to promote the use of natives in landscapes.  The work of the campaign partners greatly supports the initiatives of the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District (NVSWCD).  Information is sought between agencies to share common messages and lift each other’s programs.

For example, in spring 2018, the Plant NOVA Natives group purchased advertisements (pay for clicks) on social media platforms that promoted the use of native plants and linked to NVSWCD’s Seedling Sale webpage.  In total, the partners spent roughly $100 to promote the sale.  This drove many new customers to purchase seedlings, rain barrels, or composters during the sale, benefitting NVSWCD environmental education programs.

In addition, campaign partners post blog and Facebook items about the Virginia Conservation Assistance Program and the benefits the program provides for water quality through the addition of native plants as Conservation Landscapes.  Through their efforts, the Native Plants for Northern Virginia guidebook has become the definitive resource for highlighting the most common native plants in our region.  The campaign has renewed the interest in the utility of native plants throughout the landscaping community and many retail establishments have improved native plant visibility since the campaign began.  The campaign’s website is a clearinghouse and wealth of regionally-specific information, resources, and events.

There is no doubt that this campaign has contributed significantly to bringing groups together and elevating the shared interest in the use of native plants across many different landscapes.  The program is truly a partnership, by which the work of several agencies outweighs the work of one.  It is for these reasons and many more, that we recognize the Plant NOVA Natives Campaign partners as our 2018 Cooperator of the Year awardees.

The Cooperator of the Year award is named in honor of Diane Hoffman, an Associate Director with NVSWCD and the former NVSWCD District Administrator, for the legacy of cooperative spirit that she instilled throughout all District programs.

Visit https://www.plantnovanatives.org for more information about partnership, find native plant sales, and to peruse the wonderful resources they provide.

Resources for working with native seed mixes in large areas

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This resource is meant to be a living document that our community can enrich as they learn. Thank you for sharing generously. If you have additions, go ahead and suggest them in comments, and we’ll update the post.

Seed Companies

Earth Sangha
https://www.earthsangha.org 
May be able to supply a large amount of native plants to plant including seeds if you give them a year to first grow them at the nursery

Ernst Seeds
https://www.ernstseed.com
Virginia Northern Piedmont Mix: https://www.ernstseed.com/product/va-northern-piedmont-facw-mix/

Suggestions

Preparation of the site and the exhaustion of the bank of weed seeds will be critical. Tilling will release a trove of weeds. Future mowing regimens should also be established to mow the annual cool-season weeds in Spring but before the warm-season perennials have taken off.  Mowing will also keep the woodies at bay.

 Consider using seeds for the grasses/flowers, but later use plugs for other flowers, as your budget allows. The flower plugs allow you to have more of an immediate visual impact without breaking the bank. The grasses become the foundation of your planting with the flowers as a smaller, but important, component. (Source: Joe Gorney, President, Fairfax Master Naturalists)

Notes from October 2018 issue of The Acorn, Earth Sangha

Additional notes on plants and conditions, courtesy of Lisa Bright, Executive Director, Earth Sangha 

For meadow-type gardens, you would need sunny and dry-tolerant species to partial-sun and moist-loving species:

  • Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)
  • Andropogon virginicus (Broomsedge Bluestem)
  • Purple-top Grass (Tridens Flavus)
  • Beaked Panic Grass (Coleataenia anceps)
  • Southeastern Wildrye (Elymus glabriflorus)
  • Indian Grass (Sorghastrum nutans)
  • Purplelove Grass (Eragrostis spectabilis)
  • Narrow-leaved Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum tenuifolium)
  • Roundleaf Thoroughwort (Eupatorium rotundifolium)
  • Hyssop-leaved Boneset (Eupatorium hyssopifolium)
  • Flat-topped White Aster (Doellingeria umbellata)
  • Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
  • Orange Coneflower (Rudbeckia fulgida)
  • Late Purple Aster (Symphyotrichum patens)
  • Early Goldenrod (Solidago juncea)
  • Grey Goldenrod (Solidago nemoralis)
  • Narrow-leaved goldenrod (Euthamia graminifolia)
  • Wild Bergamort (Monarda fistulosa)

For edge of meadow bordering woodlands (sunny most of the time):

