2cnn newsletter, final fall 2011 reduced

8/3/2019 2CNN Newsletter, Final Fall 2011 Reduced

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F A L L 2 0 1 1

hesapeake Natives Inc

Chesapeake Native

News

Girl Scouts PlantNative Plants at LocustGrove Nature Center

Bethesda Girl Scout Troop 6002 hasoined with Chesapeake Natives torovide locally native plants for

Montgomery Countys Locust GroveNature Center in Bethesda.

Learning about host plants

The girls in Scout leader, Jolene Cannonswo troops spent some time in our

greenhouse garden last October. Theyollected and cleaned seeds, studied them

with a handlens and took home someConcolinium coelestinum (blue mistflower)o plant in their school garden. Theyearned that they are supporting thenvironment by providing insects, smallnimals, and birds, with seeds and nectaro eat as well as creating habitat. When

asked how the purple sneezeweedbenefits the environment, Lana Newmansaid, the dainty sulphur butterfly lays itseggs on the plant and their larvae eat theleaves.

Chesapeake Natives volunteer SarahFulton taught them about the crucial

relationship between butterfly

caterpillars and their host plants. Somthe already endangered butterflies cobe lost forever if their native host planare not grown in our gardens.

In May, Sarah taught the girls how to up seedlings ofHelenium flexuosum(purple sneezeweed) and Salvia lyrata(lyreleaf sage) and they planted the fugrown plants in the butterfly and birdgarden at the Center on October 17,2011. The lyreleaf sage seeds are lovby goldfinches and the purple

sneezeweed is a host plant for butterf

On September 16th, students from theBullis School in Potomac planted

Lobeliacardinalis (cardinal flower) iwetter area around the pond at the Cenwhere their dark, leafy rosettes havealready expanded in the fall weather.Their long red spikes are a favorite ofruby-throated hummingbirds and willbrighten up the woodland garden nextJuly and August.

(continued on page

Protect, Propagate, and Promote Plants Native to the

Chesapeake Bay

Letter from the

Executive Director

Page 2

More Girl Scouts

Page 2

Volunteer Page

Meet Ann Wing

Statistics

Holiday Party

Page 3

Plant of the Quarter

Gentiana clausa,

Bottle Gentian

Page 6

Walker Jones

Butterfly Garden

Urban Pioneer:

Sarah Bernardi

Pages 4-5

Holiday Party!

Please join us for

holiday pot luck a

the greenhouse,December13, 12

A Quarterly Newsletter Volume 2: 1 Fall 20

Girl Scout Troop 6002: Katie Cannon,

Clare Cawley, Silvana Fragano,

Catherine Gardiner, Anna Gefke, Claire

Guion, Jessica Lee, Beatrice

McDermott, Lana Newman, Lily Parker,

Elena Ugarte, Lydia Wang, picturedhere with volunteer Sarah Fulton.
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C H E S A P E A K E N A T I V E S I N C

Fal

L E T T E R F R O M T H E E X E C U T I V E D I R E C T O R

Dear Readers, It was a beautiful day and the garden was calling, a bunch of

native shrubs purchased from Blue Water Baltimore waiting for their newhomes.

Let's see, Pagoda dogwood. The only good spot I have is occupied by a crapemyrtle. Okay, been meaning to get rid of that anyway. Bottlebrush buckeye,well, I guess I could take out that dead ninebark and let it do it's best in thatspot. The green and gold shared with me by volunteer Barbara Schubert,hat would look good in the rain garden under the native azalea.

The biggest challenge was the sand cherry. Years ago, I planted a row ofhem to create a spectacular springtime display. Every year I decide to takehem out being non-native, every year I decide to wait until after the bloom,hen get busy with other things and forget about it. I go through the mental

debate, does it really matter? It's not invasive, it's pretty, it has gorgeouspurple leaves. Will the pollinators really notice? With all my native plants,can't I leave this one?

How fervently do I adhere to the principles of native gardening? Howmportant is it? How much does each plant matter? How many plants andhow many insects can I care about? With the state of our environment as its, what difference will it make in the long run?

There are no easy answers unless you think in black and white, which I don't.want my yard to demonstrate the beauty and wonder of native plants and it

does, but it also shows my ambivalence; I still keep and love a few non-native plants.

As a landscaper, I used primarily non-native plants when I started mybusiness. They are well-known, readily available, cheap, and hard to kill. Isimultaneously became a Weed Warrior, trained to remove invasive plantsrom public lands, and to my dismay I found that I was pulling out the veryplants that I was installing. I also worried about the aggressive nature of

hese invasive plants and feared all that hard work would be for nothing.Thus began my interest in learning about and planting native plants.

was a volunteer for Chesapeake Natives before asked to be the Executive

Director, so my work is my passion and I am honored to be entrusted with agreat mission. Over the last few months as I have gained my bearings, Ihave had the pleasure of working side by side with people committed topropagating, promoting, and preserving native plants.

