by Lauren Chase Rowell

“The finest design for society will not be one worked up by specialists but a design created by the people themselves to fit their needs.  Planners and designers are needed, but to help, not to preempt, the democratic work of creating a new society”.  –Wm. S. Coperthwaite

Part 1 
Conscious Design in the Kitchen

Permaculture, simply put, is the conscious design of everything humans do. Good design is critically needed at this juncture in our human story if we are to succeed as a species, and good design can be done by anyone. In this sense, permaculture is inclusive and its current popularity speaks to everyday people making design decisions and re-skilling themselves to fit their needs and fulfill their wishes. The blend of mindful intention, good old Yankee ingenuity, and common sense that constitute permaculture principles and practices, has made permaculture the main stay of my lifestyle for many years.

My family found Dalton’s Pasture over 25 years ago in a local newspaper advertising the farm as “a handy-man’s special”. The old farm was in tatters, both buildings and land. The roof and sills of the house were gone, a hand pump in the kitchen sink was the only plumbing, and an outhouse was attached to an outside, dilapidated wood shed. Chimneys and fireplaces were worn out and would need to be replaced. Horsehair plaster walls sagged and floorboards, worn through, exposed the sub-flooring beneath. But our eyes, satisfied with the intact fireplace mantles and chair-rail, did not see the lists of expenses and hours of hard labor that continue to haunt us two and a half decades later. 

A handmade solar dryer dehydrates herbs, mushrooms, fruits, and vegetables to nutritional perfection and for ''free''.

We saw, with the energetic naïveté only twenty year-olds can muster, a naturally built home still standing after 200 years, nestled among stonewall-lined fields and second growth forest. We had no idea how the town’s school rated or if it was a good neighborhood, and resale value was as far away from our eager dreams as was the reality of a school bus making it over the single-lane, three mile road. Simply put, we did not choose by conventional wisdom. We chose the potential and sense-of-place.

So with two babies, two dogs, and seven prior years of homesteading experience, we chose to put our roots down in a place where the land’s soils, springs, sugar maple trees, and abandoned pastures beckoned to us more loudly than our parents’ disapproval, friends’ concern, and popular and mature rationale. Unable to articulate the magnetism the broken down farm, soils, and land held for us, we began our permaculture adventure not only resurrecting house and gardens, but building excitement, challenge, and meaning into our family’s daily life.

Learning to Find Solutions

We made as many mistakes as we did successful design decisions.  Guided by continuous observation and interaction (which is a nice way of saying we learned from our mistakes), we became the designers of every aspect of our lives, from energy efficient natural building techniques, through eating healthy foods, to allocating our slim resources to small, slow, and often subtle, solutions. In this way, we find that staying small and close to home, we make a significant impact in the greater world around us. Using permaculture, we find there is nothing too insignificant or too big in size to redesign into a usable human scale that fit elegantly into the land of our burgeoning farmstead.

It is important to recognize that the ‘conscious part’ of conscious system design requires a mindful presence, a watchful awareness of patterns, and curious observation. The heart of permaculture design radiates out from the dwellers; their goals, needs, sense of beauty, time budget, and capabilities are integrally woven into the natural systems of the land in that very particular place on earth. It is the slow and incremental accumulation of time saved, resources not used, and effectiveness, which brings a core of elegance, creativity, and presence to the inhabitants. Beginning with the self or the internal landscape of the human being, design criteria are born and then melded to the interior and exterior functions of the home and land. 

Not all herbs are dried in a solar dryer. Bundles of stinging nettles are hung to dry in a cool, shady space adjacent to where they grew. Dry nettles are used for "tea", broth, and compost tea for garden plants.

Our kitchen design embraces the goal of growing three quarters of our food. A big double sink holds vegetables to be scrubbed and also accommodates the large canner and pressure cooker for preserving food. Floor to ceiling shelves hold the daily array of canning jars, and a large cabinet in a cold corner of the room houses nutritionally delicate nuts, flours, and grains. The sink, stove, refrigerator and gallon sized compost bucket (that to this day gets filled with fresh scraps daily from eating a whole foods diet) are a calculated five steps away from each other. A stack of thirty two plates for feeding a crowd are selected for their ability to take less than twelve inches of headroom in the cabinet. 

Designing for Efficiency and Effectiveness

Big southeastern windows fill the space with natural light while looking out upon an enclosed, “zone one” kitchen garden designed for the use of all adjacent kitchen gray water without the need to store it. The contents of each drawer, shelf and cabinet are organized according to how often the items within are needed. We severely restrict the use of potentially toxic plastics by supplanting nondurable goods with rugged, flea market and yard sale finds from yesteryear, when goods produced were made to last. The kitchen is heavily supplied with second hand, high quality, stainless steel pans, utensils, and the fewest appliances required to get the job done. We fed 600 guests in 2011 alone, without once using paper products.

Other rooms in the house are designed with human efficiency and effectiveness in mind. Off of the kitchen, the laundry room has floor to ceilings shelves and ample bins designated to family members so as to never have the need to lug clothing upstairs or to squish it into blind bureau drawers. Dirty clothes are placed in the washer, dried on a handy rack, folded, and placed on shelves. Seasonal clothing is cycled from higher storage shelves to lower, easily accessible ones. We save time, steps, and frustration, and by not using bureaus we free up room square footage and financial resources. 

This consciously designed system does beg questions: how many shoes, jackets, hats, and outfits are truly needed by each member of the family? How worn out is each article of clothing before it is passed along?  Is there an awareness of the “full life-cycle cost” of the fabrics we choose to wear? What styles and fabrics are more ageless and don’t fall into wasteful planned obsolescence?

Preservation and Storage

One of my favorite spaces in the house is the “root closet”. This closet is on the first floor of the old farmhouse in the living room where it is conveniently accessible and where conditions are favorable for storing food for the long New England winter. The closet is in the corner of the room and features two exterior walls affected by the outside temperature. The original wall voids are 2’’x4’’ construction, and despite the blown-in cellulose insulation, the temperature in the closet plummets to 43 degrees in winter. In permaculture we say, “The problem is the solution!”  The result is a perfect food storage room for canned goods such as, honey, maple syrup, jams, juices, jellies, and vegetables. 

Red raspberry leaves for "tea" are spread out on a fine mesh screen to dry. These leaves are ready for processing.

