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In the fall of 2023, I seeded a rectangle of former turf that I had solarized with clear plastic for months. Winter rains came, and I was sure that the seed had washed away, so I threw more seed down, and more again. The results the next spring and summer were so unimpressive, I thought the seeding had failed, but I weeded out the teasel and stiltgrass and other uninvited plants and waited. Last spring, the plants I was waiting for began to appear: penstemon, golden alexander, mountain mint, little bluestem, switchgrass. I added in a few plugs of blue false indigo, purple love grass, and some other species.
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In the spirit of a meadow following the "sleep, creep, leap" pattern of development, my rectangle is leaping now, and you are welcome to join me for coffee at Gwynedd Friends Meeting on Saturday, July 11 from 9:00-10:30 and take a look.
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Leaping through spring, we added 7,868 native plants to our local ecosystem through Journeywork installations and Pollinator Palooza. One hundred volunteers gave 258 hours to support healthy habitat for wildlife.
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We gave two plant and design grants, each worth $500, to First Presbyterian Church in Germantown and Christ's Community Church in Drexel Hill. With this assistance, each church was able to replace some of their lawn with native plants and thereby offer an alternative landscape model to their neighbors. Additionally, we provided plant grants to Ambler Community Garden and North Wales Area Library (see below).
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I hope you have been enjoying the colors and fragrances of summer blooms. So many people have told me that their plants are looking great--we always welcome your photos! The photos above and below are of the blooms in my meadow today.
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Magical. More than one person described our Summer Solstice Evening that way, a gathering of joyful learning and sharing, wonder, humor, and fellowship. And great snacks!
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John Mark Courtney shared his positive approach to native plant gardening and growing, engaged us in an entertaining human modeling of plant sociability, and urged us to smell the milkweed in the pollinator garden. And the lightning bugs came out on cue!
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Thanks again to our fantastic speaker and to all our sponsors and volunteers and to all those who donated and attended. We raised over $2,000 for plant grants and outreach. Thank you also to our food sponsors: Wegmans, The Night Kitchen, The Happy Mixer, and The Fresh Market.
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If you wanted to come but couldn't, you can still donate! We appreciate your support.
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We were pleased to give a recent plant grant to Ambler Community Garden. Amy Seponara (pictured) said that she and volunteer Joe are adding the shade plants in their grant to native beds in Knight Park and around the Ambler Community Garden.
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We also gave a plant grant to North Wales Area Library, and I was happy to be able to plant and water with members of the Kindergarten Prep team. We added some sun-loving plants to a garden area beside the library, and teen volunteers will take care of watering them.
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Plants in Pots workshop at the Fallser Club
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Despite the downpour that brought us inside, we had a lively Plants in Pots workshop at the Fallser Club in East Falls on June 10.
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Participants potted up some native plants to take home, thanks to a grant from Weavers Way Environment Committee, and okra courtesy of Germantown Kitchen Garden.
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Upcoming events
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I hope you can join us at one or more of these events in July. If you haven't heard Rebecca McMackin speak, I highly recommend her talk at Haverford College on July 15--I recommend going even if you have! She is funny, passionate, and a great native plant communicator!
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- July 5: plant in Mt. Airy, 8:00-10:30am sign up here
- July 9: remove invasive plants in Gwynedd Friends Meeting burial ground, 7:00-8:30pm sign up here
- July 11: coffee in the meadow at Gwynedd Friends Meeting, 9:00-10:30am RSVP here
- July 14: weed in meadow at Plymouth Meeting Friends School, 7:00-8:30pm, sign up here
- July 15: Rebecca McMackin at Haverford College, more info here
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recent pics from Journeywork yards
Naomi, in the first photo, is watering part of the new garden that we planted in her yard, where she and her husband recently removed turf to plant native pollinator plants! Species include blue-eyed grass, Eastern bee balm, purple love grass, aromatic aster, butterfly weed, penstemon, and showy goldenrod.
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The photos below show the second year of Donna's garden in Blue Bell, a bee visiting a flower in the meadow we planted at Plymouth Meeting Friends School, and downy skullcap blooming in Lower Gwynedd. Downy skullcap was included in this spring's Pollinator Palooza shade set.
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t-shirts!
Some of the grasses on our t-shirt are flaunting their lovely seed heads right now, and the lightning bugs are out, also featured on our latest t-shirts, which celebrate the leaves of six native grasses, including bottlebrush grass (Elymus hystrix) and deer-tongue rosette-panicgrass (Dichanthelium clandestinum) [pictured below].
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Show your love of native plants and the fireflies they support while supporting our mission to restore native landscapes!
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Books to read on vacation or staycation
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During his talk, John Mark Courtney referenced Planting in a Post-Wild World by Thomas Rainer and Claudia West. It is a fantastic resource for understanding and designing native plant communities.
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Carolina rose/Rosa carolina
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Ever since Jenny Rose Carey pointed it out to me last year, I have observed that we have the Carolina rose, also known as pasture rose, blooming in at least five places on the grounds of Gwynedd Friends Meeting.
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The Carolina rose grows in full sun and part shade. According to Edge of the Woods Nursery, it "tolerates drought, clay, poor soil, salt, and occasional flooding." I can vouch for all of those conditions! It blooms throughout May and June, and I noticed that Edge of the Woods has a few in stock now. You can use your Journeywork 5% discount at Edge of the Woods if you become a member!
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the Journeywork journey
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Our fall schedule is filling, and we are doing consultations now for fall planting. We can create a garden design for you, source the plants, and plan a fall installation event.
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It is not too late to become a Journeywork member and get 5% off plants from Edge of the Woods Nursery and 10% off plants from Good Host Plants. (new Edge of the Woods rate for 2026)
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Journeywork would like to offer more native plant programs to schools and develop curriculum to go with our school plant grants. A donation of any size will help! You can now sign up to make a recurring donation--the cost of a latte every month goes a long way!
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Beginning with tax year 2026, if you do not itemize, you may deduct up to $1,000 ($2,000 if filing jointly) of your cash contributions to certain qualified organizations--like us!
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