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Callirhoe involucrata, known commonly as Wine Cups, is an excellent and very durable ground cover.  

Nature’s Sanctuary

February 15, 2021 in Designing Ecological Landscapes, Landscape Challenges, Native Plants, Pest Management, Pest Management, Public Gardens and Parks, SITES

By Gregg Tepper

West Laurel Hill Cemetery, a level-II accredited arboretum located in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, features a unique space called “Nature’s Sanctuary.” This one-acre space, which previously served as the cemetery’s dumpsite, now uses a managed successional plan that will gradually transition from a sunny meadow to a meadow/woodland combination and, finally, a mature forest. This article focuses on the range of native plant species grown in this one-acre space and doing so with deer pressure.

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HMC Brookesville garden, alternate leaved dogwood, pagoda dogwoo 

What Is Rewilding?

February 15, 2021 in Designing Ecological Landscapes, Edible Landscaping, Landscape Design, Meadows, Native Plants, Public Gardens and Parks, Urban Landscaping

by Heather McCargo and Anna Fialkoff

The term rewilding first appeared in the conservation world in the 1980s with a continental-scale vision to protect large tracts of wilderness and connect these areas with migration corridors. Maine’s Wild Seed Project considers rewilding to be not just for the large wilderness areas or charismatic megafauna like wolves. Instead, they focus on actions that people can take right outside their doors.

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The High Line in New York City, inspired by wildness, but very high maintenance.  

Urban Wilderness and the “High Line Problem”

October 15, 2020 in Designing Ecological Landscapes, Landscape Challenges, Landscape Design, Public Gardens and Parks, Urban Landscaping

By Emma Marris

In October of 2013, I toured three miles of disused railroad line in Philadelphia.  The entire line was covered with spontaneous vegetation alive with butterflies and ladybugs. Here nature was showing us her resilience and her wild beauty and offering to meet us where most of us live now, in the city.  What is tricky about urban wildness is what I call the High Line Problem.

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The sheet mulching project at Wellesley College taken 10 years after it was first installed to suppress turf grass June 2020 shows a thriving plant community.  

Alexandra Botanic Gardens of Wellesley College: Sheet Mulching Update

September 15, 2020 in Designing Ecological Landscapes, Native Plants, Public Gardens and Parks

By Tricia Diggins

Ten years ago I wrote an article about sheet mulching that highlighted a project in the Alexandra Botanic Gardens of Wellesley College. It was so interesting to revisit the project ten years later and to see if the sheet mulching solution stood the test of time and kept the turfgrass at bay. One of the unexpected benefits of smothering the turfgrass was that it allowed native plants to naturally form a thriving plant community.  

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In this second year of growth, the Education Building begins to feel grounded in a verdant landscape. Photo by Jamie Purinton  

Let it Rain

August 14, 2020 in Designing Ecological Landscapes, Installing and Maintaining Landscapes, Landscape Design, Native Plants, Public Gardens and Parks

by Jamie Purinton &  Marc Wolf

Mountain Top Arboretum was designed to mimic and compliment the wondrous native plant communities of New York’s Catskill Mountains. Habitats such as wet meadows and seeps, woodland edges, and bedrock alpine communities completely guided the style and content of the plantings and the stonework. Teamwork combining design, planting, stormwater management, and a focus on educating the public culminated in a landscape that can be resilient through all types of weather. 

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A blue heron in the wetlands as they appear today. Photo by Pam Morris Olshefski. 

Restoring the Wetlands of Morris Arboretum

July 16, 2020 in Designing Ecological Landscapes, Developing Healthy Landscapes, Land Management, Landscaping for Wildlife, Managing Water in the Landscape, Public Gardens and Parks, Restoration

by Eloise Gayer

Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania is well known for its abundance of mature trees and horticultural displays. In 2001 the Arboretum began the restoration of a drained wetland that would not only serve as a blueprint for other wetland restoration projects but also create more educational opportunities for the entire community. Learn about the history of this wetland, that was farmland at the turn of the century then one hundred years later was reverted back into a natural wetland.

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June brings smooth-leaved penstemon into flower, making the garden alive with bumblebees.  

Celebrating Natives Garden Tour – Dennis, MA

June 15, 2020 in Landscaping for Wildlife, Native Plants, Public Gardens and Parks

Hosted by Kristin Andres

Take a walk on the wild side of Cape Cod. Located in Dennis, MA  the Association to Preserve Cape Cod has built a wonderful garden to show residents of Cape Cod how beautiful and easy it is to plant and maintain a native garden. With veggie demonstration gardens and rain gardens, there really is a garden solution for every obstacle a gardener might face.

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Celebrating Natives Garden Tour – Needham, MA

June 15, 2020 in Designing Ecological Landscapes, Native Plants, Public Gardens and Parks, Urban Landscaping

Hosted by Marie Chieppo

Avery Park, a busy commuter rail station park becomes a native plant oasis for people and pollinators alike. Follow Needham based landscape designer Marie Chieppo’s journey through a barren weed-infested plot to a popular garden gathering spot that is doing double duty during the COVID pandemic as a great place to socialize while staying six feet apart.

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