A colander full of dry raspberry leaves is set into a bowl to catch the "tea" as it falls through the holes. Fingertips, in a repetitive circular motion, gently work the leaves into pieces, leaving stems in the colander to discard.

Here I should note that canning has the most embodied energy of all preservation techniques. The food preservation method using the least amount of energy is storing whole foods right from the garden. On the closet floor, where the temperature is the coldest, we stack baskets and wooden boxes full of potatoes, onions, carrots, red and yellow beets, turnip, leeks, garlic and parsnips. The floor to ceiling shelves we designed hold all of the jars, and the upper-most shelves hold a half-dozen varieties of winter squashes, as they benefit from warmer and dryer conditions.

The results after the colander is removed is a bowl of beautifully fragrant red raspberry leaf "tea" ready for tea bags or a tea strainer.

Red raspberry "tea" is then stored in an airtight jar in a dark cabinet out of direct sunlight to protect the delicate flavor and nutrients.

Years back we used to bring buckets of clean sand home to surround carrots, parsnips, beets, cabbages, kohlrabi, celery root, and leeks, keeping them in their required moist conditions. As we learned to be more resourceful with the materials on our property, we stopped using sand and began packing our vegetables in moist maple leaves, which are local and abundant. I recycle old towels and cover the wooden boxes, pressing the folded towel into the edges of the boxes like a cover. The towel breathes and moisture is slowly dispersed to keep the humidity higher in the space, while never water-logging the food beneath. Two to three times a winter, I pour water on the absorbent towels, which act as a sponge between crispy vegetables beneath, and cool, humid air above. This method keeps the vegetables almost perfectly until the first days of spring.

The next least energy intensive methods of storing healthful food on our farmstead are fermentation and solar drying. In what is referred to as lacto-fermentation, certain vegetables are processed in salt, and allowed to ferment in their juices in crocks, jars, and other non-corrosive containers. Cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots and beans make tasty mixes. In the old days, fermentation was necessary due to lack of refrigeration, but current science and nutrition recognize the health benefits to our digestive systems by adding sauerkraut and American versions of kimchee to our diets.

Solar drying dehydrates all our teas, herbs, mushrooms, fruit leathers, as well as some fruit, berries and vegetables, for “free”. We built the solar dryer from mostly repurposed materials. It holds two 2’x3’ mesh trays, and on a clear sunny day, food is ready to store in clean jars within ten hours.

What Food Gathering Around the Calendar Entails

Food gathering encompasses the entire calendar year. This is done with a conscious effort to use as little non-renewable energy and materials in the mix as possible. Gardens are no-till and rely on timely planting and the use of thick, diverse mulches. As the farm’s soils improve over time, as much emphasis goes into protecting the soil biology and structure as goes into all the steps required in growing plants. Bare soil is quickly covered, whether with mulches or living plants. Compaction is kept to a minimum by utilizing narrow pathways; the constant addition of diverse, on-site organic materials; and leaving the roots of most annual plants to rot in place. These methods allow waste streams, such as grass clippings, coffee grounds, twigs, leaves, intact annual root masses, and hand-pulled weeds, to become resources used in place. These methods also save workers time and energy by designing the garden systems in tightly integrated loops with a steady supply of needed resources close to hand where they will be used. 

Conscientiousness of material inputs in growing and gathering food helps us to weigh the necessity of purchases that we can do without. For example, plastic tunnels and row covers for season extension are considered non-renewable, and are not used. This begs the question if eating salad greens in January and February is truly eating in season, and what is the full life-cycle cost of those greens. It may be well worth it in a hundred-foot greenhouse raising mixed greens for local restaurants where net production outweighs materials used, but it is a different matter for a family of five when so much healthy food is already at hand without the use of plastics, which eventually deteriorate, get thrown out, and remind us “there is no such thing as away.” Eating locally and in season sometimes requires a simple no; we can’t have salad or strawberries, or non-season game or fish right now, and will have to wait for it!

Despite the above sustainability conundrums, we like to focus on the abundance of foods we can have around the calendar. In February we tap sugar maples, as well as black and yellow birch (Betula lenta and Betula allegeniensis, respectively) for their rich wintergreen flavored sap. After the boiling of sap into syrup, early spring beckons the foraging for the first wild greens such as chickweed, chervil, and dandelion, followed by the emerging tips of stinging nettles, burdock root, and cattail stalks.

The previous season’s parsnips, left in the garden all winter to sweeten, are dug as soon as the frost leaves the ground. We also remove the leafy insulation placed around several turnip heads and dwarf kale plants. When exposed to the warming spring light and longer day-length, rapid flushes of emerald leaves emerge from the stems, providing the same deep-cleansing greens to the diet as the foraged plants already mentioned.

As early spring approaches, bi-weekly root “closet” scans are required to check the shrinking bulk of stored food for bad spots on squash and pumpkins, and sprouts on potatoes, onions, and root vegetables. Any vegetable bearing small impairments is culled, prepared, and eaten right away, feeding the spoiled parts to the red wigglers kept in the cellar. Also, at this time any sprouting garlic bulbs are peeled, chopped, and covered with oil in a glass jar. The jar is stored in the refrigerator and is used until the juicy scapes of the garlic planted last fall are ready for fresh eating and an early pesto.

The first warm days can bring on a flush of oyster mushrooms on old maple trees, and fiddle heads along stream banks and floodplains. By this time spinach, peas, lettuce, broad beans, and onions are sown and planted. Herbs quickly become plentiful for food and medicine, like parsley that overwintered but hasn’t gone to seed yet, lovage, chives, and cress. Several kinds of tender, unfolding leaves of common tree species can be eaten on salads, or just nibbled for nutrients. Japanese, red and sugar maples come to mind. Early flowers, too, like violets, tulip petals, apple, and geranium blossoms, can be sought and enjoyed until the full summer on-slaught of fresh food is ready once again for harvest and preservation.

Waste Not, Want Not

I learned early on that it is relatively easy to grow a garden full of food, but much more difficult to consciously design a food system which doesn’t grow an excess which may get wasted. In other words, growing just enough for fresh eating and preservation takes considerable thought and planning. Even though our chickens are close by to help eat any extras, it is a waste of time, energy, and resources to nurture plants from seed to fruition if they are going to bolt, rot, or go unharvested. I can promise myself that I will give extras away to others who could benefit, but experience has taught me that even with the best of intentions, hot weather and busy schedules render vegetables highly perishable. It is better for me to learn to grow just what I need, and to share the bounty through potlucks, dinners, preserves, and gifts while keeping the quality and quantity of goods produced at the highest level possible.