Together we agonize about non-native invasive plants, cultivars, what'snative in light of climate change and the shift of planting zones. Together wedo some good things. We get our plants out there, in schools, in yards, inconservation projects, in campus meadows. We are doing something goodogether and that is worth celebrating.

Our mutual commitment is to the environment, to learning from each other,

and to embracing the newly inspired as they make the same journey, movingrom the standard and boring and non-nutritive non-native shrubs and

perennials to the vibrant, sustainable, beautiful, and nourishing world ofnative plants. Each native plant that I install is an invitation, a celebration,and a very important small change that I hope will have long term crucial andwonderful outcomes.

invite you to share your stories with us on our facebook page (we have anew one, look for the Chesapeake Natives Nonprofit page), or send a note tous at [email protected]. Tell us about your experiences with nativeplants and how they affect your life.

also invite you to join us as a volunteer or come to our holiday party andsay hello. You will be in good company,

Rochelle Bartolomei

Girl Scouts, cont.

Locust Grove Plans include more Nativ

Plants

Locust Grove Nature Center FacilityManager, Marta Potter, is excited abouthaving the new native plants at Locust Gboth to support the environment and edu

the public about ecofriendly gardeningpractices that people can use at home.

Locust Grove recently purchased andinstalled 44 native shrubs that ChesapeakNatives had rescued from NASA GoddarIn their new home, these plants will provbeauty as well as nourishment to nativeinsects and birds.

Montgomery County Moving Ahea

In the future, it is likely that Pope Farm o

Montgomery County Parks and Recreatiwill also provide some natives for LocusGrove. David Vismara, Division Chief o

Horticulture, Forestry and Environmenta

Education, has indicated his strong intere

in switching to all native plants for the

county. However, given the budget cuts

Montgomery County, more efforts like thone will be needed to provide native planwhen funds are limited. The Girl Scouts other youth groups will continue this woLocust Grove Nature Center.

. -by Sarah Fu
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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all 2011

Meet Ann Wing, Greenhouse Manager

nd Vice-President of the Board

was born at the Naval Academy where

my dad was teaching. He was a careeraval officer so I moved around--Norfolk,

ennsylvania, California, and

Massachusetts. I always liked looking atlants and animals outside, helped

eighbors and my dad in their gardensnd spent summers with my grandfather

who had farmland near Hershey, PA. Iot to do some canning, feed chickens

nd milk a cow at a farm down the street,

nd would bring home bunches of

weeds" to decorate the house.My interest in native plants began when

my husband, our girls, and I lived in

Texas, and increased after we moved to

Maryland and I volunteered at the Nature

Conservancy Heritage program at theDepartment of Natural Resources in

999. In 2005, I met Sara Tangren at aworkshop she held at the Chesapeake Bay

oundation. Shortly after, I wasolunteering at the farm near Annapolis.

Have been here ever since, weeding,

moving, and growing native plants.

As far as choosing a favorite plant, it's

mpossible. Which is your favorite child?The one you choose this minute is

hrowing a tantrum the next and they eachave different wonderful qualities.udbeckia fulgida andR. hirta are

talwarts in the fall, along with the

oldenrods, bringing sunshine to my

arden; but in the spring, the bloodroot

tops me on any walk. Then there are theobelias, shocking red and my favorite

hade of blue, and the way wood aster

nd snakeroot show up in the shade.

orry, but I can't pick one.

For the future of CNI, I'd like to see our

gardens really thrive and bloom so people

notice them here on campus, and to have a

close working relationship with the different

departments...biology, botany, geology, the

earth sciences, and maybe even chemistry ormedicine, Have artists use the flowers orleaves for inspiration/designs. And also have

tours so the public can appreciate the nativeplants we have. In addition, it would bewonderful to continue with research here in

the greenhouses and in the field, teaching

volunteers and employing students so they

can teach others. We're dealing with thebottom of the food chain and have an

important role to preserve the species we can

and to educate the public in the importance

of doing that in their own domains.

I've done almost everything hands-on. When

we moved to College Park, most of the

volunteers who helped at the farm found the

commute too difficult to manage, so Sara and

a small group of us did everything--dug

holes and put plants from the farm into the

ground near the greenhouse, sorted and

cleaned seeds, mailed orders, organized

sales, and weeded as the jobs arose. People

joined and we now have others with

expertise to share the load.

I manage the greenhouse and, in 2008, I was

asked to join the Board and became Vice

President in July of 2010. There is no waywe could have accomplished what we have

done without the devoted hands of other

volunteers. They're fun to work with and the

reason I keep coming back myself.

