If you want to see how beautiful landscaping with all natives can be, visit our Falmouth Road restoration project at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Falmouth Road in Bethesda. Installed in spring 2022 on both sides of the intersection, the plants are beginning to establish themselves and fill in the spaces. No need for mulching this year!
Yes, We have Virginia Bluebells!
It’s spring in the Green Acres Restoration Project and we are happy to report that the Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) we planted last fall are up and starting to bloom and more were planted just last week. Virginia bluebells are native to the eastern part of North America and occur in riparian forests, which are wooded areas growing on river and lake banks or in wetland areas. The blue flowers in the spring make a stunning display and when they spread, carpet the area in blue.
Visiting Westbrook and Sumner Village
This week I had the pleasure of visiting two of our habitat restoration projects to see how the plants were holding up. The goal in these project was to restore native plants to the areas - not so much as a landscaping project, but to bring back the wildflowers and plants that would normally grow in the area. We didn’t need to remove many non-native invasives, but just replaced the existing grass with native plants. I am pleased to say that both projects are doing well; it’s hard to even imagine what they looked like before. And there were butterflies and bees!
The Green Acres Meadow is Blooming!
Cardinal flowers, bee balm and mountain mint are just some of the flowers blooming in the Green Acres meadow. Volunteers have been hard at work weeding, mulching and planting.
Trees are mulched! After experimenting with several different methods, we decided to add mulch rings to the base of our new trees to protect them from lawn mowers which have been banging up the trunks.