Stainless steel pans simmer black currants for processing into many value-added products. Note the food mill in the background.

After gentle simmering, black currants are hung overnight in bags suspended from the ceiling. The unhurried drippings make juices and jellies with unsurpassed clarity.

Here’s an example of the permaculture premise of “produce no waste.” It ties together the indoor and outdoor relationship of home food production:  bushels of black currants were harvested and made into jelly and juice. The remaining fruit left in the jelly bag (after being hung on a beam and dripping over night) was put through a food mill and made into jam on the stovetop and fruit leather in the solar dryer. The dregs of black currant skins, seeds, and stems leftover from the milling were used to dye some simple articles of clothing in beautiful hues of bluish purple for the pure fun and adventure of it. After dying, the refuse was given to the chickens that loved every bite.

Black currant syrup mixed with blueberries top homemade ginger ice cream for a delectable treat for family and friends.

After milling the fruit, the dregs of skins, seeds, and stems are used to dye simple fabrics into beautiful bluish-purple hues.

Though the benefits far exceed the woes, raising our own food is not entirely glamorous. It consumes most of our weekends with the relentless need to scour over the edible landscape to find what is at peak condition for eating or preserving. At times I feel like I live in a choice-less vacuum, constantly “bossed around” by animals needing this or garden crops needing that. At the same time, however, it is also a lifestyle that is peacefully agreeable in a chop wood, carry water kind of way. Being conscious designers in partnership with the natural world, we are able to see progress in our lives as we grow to understand and to be guided by the permaculture principles and ethics.

Part 2 Conscious Design in the Yard and Landscape will appear in the March issue of the Newsletter.

The species composition and placement of plants within this polyculture help to clean the gray water from an outdoor shower while putting the water to good use.

This functional and edible landscape features permaculture plant guilds and polycultures.

Lauren Chase Rowell is current steward of Dalton’s Pasture in Nottingham, NH and an organic landcare and permaculture educator. Lauren has been practicing and teaching ecological landscape design, installation, and maintenance for over 25 years, at UNH and NH community colleges. As an educator, her classroom instruction is informed by 35 years experience in regenerative food growing, medicinal herbs, and the importance of NH biodiversity in local, sustainable landscape settings. Lauren embraces the practical application of permaculture in earth-centered living and design, while simultaneously integrating the arts and contemplative practices into her teaching. She is an author and has been featured twice on NH’s Chronicle for her ecological and sustainable approach to land use and care. She is owner of Outdoor Rooms Permaculture and Partner in Chop Wood Carry Water Permaculture.

by Maureen Sundberg

Introduce water into the landscape and it brings changes in light and sound. Introduce water in the form of a natural pool, and the results are magical according to Chris Rawlings of Water House Pools. “Take something as ancient as stone and put it with something as alive and precious as water, and it’s just magical. I love creating these environments that weren’t there before, creating a new space and bringing life onto a property that didn’t have it before.”

Chris designs pools for people, pools with water that is safe and inviting. The striking difference in a natural pool is that the water is alive, not sterile. Instead of using chlorine to make the water devoid of life, a natural pool is balanced in a way that supports life. Filtration and water purification are largely handled by beneficial bacteria and microorganisms that colonize within a mesh filter pad. Electrical pumps circulate the water over and through the pads allowing the microorganisms to obtain food from organic material, such as leaf litter and sunscreen, that enters the pool.

In addition to the bio-mechanical filtration provided by the filtering system, plants introduced around the edges of the pool also help purify the water. Chris typically uses 1½ inch round stone around the pool perimeter and introduces plants into these areas. He prefers to use native species that meet hardiness zone requirements, can overwinter in the frozen pool, and do not require a lot of maintenance. During the growing season, these plants collect debris in their root systems and build soil in the round stone as they grow, helping to maintain water quality.

Conserving Resources by Design

Limiting inputs required to maintain a natural pool is an important consideration for Chris. Just as a conventional pool has to keep up with evaporation, so does the natural pool. However, Chris turns to on-site resources. Often he employs the downspout of a nearby building to keep a pool topped off. Limiting resources does not limit creativity. His pool designs may include water features, but they tend to be flowing, subtle features that do not have a lot of water moving through the air that would result in transpiration and evaporation. The pools also require pumps to move the water around. Again, Chris gives consideration to reducing resources and employs low voltage pumps and those that reduce flow rate over time, utilizing timers to limit the amount of energy used.

Chris emphasizes that every project is a little different. Part of his job is to match the pool to the client in order to find one that “really fits their house and their lifestyle.” And every pool is site specific, though he tries always to place the pool as close to the house as possible. “My thinking is that people will get more out of it if it’s right next to their house; whereas, if I put it 100 feet away, they are less likely to go over to it and interact with it.”

Natural pools bring life to a property and provide not only aesthetic and emotional appeal, but peace of mind. Chris points to a recent project for a CSA farm. The 40,000 gallon pool he built not only served as a swimming hole for employees, but performs as a rain water retention pool that can provide irrigation water for greenhouses and other beds. The pool has allowed the owner to cut back on use of municipal water and also offers a secure source for water in case of drought.

Working with Water

Chris arrived at natural pool construction through his excavation business and his close proximity to several stone quarries in western Massachusetts. Chris notes that in excavation work, “You’re dealing with water. If you’re digging a foundation for a house or a driveway, you’ve got to keep the thing dry, so I was always dealing with surface water and groundwater.” Chris had also renovated some small ponds, but then he discovered Michael Littlewood’s book, Natural Swimming Pools. “It just hit me. Building [pools] from scratch was really what I wanted to do – moving from something that livestock would use to something with more sculptural elements to it.” With four large stone quarries within a 10 mile radius, Chris has an ample source to incorporate native stone as a beautiful element to his pools.

The result of Chris’s exploration into building natural pools is beautiful habitats that welcome all life. Swimmers can open their eyes under water without that familiar sting. Dragonflies can take a non-toxic dip. Birds take a safe drink. Chris includes lots of stone work in his designs and they provide shelves for swimmers to sit and stand. “Setting those large stones really adds a sense of place,” he notes. The result is something similar to a spring fed lake – a pool that changes with the seasons at one’s own back door.