Editors note: Ann is as usual underplaying

her pivotal role in the ongoing well-being of

CNI. Her dedication and energy is much

appreciated.

Join us for a holida

potluck at the

greenhouse,

Tuesday December

13th, 12:00 pm.

WHOWEARE:

ChesapeakeNativesInc

propagatesnativeplantsth

descendantsofresponsibly

collectedplantsandseeds.

nativeplantsareecotypeso

ChesapeakeBayWatershed

theyarebestsuitedtosupp

pollinatorsinMaryland.

WearelocatedattheGreen

ComplexontheUniversityo

campusinCollegeParkand

partnerswiththecampus

Arboretum. CNI volunteer

maintainfivenativeplantga

ontheuniversitycampusan

growplantsforsaletothep

andtootherenvironmental

groupssuchasthoserestor

streambanks. CNIalsopro

plantstoschoolsjointlywit

MonarchSisterSchoolsPro

Foralistofplantsaledates

locationsortoorderplants

willbegrowntofulfillyouro

order,visit

www.chesapeakenatives.or
http://www.chesapeakenatives.org/http://www.chesapeakenatives.org/http://www.chesapeakenatives.org/


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Urban Pioneer Sarah Bernardi Brings Lif

on the Farm to Kids in the CityIt was a bright autumn Sunday afternoon when I stopped by to visit Sarah Bernardi at the at Walker Jones off of K street NW in DC. We sat in the middle of the garden on low ben

to have our chat, munching on fresh peas hanging from the nearby trellises. Around us weor so volunteers from various groups, weeding, harvesting, and mulching the many gardenfull of colorful produce and native flowers. This farm is an example of how you can creatoasis of green out of what was once an overlooked barren hard-packed piece of land.

Last Spring, Chesapeake Natives, under the leadership of Dr. Christopher Puttock, designand built an 8,000 square foot butterfly garden adjacent to the farm. We planted 1500 natiplants and 21 native shrubs and trees and transformed an area of crabgrass into a beautifulgarden that is being used as part of the educational curriculum for the adjacent Walker JonEducation Campus. The curriculum is developed by the Monarch Sister Schools Programwith whom Chesapeake Natives partners to install butterfly gardens in local elementaryschools. To date, 20 native gardens have been installed, but Walker Jones is by far the largSarah Bernardi runs the farm and has been a great supporter of Chesapeake Natives. She

the gardens looking great with the help of teams of volunteers. But more than that, she is example of a person who is passionate about her commitment to the environment and has successful in creating a beautiful, lush, and productive farm and garden. She has vision, bshe also has style. From the homemade signs and trellises to the garden edging made of bbricks, the garden feels as comfortable and welcoming as a front porch rocking chair.

Just being so connected to the earth on a day to day basis is awesom

or me on a personal level.

CN: How did you get interested in urban gardening?SB: My background is in arts and education. I was an art teacher for

ten years, then took a job teaching at Bancroft Elementary School and

they had a big garden program there. I got interested in teaching in the

garden and in garden programming in general and then met Lauren

Shweder Beal. She founded DC Greens to house the Glover Park

Farmer's market and we decided we wanted the profits from the

Farmer's Market to go into school garden programs.

CN: So the food that is grown here is used in the school?

SB: The food that is grown here is used in cooking lessons and we're

working on getting it in the cafeteria but there's no precedent for that.

DC Public Schools and the Health Department are trying to figure out

what we have to do to make that happen. The food service manager is

not going to be able to use only food from the farm but we will be able

to provide her with kale and some produce. As long as what she's

offering the kids to eat is similar to the kinds of food we're growing,

then I think the kids can make that connection, because I don't think

we're big enough to feed everybody.


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all 2011

CN:What made you decide to plant abutterfly garden?

SB: Well, butterflies are important

pollinators for growing vegetables andhe goal is to create a rich educational

pace that teachers can use to teach as

many aspects of the curriculum as

hey can. It is just as important to

build a garden with native plants

providing food for all the pollinators

hat we need for the farm. What made

me decide I wanted that large of a

butterfly garden? I think we

ometimes like to bite off more thanwe can chew at Walker Jones.

CN: What are your biggest

hallenges in the garden?

SB: In the beginning it was weeds but

we have so much interest in the farm

now and we have so many groups that

want to do service projects, that the

manual labor is no longer a challenge.

Now the biggest challenge is water,

our water system is a little unreliable.

I just found the main line cut again so

I'm glad the season is ending so wehave the time to figure that out.

CN: What do you like best about

working here?

SB: I like meeting all the differentkinds of interesting people that get

excited about the farm. It's

something different every day and

having the space for the kids to

experience all of this is awesome. I'm

happy not to be a teacher anymore but

I still like to interface with kids. And

just being so connected to the earth on

a day to day basis is awesome for me

on a personal level.

