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My to-read pile grew a little after attending this year's New Directions in the American Landscape Symposium that was held at Bryn Mawr College on January 10-11. Two of the authors in the stack above, Ngoc Minh Ngo and Félix de Rosen, spoke about their work. De Rosen referenced Benjamin Vogt, the author of Prairie Up, a book I just finished reading and recommend highly. Jared Rosenbaum spoke at the symposium last year, and I have turned to his Wild Plant Culture often since then. New Naturalism is next to read; I will let you know. In the meantime, I will share my notes from the two days of fascinating talks and panels that NDAL provided.
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11 Takeaways from the NDAL Symposium
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- Grasslands are the most endangered ecosystem type in the United States. That squirrel that could climb tree-to-tree across the land from the Atlantic to the Mississippi is a myth. Forested grasslands existed throughout the eastern United States, maintained through lightning and human-induced fire.
- One type of grassland is a barren, and the largest remaining serpentine barren in our area is Soldiers Delight in Baltimore County, Maryland. You can learn more about grassland types from the Southeastern Grasslands Institute.
- Susan Masino made a case for supporting forest preservation as an act that also supports brain health, and she made a film recommendation, Call of the Forest.
- Watch how plants behave. Larry Weaner shared his experience of planting columbine in his parents’ front yard and noticing it move to a gravel path. He noticed columbine later volunteering in a bridge abutment crack, and he planted it in a meadow with golden alexander where it was soon outcompeted. Through these observations, he realized that columbine is an opportunist that thrives in difficult areas but gets outcompeted in rich soil.
- Plant native plants along the perimeter of your yard and get your neighbor to do it on the other side of the fence. Voilà-- you have a wildlife corridor! This was Sara Stein’s idea in Noah’s Garden.
- There are so many fantastic gardens and parks to see in New York City! I knew this, but Ngoc Minh Ngo spoke about her work photographing places such as Brooklyn Bridge Park, Hunter’s Point South Park, and Pelham Bay Park for her book New York Green, and I was blown away by the lush beauty contained in so many pockets of an otherwise urban area.
- Green space occupies 15% of New York City, compared to 20% of London, 9% of Paris, 40% of Stockholm, and 47% of Singapore.
- We are running out of sand. Hans Hesselein and Martha Green at Apiary Studio in Philadelphia are figuring out ways to re-use concrete in landscape design and reduce the demand for sand.
- The United States grew 20 million new gardeners during the pandemic, according to Rebecca McMackin, who designed a gorgeous garden outside the Brooklyn Museum. Many of these gardeners are sticking with it, and they are inspired by birds and butterflies.
- Nearly every red flower is pollinated by birds because they see red. Bees don’t.
- Besides buying plants from local native plant nurseries, it is important to save and share seeds from the plants you have. I hope to do more of that in 2024!
If you have come across an excellent native plant book or website, let us know and we will spread the word! Hope you are all cozy, enjoying the snow as it falls and as it melts.
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Save the date for the first Journeywork Community Gathering!
Saturday, March 23 9:00-11:00am
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Welcome in the spring, meet other folks in the Journeywork community, and learn some things at our first community gathering at Gwynedd Friends Meeting, 1101 DeKalb Pike, Gwynedd. If you have extra seeds that you would like to swap, bring them! There will be time for swapping and chatting over coffee and bagels. John Janick from Good Host Plants will share some of his experiences planting with native plants and answer questions, and a representative from Wyncote Audubon Society and Bird Safe Philly will tell us about easy ways to avoid bird collisions with our windows. I can't wait! Please RSVP to paige@journeywork.org.
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Gwynedd Friends Meeting and Gwynedd Friends School win Lower Gwynedd Going Green Award
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The Lower Gwynedd Township Environmental Advisory Council created the Going Green Award in 2023 to honor "a Lower Gwynedd resident, group, business, organization, non-profit, educational institution, or other entity located in Lower Gwynedd that has taken positive steps to improve or protect the environment." Gwynedd Friends Meeting and School won, thanks to the efforts of many people, including several Journeywork volunteers who weeded, mulched, and planted, making our world brighter with more flowers and our air cleaner with less mowing. Bravo!
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We will be at the Upper Dublin Environmental Open House on March 9!
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Please join us at the Upper Dublin Public Library from 10:00-noon.
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We will be there with new books, more pictures, and our felt yard!
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If Journeywork inspires you to sheet mulch, start seeds, or plant some native plants in your yard, please send us a picture! Let's celebrate and support each other!
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Our wish list
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