Visit Chris in his Active Zone exhibit at the ELA Conference & Eco-Marketplace on March 8^th in order to learn more about natural pools and to see more of his projects.

About the Author

Maureen Sundberg edits the ELA newsletter from her home in Andover, MA where she also practices sustainable gardening. A member of the ELA Board of Directors since 2007, Maureen serves on the ELA Conference Committee.

A water-soluble herbicide that’s safe for humans, safe for pets and wildlife, and kills targeted plants in one application? Is this an ecological gardener’s dream come true? Visit HerbaNatur at Booth #313 in ELA’s Eco-Marketplace on March 8th to find out and to learn more about the company and its products.

New to the ELA Conference & Eco-Marketplace, HerbaNatur of Quebec, Canada will introduce its eco-friendly herbicide, Adios™, to ELA at this year’s Conference. Formulated to selectively control annual and perennial species with broad leaves, the product often kills the targeted plant in a single application. And, Adios™ is classified as a 25B weed control product by the USDA.

The company’s path to ecologically benign control of undesirable broadleaf plants began as a project targeting common ragweed (ambrosia artemisiifolia L.) in order to reduce levels of allergenic pollen. The result of years of research was Adios™, a salt solution that kills broad-leaved plants when the salt is absorbed by osmosis into the root system, in the same manner as a traditional herbicide.

During the fall of 2011, HerbaNatur joined Mass DOT to conduct trials using Adios™ to control a variety of species, including ragweed, mugwort, poison ivy, bittersweet, and Japanese knotweed. The trials made use of both foliar application and soil injection. Within days, plants were dead. Trials will continue in the spring.

Ragweed and mugwort thrive in the disturbed area on the side of the road.

In addition to HerbaNatur, the 2012 Eco-Marketplace will feature many companies offering services and products for the ecologically minded land care professional. Plan to learn more about HerbaNatur’s products and services and about all the exhibitors at the Marketplace on March 8^th.

Ragweed and mugwort after HerbaNatur applied Adios™ as a foliar spray.

Japanese knotweed before foliar spraying and injection.

Japanese knotweed after foliar spraying and injection.

Sustainable Practices for Ecosystem Restoration was held at Wellesley College on January 19, 2012.

Reviewed by Brandon Schmitt

Nearly 60 people joined together at the beautiful Wellesley campus to attend a discussion focused on erosion control and stormwater management led by employees of Groundscapes Express. The site was a perfect setting for the discussion, as the company had recently completed an erosion control project on the campus where adelgid infected Hemlocks were removed, entitling the attendees to a first-hand view of their methods.  The opening slide of the presentation encouraged attendees to “Think Differently.”  All too often, the presenters mentioned, a comprehensive restoration plan fails to address crucial issues including site protection measures, long-term invasive management, water management, and soil and plant issues.

FilterMitts™, burlap tubes filled with a compost-mulch blend, helps to stabilize a path on a slope. Photo by Nick Novick,courtesy of Groundscapes Express.

The presenters were huge advocates for biodegradable fencing and erosion measures versus petroleum products. A brilliant and economical means to this end was to use downed tree logs as check dams by pinning them to slopes. The presenters also pleaded for landscape restoration project managers to remember to ensure adequate control of invasives before any plantings are done, and to allocate resources for their future removal whenever possible. Their bottom line was that every NOI (Notice of Intent) should have an invasive maintenance plan written into it.

The most intriguing aspect of the presentation involved discussion of the use of a compost blanket and compost filled tubes for erosion control. This was really a great idea, as the compost is functional, and acts as a soil amendment that would take 40 years to be created naturally by normal leaf and woody debris composition. Mycorrhiza that live in the compost provide the webbing needed to hold the compost together and to the ground. Groundscapes’ compost blanket product takes 6-8 months to produce, and involves bringing the compost material to 140 degrees to sterilize any invasive materials. The presenters warned that many soil production companies and municipalities do not compost debris, but merely pile up waste, a practice that allows the invasives to spread when the material is used in future applications.

A final examination of an erosion control project using three methods was most telling. In that slideshow, three abutting properties used three methods, including plastic netting, plug planting, and the compost blanket method. The before and after photos show that the compost blanket was by far the most effective method and was accomplished without the use of the petroleum based products. 

In summation, the presenters charge to “think differently” was wise, because as discussed, while many of the synthetic products that have been used for the past 50 years simply do not stop erosion, a naturally derived, environmentally safe, and functionally sound product does.

Groundscapes Express exhibits at the ELA Conference & Eco-Marketplace on March 8^th. Visit them at Booth #502 to find out more about their products and services.

About the Author

Brandon Schmitt, originally from Ohio, is currently the Park ranger for the Town of Brookline, MA.  Brandon is also a certified Arborist with the International Society of Arboriculture, and Certified Playground Safety Inspector.

by Bruce Wenning

Asiatic Bittersweet Vine

Common Names:
Asiatic bittersweet vine; Oriental bittersweet vine; Chinese bittersweet vine.

Plant Taxonomy:
Family Celastraceae. Genus Celastrus. Species Celastrus orbiculatus Thunb.

Regulations: The importation, distribution, trade, and sale of Asiatic bittersweet vine have been banned in Massachusetts effective January 1, 2009 (Massachusetts Prohibited Plant List website, 2012).

General Description: Asiatic bittersweet is a deciduous vine with alternate, simple, obovate to orbicular (round in shape) leaves with slightly toothed (crenate-serrate) margins (Dirr, 1998). Leaf apex has a slightly pointed tip (Dirr, 1998; Zheng, et al, 2006; Magee and Ahles, 2007). Asiatic bittersweet originates from China, Japan and Korea (Zheng et al, 2006; Huebner, Olson and Smith, 2006).

A 25-year-old bittersweet vine shows the characteristic gray/brown furrowed bark.

This exotic invasive vine effectively utilizes nearby trees, shrubs, or any other above ground structure as scaffolding that helps it to grow upward into sunny exposures using its twining stems. As witnessed on many trees, the growth habit of this vine typically wraps around tree trunks as it grows upwards where it eventually constricts the host plant’s vascular system, thus inhibiting carbohydrate flow from the leaves to the roots and water and nutrient flow from the roots to the leaves and above ground growing points. Eventually, the host plant weakens and slowly dies from a combination of the vine’s rapid shading and vascular (phloem and xylem) constriction; branches die and break off; roots weaken and the host tree may topple over (Fryer, 2011; Ellsworth, 2005). Infested host trees are particularly susceptible to snow, ice and/or wind storms.