CN: What is your plan for the nex

year? Any big changes in the

garden?

SB: Hopefully more staffing, an

educator who will lead classes out

here on a regular basis to make sur

that all the kids in the school get a

consistent experience. Developing

teaching kitchen, we have a space

aside for it and we want to build th

out so we can start doing nutrition

education classes in there, maybe

some season extending projects an

building a greenhouse, gettingchickens, and getting cats to handl

our field mice.

For more information on how you

visit the farm, volunteer, buy fresh

produce, or donate, check out:http

wjfarm.wordpress.com/

-by Rochelle Bartol
http://wjfarm.wordpress.com/http://wjfarm.wordpress.com/http://wjfarm.wordpress.com/http://wjfarm.wordpress.com/http://wjfarm.wordpress.com/


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Fal

Plant of the Quarter: Gentiana clausa, Bottle gentian

Bumblebees are the only pollinators in our area with enough muscle to open the bottles. Having opened the blossom they dhead first and begin their distinctive vibrational method of pollination. This floral characteristic excludes smaller insects that less efficient at pollination from robbing nectar and pollen from the bumblebees.

The plant is essentially carefree with no known diseases or pests. The seed in sometimes consumed by pests, but this isinconspicuous. Because the foliage and roots are bitter-tasting, mammalian herbivores usually don't use this plant as a food soHowever, deer may chomp off the tender tops of the plants before they have a chance to flower. This can cause the central steform smaller side branches. The seeds are too small to be of much interest to birds.

Bottle gentian is native from Maine to New York, and then from New Jersey to North Carolina along the mountains, and it inwood borders and stream banks. The Chesapeake Natives populations are from the Broad Run floodplain in Virginia, and WaMaryland. -by Carin Celebuski and Dr. Christopher Pu

Bottle gentian is a small native wildflower with bottle blue flowers from late August toOctober. Also called meadow closed gentian or meadow bottle gentian, it is a memberof the family Gentianaceae, which are leafy herbs, commonly with showy bell- ortrumpet-shaped flowers blooming in a branched cluster. There are about 70 genera and1,100 species that occur in many different habitats in temperate and subtropicalregions. Some gentians are cultivated as ornamentals. There are a number of species

closely related to Gentiana clausa and similar in appearance. Gentiana andrewsii(prairie bottle gentian) is nearly identical, distinguished by a fine fringe on the corollatips around the opening, and is more common westward.

Only about one foot tall, bottle gentian has simple (unbranched) stems that are round,hairless, and either light green or purple. The opposite leaves are up to 4" long and 2"across, and sessile against the stem. They are broadly lanceolate or ovate, with smoothmargins and parallel venation. The upper surface of each leaf is dark green and oftenshiny. Both the upper and lower leaf surfaces are devoid of hairs. The uppermost tier ofleaves is often whorled.

The flowers occur in axils and at the top of the stem immediately above the whorledleaves, and remain closed at the top like a bottle even when the flower is ready to

receive pollinating insects. The corollas are violet, in different shades depending on thematurity of the flower. There are longitudinal ridges along the outer edge of thecorolla, giving it a wrinkly appearance. Inside, the reproductive structures of the flowerare fused together to form a central column. The corolla usually has five lobes, butthese are barely noticeable because of an interconnecting fringe that is even taller thanthe lobes. The green calyx is much smaller than the corolla, and divided into fivelanceolate segments. These segments may curl outward away from the flower ratherthan remaining upright. There is no noticeable floral scent.

Bottle gentians prefers full or part sun, and moist, rich soil. They should be divided ortransplanted only in spring, and mulched with pine straw, pine fines, or leaf compost.The small seeds can be transported by water or wind some distance from a motherplant. The root system consists of a stout taproot. Vegetative reproduction does notnormally occur. The plant can be propagated by seed or divisions of the root crown.Divide the root crowns in fall or early spring and plant one foot apart. To protect thebrittle crown, be sure to include a large ball of soil around the division when you lift itout. For seed propagation, the dried corolla remains intact around the smooth, palebrown capsule as it matures. Collect seeds just before the first hard freeze when thecapsules begin to open and curl back. Tap seed out and store dry in sealed, refrigeratedcontainers for up to four years. Stratify for 3 months at 40 degrees for bestgermination.

Chesapeake Natives Inc is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting, protecting, and preserving native plants in the Chesapeake Bwatershed. PO Box 1866, College Park, MD 20741, 301-887-3778, www.chesapeakenatives.org.
http://www.chesapeakenatives.org/http://www.chesapeakenatives.org/http://www.chesapeakenatives.org/

2cnn newsletter, final fall 2011 reduced

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