  • Deertongue Grass (Dichanthelium clandestinum)
  • Squarrose Sedge (Carex squarrosa)
  • Slender Oatgrass (Chasmantium laxum)
  • Georgia Bulrush (Scirpus georgianus)
  • Bottlebrush Grass (Elymus hystrix)
  • Common Patridge Pea (Chaemecrista fasciculata)
  • Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium fistulosum)
  • Rough Boneset (Eupatorium pilosum)
  • Woodland Sunflower (Helianthus sturumosus) & (Helianthus divaricatus)
  • Broadleaf Ironweed (Vernonia glauca)
  • Carolina Wild Petunia (Ruelia caroliniensis)
  • Golden Alexander (Zizia aurea)
  • Hyssop Skullcap (Scutellaria integrifolia)
  • Spotted Bee Balm (Monarda punctata)
  • Rough-stemmed Goldenrod (Solidago rugosa)
  • New England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-anglie)
  • Lyre-leaf Sage (Salvia lyrata)
  • Blue Mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum)

Partial-sun woodlands: 

  • Slender Oatgrass (Chasmantium laxum)
  • Wood Sedge (Carex blanda)
  • Long-awned Wood Grass (Brachelytrum erectum)
  • Cattail Sedge (Carex typhina)
  • Virginia Wildrye (Elymus virginicus)
  • Bottlebrush Grass (Elymus hystrix)
  • Riverbank Wildrye (Elymus riperius)
  • Poverty Oatgrass (Danthonia spicata)
  • White Wood Aster (Eurybia divaricata)
  • Blue-stemmed Goldenrod (Solidago caesia)
  • Common Dittany (Cunila origanoides)
  • American Alumroot (Heuchera americana)
  • Erect Goldenrod (Solidago erecta)
  • Silverrod (Solidago bicolor)

Streamside woodland edges, full to partial sun: 

  • Deertongue Grass (Dichanthelium clandestinum)
  • Georgia Bulrush (Scirpus georgianus)
  • Common Wood Reedgrass (Cinna anundinacea)
  • Lurid Sedge (Carex lurida)
  • Northern Long Sedge (Carex crinita)
  • Redtop Panic Grass (Coleataenia rigidula)
  • Crown Grass (Paspalum floridanum)
  • New York Ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis)
  • Blue Swamp Verbena (Verbena hastata)
  • Canada Germander (Teucrium canadensis)
  • Calico Aster (Symphyotrichum lateriflorum)
  • Crooked-stem Aster (Symphyotrichum prenanthoides)
  • Green Coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata)
  • Common Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum)
  • Common Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale)

Rain garden: 

  • Deertongue Grass (Dichanthelium clandestinum)
  • Crown Grass (Paspalum floridanum)
  • Lurid Sedge (Carex lurida)
  • Frank’s Sedge (Carex frankii)
  • Georgia Bulrush (Scirpus georgianus)
  • Beaked Panic Grass (Coleataenia anceps)
  • Redtop Panic Grass (Coleataenia rigidula)
  • Swamp Rose Mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos)
  • Swamp Rose (Rosa palustris)
  • Blue Swamp Verbena (Verbena hastata)
  • Green Coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata)
  • Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale & H. flexuosum)
  • Allegheny Monkey Flower (Mimulus ringens)
  • Foxglove Beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis)
  • Fall Phlox (Phlox paniculata)

Precautions

If “large area” means more than 2500 square feet, including a 10 foot buffer around the bed and any disturbed access to the site, it is a land disturbing activity and may require a permit from the county.

If a “run off” pond is connected to a perennial stream, it may also have a Resource Protection Area (RPA) defined; again you would need a permit. Contact the Fairfax County Land Development Services before proceeding if the project is in Fairfax. Prince William and Arlington Counties have similar restrictions. Loudoun does not have RPAs but does have restrictions on land disturbance. (Source: Jim McGlone, VA Dept of Forestry)

Seeding a large area can turn into disaster, one gigantic weedy mess. Look at the meadows others have tried that just turned into a mass of Japanese stiltgrass. Who is going to spend the hours and hours necessary to do the weeding? An alternative strategy would be to start with a small area and expand over the years, or start with one or two species of grass and absolutely nothing else, get that established, then add the forba later. The fewer the species, the easier the weeding job for people who are not botanists. Spend the first year or so simply killing what is there already, letting more weeds sprout, then killing them as well, before doing any planting at all.

In a public setting, most people do better with a more traditional landscaping approach, using mulch initially between plants and not using seeds. For covering very large areas, there is a lot to be said for using shrub and trees with nice wide paths, plus some groundcover wherever you can afford to pay for enough plugs, and a manageable size pollinator garden somewhere in the mix. (Source: Margaret Fisher, Plant NOVA Natives)

Further Reading

Garden Revolution: How Our Landscapes Can Be a Source of Environmental Change, by Larry Weaner

Planting in a Post-Wild World: Designing Plant Communities for Resilient Landscapes, by Thomas Rainer and Claudia West

The Living Landscape: Designing for Beauty and Biodiversity in the Home Garden, by Rick Darke