If you observe areas that are heavily infested with this vine, you will notice that the growth habit of twining is characteristic of the species and very effective for its survival. In the absence of a structure to climb upon, this vine will use its own twining stems to grow toward the light creating impenetrable thickets in open fields and other areas where there is no other available scaffolding. I have seen this species send up multiple stems that wrap around each other to gain enough rigidity to span into areas too distant for a single vine. Eventually, the wrapped stems contact a very distant branch or tree.

Orange roots are a distinguishing characteristic of Asiatic bittersweet.

The orange-colored roots serve as a diagnostic identification characteristic observed when one pulls out seedlings as well as adult plants. Young vine stems have warty lenticels on light brown colored bark (Somers, Kramer, Lombard, and Brumback, 2006). Older vines exhibit a gray / brown colored furrowed bark.

Invasive Traits

Asiatic bittersweet vine exhibits the following invasive traits:

(1) High seed production and good seed viability. Reproductively mature vines are prolific seed producers primarily in sunny areas. Seed has a high viability to germinate, particularly in the first year of production (Fryer, 2011; Ellsworth, 2005). Ellsworth (2005) stated that from his research and experience approximately two-thirds of first year seed that contacts soil actually germinates the year it is shed when environmental conditions are right. Seed viability drops considerably in the second year (Ellsworth, 2005; Fryer, 2011). Seeds that become part of the soil seed bank show a reduction in viability after the first year; seed bank longevity for this species is short-lived in most soil and site conditions (Ellsworth, 2005; Fryer, 2011). According to Fryer (2011), some land managers have noticed that small portions of viable seed germinated in seed banks older than one year. Seeds are a deep red-purple color embedded in red-colored arils (i.e. fleshy seed tissue) surrounded by orange and yellow capsules (Somers et al, 2006; Dirr, 1998).

Bittersweet uses other plants as scaffolding and is a prolific seed producer.

(2) Vectors. Seed is dispersed by birds and other berry-feeding animals, sometimes over great distances; wind and water are less effective at dispersing seed. The combination of this species’ seed production and viability with the continuous spread by birds makes this vine an effective and efficient invader of residential properties, local landscapes, and larger surrounding ecosystems (Ellsworth, 2005). The vector trait provides an advantage for rapidly colonizing new and especially far away sites.

(3) Sexual reproduction breeding system. Asiatic bittersweet vine is dioecious [i.e. having male and female flowers (reproductive parts) on separate plants]. Male vines have flowers that produce pollen. Pollen fertilizes a female vine flower that produces fruit and seed. Both male and female plants need to be in close proximity in order to successfully reproduce. Pollination occurs by bees, other insects, and wind. This may help explain why, as an early colonizer, this vine forms randomly distributed and dense populations or patches that appear to “leapfrog” through a woodland (or neighborhood) over time. When left unchecked, these populations can join each other or coalesce forming contiguous populations throughout a property, larger landscape, or region of land overlapping many different types of landforms and/or ecosystems and simultaneously exhibiting different age classes (younger and older vines) growing together. In addition, many ecologists are concerned that Asiatic bittersweet vine hybridizes with the American bittersweet vine (C. scandens), thus diluting the native species gene pool (Dirr, 1998; Somers, et al, 2006).

Side note: Asiatic bittersweet vines that grow as single vines in the woods with no further seed production/germination could be a lone male or female vine deposited by a bird far from the original (dioecious) breeding population, or the vine may be growing under shady conditions. When an opposite sex vine comes in close proximity, the lone vine or new arrival could then produce berries and eventually start a viable, reproducing invasive population (i.e. the leapfrog effect mentioned above) that could add to new populations in the existing area or infest new areas via vectoring birds.

(4) Vegetative or asexual reproduction (i.e. sprouting). Vegetative reproduction occurs when stems are cut or broken. For both male and female vines, sprouting produces more reproductive stems than the original uncut or unbroken stem. Asiatic bittersweet produces new stems from root sprouts as well as from root fragments left behind by incomplete pulling and/or digging (Fryer, 2011; Ellsworth, 2005).

(5)  Predator avoidance and/or deterrence. There are virtually no appreciable predators or diseases feeding on this plant to curtail its growth, development, and spread.

(6) The timing of leaf out and leaf loss. Leaves emerge in the spring with other native plants; however, this species holds onto its leaves a little longer in the fall than most native plants. This trait contributes to Asiatic bittersweet’s ability to produce more carbohydrate and other compounds in the leaves by way of photosynthesis and to transport these products to the roots for storage (i.e. cold weather storage for better winter survival and spring growth).

Twining ability and sun/shade tolerance give these 10-year-old bittersweet vines a survival advantage.

(7) Sun/shade tolerance. Asiatic bittersweet is shade tolerant. However, like glossy buckthorn and common buckthorn, it frequently invades sunny areas which is why it is seen growing in open fields; along field, road and, path edges; and in any other areas that are sunny. Ellsworth (2005) stated that Asiatic bittersweet has the genetic variability to tolerate a wide range of sun and shade exposures; high seedling survivorship was observed under deep shade; however, he also noticed that partially shaded conditions contributed to high seedling survivorship.

Ellsworth as cited in Fryer (2011) reported that the thickness of the woodland litter layer affected seedling emergence; seedlings of Asiatic bittersweet were more successful emerging from pine litter layer than thick oak litter. Pine litter has a structure more conducive to air and light penetration than the heavy matting effect that results from overlapping oak leaves.

(8)  Time of year of fruiting. Asiatic bittersweet flowers from May to June; flowers are a greenish-yellow color (Zheng, et al, 2006). Flowering time is the same as for common buckthorn. However, the fruiting period is quite long, beginning in July and lasting through October (Zheng, et al, 2006). Like other exotic invasive plants this species has fruiting periods that are longer than most native plants in the landscape which increases its invasion success.

