Native Plants are Coming!
Bottlebrush Buckeye
We are excite to announce that we are starting a new habitat restoration project along Massachusetts Avenue at the intersection of Falmouth Road. Non-native invasives plants on either side of the intersection will be replaced by native flowers, grasses, trees and shrubs. With native plants established, the area will come alive with bees, butterflies and other insects so necessary for pollinating and as food for song birds and other animals.
Planning for the project began in January with discussions on what could be done to remove the non-natives choking out native plants at this intersection and along Mass Ave. It was clear that our efforts to hand-remove the vines and bush honeysuckle were not enough to allow the native plants to re-establish themselves. We decided that the area would be best served by hiring people to remove the non-natives and replant with native shrubs, grasses and flowers. Volunteers could then be engaged to water, weed and tend to the area. After getting permission from the State Highway Administration (SHA) to do the restoration, we were on our way.
Woodland Ruby Anise Tree (Illicium ‘Woodland Ruby’)
Landscape designer, Lauren Greenberger, Daybreak Farms, has been hired to design the project and oversee the work. SHA has agreed to removed non-native mulberry tree on the south side. We will be working with local landscaping company, Pineapple Landscaping, to remove the non-natives from both sides of the intersection.
We expect the new plants to be installed by the end of April, so please visit the site and watch the progress.
Many thanks to Celia Martin for taking on this effort, to the Westmoreland Civic Association for their support and the MD State Highway Administration for partnering with LFWA on this important job.
Habitat Restoration area marked in green.
Plant list
Along Mass Ave and along entrance way:
90 Bouteloua gracilis, ‘Blonde Ambition’ (Blue grama grass); or Calamintha nepeta (catmint)
60 Sporoboulus hetereolepsis (Prairie Dropseed – summer bloom, bee host)
Under existing trees:
5 Aesculus parviflora, Bottlebrush Buckeye (summer bloom, fall color)
10 Illicium, ‘Woodland Ruby’ (Anise Tree – color in spring, evergreen winter)
5 flats Packera aurea, (Golden Ragwort -deer resistant groundcover, daisy-like flowers, semi-evergreen)
3 flats Dennstaedtia punctilobula (Eastern Hay-scented Fern)
2 flats Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas Fern)
2 flats Matteuccia struthiopteris (Ostrich Fern)
3 flats carex rosea (curly wood sedge – deep green, semi-evergreen)
3 flats carex albicans (white-tinged or oak sedge – showy tips/flowers)
North Side:
4 hammamelis virginiana (witch hazel – fall blooming, multi-trunked)
4 Hamamelis vernalis (Ozark witch hazel – drought tolerant)
7 Aesculus parviflora (Bottlebrush buckeye)
24 ilex glabra, ‘strongbox’ (Inkberry Holly – evergreen, smooth leaf)