IPM Control Strategies for Asiatic Bittersweet Vine

1. Cultural Controls: Monitor or visually inspect your property for Asiatic bittersweet. Do this at least every June and September. As stated in Part II of IPM Control Strategies for Exotic Invasive Plants, prevention is a cultural control of great value. Do not plant, transplant, or encourage the planting of this species. Do not use this vine in the fruiting stage in holiday decorations particularly Christmas wreaths. Educating others (e.g. clients or neighbors) about the dangers of this pest is another cultural control of enormous value.

2. Mechanical Controls: Pull, dig, and cut. Pull out easy-to-pull plants. If you can’t hand-pull Asiatic bittersweet, then you can dig out the plant. Attempting to pull it out with a Weed Wrench ^®  can prove to be troublesome for many people because the woody stems have a spongy or soft construct (less rigidity) than other woody plants. Spring or early summer cutting will slow its growth and reduce its ability to form functional male or female flowers for reproduction. Remember, this species is a dioecious plant with male flowers on one plant and female flowers on another plant. Cutting down Asiatic bittersweet vines in close proximity to one another before they flower disrupts an otherwise intact breeding system. In addition, the practice of repeated cutting on a monthly or so basis will be more effective at stunting the plant and inhibiting flower and fruit production.

Asiatic bittersweet twines around itself to create scaffolding, exhancing its ability to spread.

Mechanical controls can be done at any time of the year; however, the best times are the months before or during flowering. Vines that have been cut at the base but are very large or entangled in the host vegetation should be left hanging in place for three to six months before they are pulled down. Freshly cut vines have a spongy or soft construct to their woody stems and need to dry out to become brittle enough to be easily pulled down without damaging host branches.

3. Biological Control: There are no insects, mites or commercially available disease organisms yet found to be effective biological control agents.

4. Chemical Controls: The best time for any control option is just before a plant flowers. In addition, the application of herbicides in July, August, and up to mid-September gives maximum chemical control. These are the months that carbohydrates and other plant compounds are being manufactured in the leaves by way of photosynthesis and transported from the leaves to the roots for storage. This downward flow of plant compounds helps facilitate the transport of foliar and stump applied herbicide to the roots during these months for more effective kill. The mechanical control of cutting or mowing is also very effective during these months for the same reason. For example, when you cut the top off any plant the roots naturally respond by pushing up more top growth (sprouting), reducing the root reserves (carbohydrates and other growth compounds) stressing the plant. Every time you cut the top off you force the plant to sprout which reduces the root reserves and weakens the plant.

Suggested chemical control for vines too difficult to hand pull or dig during July, August, and up to mid-September is to cut Asiatic bittersweet down to one inch from the  ground and immediately apply straight glyphosate herbicide to the freshly cut stump using a paint brush or sponge applicator. Roundup ‘poison ivy killer’ works very well. Suggested chemical control in March, April, May, and June is to cut the stump high (six to twelve inches) and let it sprout. Then cut the sprouted plant in July, August, or early September to one inch from the ground and immediately stump-applicate with straight glyphosate herbicide.

A Suggested Asiatic Bittersweet Vine Example Using the IPM Procedure

1. Properly identify Asiatic bittersweet vine. Educate your neighbors and others about what you are doing and why.

2. Hand pull (or cut) what you physically are able before Asiatic bittersweet produces berries (seeds), preferably before September.

3. Using a Weed Wrench® on hard to pull plants is, at times, not practical.

4. Plants that prove to be too difficult to remove by way of pulling or digging you can cut down to a one-inch stump and immediately apply a glyphosate herbicide to the freshly cut stump using a paint brush or sponge applicator. Stump application is very effective during July, August, and up to mid-September. Remember, you may have to leave the remaining vine up into the host vegetation because the vine has to dry out to become brittle enough to be effectively pulled off the host without causing branch damage.

If you cannot stump-applicate the hard to pull plants during the summer months, then you can instead cut the plant six to twelve inches from the ground before it starts to produce berries (seeds) preferably by September (Ellsworth, 2005). After the taller stump has re-sprouted, you cut it to one inch above the ground and immediately apply glyphosate herbicide to the freshly cut stump. Allowing the stump to re-sprout during the summer months draws carbohydrate and other growth compounds from the roots and depletes some of the root energy making herbicide kill more effective.

5. Foliar application of glyphosate works best on multi-stemmed vines that had been repeatedly cut for many years without chemical control follow up or had not been removed by digging. Foliar application works best between July and mid-September particularly on impenetrable thickets growing in open areas such as fields, along road sides and paths where the vines are not growing up on host vegetation. Foliar application transports the herbicide from the leaves to the roots. If Asiatic bittersweet has many stems with foliage and is quite large, it may take one to two years for complete kill after one foliar application because multiple stemmed specimens generally have a very large root system. Climbing vines that have foliage close to the ground should be sprayed from the ground up to six or more feet for effective control. If vines have a small amount of low level foliage and / or are too tall with no available low foliage then stump applied herbicide would be more effective. Individuals contemplating using chemical control of Asiatic bittersweet in or near wetlands must use a wetland approved herbicide. It’s the law.

6. Cold weather stump application (November through February; temperatures ranging from 15.8 to 46.4 Fahrenheit) (Reinartz, 1997) reduces the risk of contaminating non-target plants. University of Wisconsin researcher, James Reinartz (1997), tested cold weather stump application using 25% concentration of glyphosate herbicide on glossy buckthorn and obtained 92 to 100% control. I have used straight glyphosate concentration on the freshly cut stumps of Asiatic bittersweet vine in  November and obtained a 98 % kill in a small, but heavy, infestation of vines that were between two and four inches in diameter. Cold weather control frees up time for control efforts that is not available during the summer months and is especially useful on overgrown Asiatic bittersweet individuals.

7. The above suggested example may be modified to suit existing site conditions and the level of Asiatic bittersweet vine infestation.

For additional information about exotic invasives, refer to Bruce’s article: “Controlling Small Scale Infestations of Exotic Invasive Plant Species: Ecological and IPM Information for Landscapers and Homeowners.”  

Part I:  The New Group of Pests Differs from Insects and Diseases
Part II: IPM Control Strategies for Exotic Invasive Plants
Part III: Landscape and Ecosystem Damage: A Brief Introduction

About the Author   

Bruce Wenning  has university degrees in plant pathology and entomology and is an ELA Board member and regular contributor to the ELA Newsletter. Bruce also spearheads the effort to expand ELA’s website content. Watch for his upcoming articles with information about individual invasive species. He is a horticulturist at The Country Club, Brookline, MA where he continues his battle with exotic invasive plant species.

A Guide to Smithsonian Gardens
Written by Carole Ottesen
Published by Smithsonian Books, 2011

Reviewed by Risa Edelstein

As a landscape designer, I try to visit gardens every season both for inspiration and fresh ideas. A few years ago, I was in Washington with colleagues, and we got to see some of the gardens in the city including the natural landscape that surrounds the National Museum of the American Indian. A Guide to Smithsonian Gardens describes these and other Smithsonian landscapes with wonderful detail.

Designed by a Native American architect, the National Museum of the American Indian soars into the sky like a rock formation you’d expect to see in the Midwest.  A roaring waterfall on the East side of the building is constructed with 350-year-old limestone from Minnesota and is one of the focal points of the museum’s design. The surrounding landscape pays homage to this stone in that the gardens use native plants and were designed to represent familiar habitats such as forest and wetlands.

This is just one of many gardens included in this book about all of the gardens that are considered part of the Smithsonian botanic collection. With beautiful photography and wonderful descriptions of each, it is enough to make the reader yearn to spend a few days in Washington, DC in order to visit them all. The gardens vary greatly – and being able to go to one city in order to see so many different types of landscapes in a short period of time adds to the appeal. From the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden to the Heirloom and Victory Gardens, there is something to inspire every designer. 

The Smithsonian gardens represent a vast range of styles. While some of the gardens are somewhat formal and traditionally styled, including parterre gardens with clipped box as well as a rose garden, there is plenty to inspire the ecological designer. From native plants to edible gardens to natural landscapes, I am encouraged that ecological gardens are truly becoming part of the accepted urban landscape.

The book details over 10 gardens and includes wonderful historical photos and facts about each one. The author includes a mix of horticultural and architectural information that help to make this book a great travel companion to anyone planning to visit DC in the near future.

About the Author

Risa Edelstein trained as an ecological landscape designer at the Landscape Institute of the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. She is a member of the Association of Professional Landscape Designers, accredited with NOFA as an organic landcare professional, and the current President of the Ecological Landscaping Association. Risa may be contacted at www.risaedelstein.com or www.linkedin.com/myprofile?trk=hb_tab_pro.

by Theresa Sprague

As the landscape paradigm continues to shift towards sustainable/regenerative design, ecological function, and land management vs. landscaping, it becomes clearer that collaboration between the conservation and landscape communities is essential. In my neck of the woods (Southeastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod), where land within ecologically sensitive areas such as wetlands, coastal banks, marshes, vernal pools, etc. has been developed at a mind-boggling rate, the need for collaboration is unquestionable. 

Proposed project: remove existing cottage and build a larger year-round home with stone walls and patio.

The resource areas mentioned above are regulated by the state Wetlands Protection Act and often by more stringent local wetlands regulations, as well as by the local conservation staff and commissions that uphold those regulations. As a landscape professional, my understanding of the function and sensitive nature of these resources areas, as well as the regulations that protect them, can guide me to design and implement projects that meet (and exceed) wetlands regulations performance standards, while meeting my clients’ goals and desires and providing some important education along the way. Likewise, conservation commissions and staff can benefit from a close partnership with landscape professionals through a better understanding of the design and development process, while ensuring that communication is open and that a project is completed with minimal adverse impacts from start to finish.

View of project area before permitting and construction. The resource area involved a Coastal Bank with 100 foot buffer zone and a 50 foot no-disturb zone.

Recognizing the Challenges

The first step in this process is for the landscape professional is to recognize when work is in a regulated area (resource area or buffer zone to the resource area), know what that resource area is (e.g. bordering vegetated wetland, isolated wetland, riverfront area, coastal bank, beach or dune, etc.) and understand its ecological function. The second step is knowing the regulations that protect that resource area, including what can and cannot be done there and who to contact or what process to follow to obtain the proper permits for the site. The third step is putting together a design that meets the client’s goals, satisfies the conservation regulations, and supports and enhances the ecological function of the site. Easy, right?

Well, maybe not. Often the landscape professional can feel stuck in the middle with the conservation commission and the client at opposite ends of the table. The conservation commission wants wild and untouched and the client wants gardens, views, access, etc. A difficult spot to be in, no doubt, and unfortunately one that landscape professionals and conservation staff and commissions are finding themselves in more often.

Dueling Viewpoints

A typical scenario might look like this:

A new client calls and would like to build a deck/patio/gazebo/shed and maybe some gardens, with roses and wisteria (to climb the gazebo, of course). You arrive on the site for an initial meeting and discover – uh oh – the client lives on a pond (or a marsh, river, coastal bank etc.) surrounded by thick vegetation, a mix of native and invasive species. And, you discover that they would like their new landscape designed and built just between the house and the pond, all within 100 feet from the wetland resource area.

Now what? Should you go ahead and design and build what the client has asked for? Can you clear all that vegetation (most of it is invasive anyways)? Maybe the client wants a view or a path to the pond, and all that thick vegetation is in the way. You think that there are restrictions on what can be done around a pond, but you’re not sure what you need to do or whom to call.

Or, down at that other end of the table, you are the Conservation Agent, who has been called by a well-meaning citizen, just to let you know that their neighbors have cut all the vegetation from around their pond shoreline and put up a gazebo. You know that no permit has been issued for a project in the neighborhood. You march on down for a conversation with the property owners, and they tell you they hired someone to do the work. You give the landscaper a call, and she tells you, “Sure I did the work. A conservation permit? No, I didn’t realize I needed a conservation permit? The contractor got a building permit to put up the gazebo; I just did the landscaping.”

Site after lawn removal and initial invasive species management. Newly seeded meadow is shown during first growing season.

Learning to Turn Conflict into Collaboration

It’s a frustrating scenario for both parties, and one that I have come across many times in my professional practice. However, through communication and collaboration, these frustrations can be avoided, and everyone’s goals (including the clients!) can be met.

Seeded meadow, shown during first growing season, extends to water’s edge where there is ongoing invasive species (phragmites) management.

On March 7, the Ecological Landscaping Association will hold “Pro”active Protection of Wetlands: Conservation and Landscape Professionals Collaborate, a workshop intended to bring conservation and landscape professionals together to share ideas and learn from one another while exploring the fundamentals of wetlands permitting and delving into what is required in a solid landscape and land management plan. Topics include vegetated buffers, mitigation planting, and erosion, sedimentation, and stormwater control methods.

During this workshop, participants will be looking at scenarios similar to those described above and examine how conservation and landscaper can work together to be “Pro” active in ensuring our common goal of preserving the ecological integrity of some of our most sensitive landscapes.

About the Author

Theresa Sprague is the owner of BlueFlax Design in Mattapoisett, MA, where she focuses on merging science with the fine art of landscape design to create beautiful, ecologically sound, and sustainable landscapes, restoring ecological function and integrity to the built environment. She seeks to create habitats that support the needs of both people and wildlife. Theresa holds a Masters Degree from the Conway School of Landscape Design and has over 15 years of planning, design, ecological restoration, gardening, and land management experience. She may be reached at theresa@blueflaxdesign.com.

by Jack Ahern

An original method for planning resilient and sustainable cities is presented here. The method builds on established planning methods and models. The method has five themes: (1) goal-oriented and exosystem-services-based, (2) strategic, (3) scenario-driven, (4) transdisciplinary, and (5) adaptive. Each of these five themes is discussed in the following sections.

Click to continue this excerpted selection from Water-centric Sustainable Communities, published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2010. Selected text is reprinted in the ELA Newsletter with the permission of the author.

On March 7, Dr. Ahern speaks at an intensive workshop on Bringing Life to Urban Landscapes, part of the ELA’s 18th Annual Conference & Eco-Marketplace.

About the Author

Jack Ahern, PhD, is an award-winning landscape architect and Vice Provost of International Programs and professor of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning at UMass Amherst. Dr Ahern has researched and written extensively about the issues surrounding urban growth, landscape planning, biodiversity, and sustainability. He co-authored Water-Centric Sustainable Cities, published in 2010. Dr. Ahern may be reached at jfa@larp.umass.edu.

by Julie Richburg

As regional ecologist for The Trustees of Reservations, I work with my colleagues to ensure that the natural resources of our properties (including rare species) are protected from threats such as erosion, non-native invasive plants, and inappropriate use. With more than 40 properties within my region totaling nearly 10,000 acres, we must prioritize what gets done. Non-native invasive plants are found on nearly every property in Massachusetts, at least at some level, and are often regarded as one of the greatest threats to the native habitats and species on our properties. So where do we start?  At The Trustees, we have been taking a careful and deliberate look at where to use our resources (staff, volunteers, and financial) to control invasive plants, using our Invasive Plant Management Guidelines. The following is one case study that illustrates how we use this tool to structure our priorities.

Preserving a Landmark

Bartholomew’s Cobble, a National Natural Landmark, lies along the Housatonic River in Sheffield, Massachusetts and has long been recognized as a place of outstanding ecological, scenic, and recreational value. The 330-acre reservation includes agricultural fields, rock outcrops, wetlands, floodplain forests, and woodlands. It is home to many state-listed species, many of which are specialists on the Cobbles’ calcareous soils or in its floodplain habitats.  About ten years ago, we began to realize that the very species that we were most concerned with protecting were being lost amongst an ever increasing population of invasive species including Japanese barberry, garlic mustard, and common buckthorn.

Bartholomew's Cobble is home to many state-listed species that, in 2003, were being lost to invasives. South Cobble became a high-priority area for resource allocation.

In 2003, we conducted a survey of the plants of the Cobble with an emphasis on relocating rare and unusual species, mapping plant communities, and assessing the effect of invasive species on rare plants and communities.  Since we were new to invasive plant control, we began a slow and careful attempt to rid key invasive plants from sections of the property using a small but dedicated cadre of staff and volunteers. As we gained confidence that we could control the invasives without negatively impacting the species we were trying to protect, we increased our efforts from only hand-pulling, to cutting woody shrubs and painting the stumps with herbicide, and eventually even doing some foliar spray.

Invasive species are ranked and prioritized in different areas to give clear indication of where to apply resources.

Devising a Plan – and Sticking to It!

As we began to see success with these control projects, we slowly expanded our efforts to include more of the property and more species. In 2009, we completed an Invasive Plant Management Plan for the entire 330 acre reservation to serve as a roadmap for our staff and volunteers to continue our focus on the most important features of the reservation. Significantly, the plan designates areas or species that we will NOT try to control. In the case of Bartholomew’s Cobble, the area of active management is narrowed to the 85 acres surrounding our most important rare species. Making a deliberate decision to walk away from a part of the property is very difficult, especially for those staff working at the Cobble daily. Yet with limited resources and many properties to work on, there needs to be a balance between what can get done and what needs to be left alone and having a written plan keeps everyone on task. The plan also serves to record our successes and the resources that were required to achieve those successes so that the information can be factored into future efforts.

Whether you are managing a large piece of conservation land, or just your own backyard you can effectively manage invasive plants by following a few key guidelines. 

1) Identify what you want. This often gets lost in the rush to get rid of the undesirable invasives.  In our case, we wanted to protect rare species, but you may want to see more butterflies or have more bird habitat.

2) Learn about the biology of species you want to get rid of, aka know your enemy.  Is the plant shade tolerant? Spread by rhizomes? Does it like its feet wet? Also, what is the size of the infestation and where is it? All of these will influence how to control the species.

3) Develop a reasonable timeline and be realistic. Very few invasive plant control efforts completely eradicate a species (especially if your neighbor has a large burning bush that sends new seeds your way every year). A little persistence and a keen eye can catch seedlings before they get out of hand and make it easier to maintain the habitat the way you want it – and don’t we all want a good excuse to spend time closely observing our favorite places!

About the Author

Julie Richburg, PhD, is the Regional Ecologist for The Trustees of Reservations (a state-wide non-profit land trust) Western Region in MA. She oversees natural resource inventory and management for the 40 properties (approx. 9,000 acres) owned or managed by The Trustees. While at UMass Amherst, Dr. Richburg’s research focused on control of woody invasive plants using mechanical and prescribed fire treatments across the Northeast. In 2008, she wrote “Invasive Plant Management: Guidelines for Managers” which includes guidelines for prioritizing invasive plant management by property or region. In 2009, she organized a partnership of individuals, organizations, and agencies interested in invasive species control within the Westfield River Watershed. She may be reached at jrichburg@ttor.org.