Stop 1: Dernoga- 6001 Tilghman Drive
All the veggies and flowers in my garden were planted by seed, except for the tomatoes and eggplant.
About The Garden
What, if any, fertilizer do you use?
Biotone to initially plant seedlings.
What do you do with your yard debris?
Dump it in the back of the yard or compost it.
How do you deal with persistent weeds?
Pull them up by hand.
Garden Features
Does your garden feature a variety of native plants, trees, and shrubs?
I have a native plants garden in the front of my veggie garden.
Describe any unusual physical features of your garden. (Stream? Extreme shade? Extreme slope? Difficult soil? etc.)
Extreme slope—but the garden was built level to deal with it.
About The Garden
What, if any, fertilizer do you use?
Biotone to initially plant seedlings.
What do you do with your yard debris?
Dump it in the back of the yard or compost it.
How do you deal with persistent weeds?
Pull them up by hand.
Garden Features
Does your garden feature a variety of native plants, trees, and shrubs?
I have a native plants garden in the front of my veggie garden.
Describe any unusual physical features of your garden. (Stream? Extreme shade? Extreme slope? Difficult soil? etc.)
Extreme slope—but the garden was built level to deal with it.
Stop 2: Hostetler- 15915 Jerald Rd
How would you describe your garden?
Locally native plants
Insect-attracting plants
Butterfly-friendly
Bird-friendly
Hummingbird-friendly
Wildflowers
Low maintenance
About The Garden
What, if any, fertilizer do you use?
I don’t use any in the a gardens. Leaves places around the plants serve as mulch and they also break down to put nutrients into the soil.
Our arborist does fertilize our trees with organic drench annually and treats to prevent emerald ash borers in our two ash trees – so far so good, but it’s a matter of time before the ash borers find our trees.
What do you do with your yard debris?
How do you deal with persistent weeds?
I weed! I actually don’t hate to weed – I find it a great time to think about things, plan, solve problems in my mind… or to not think about anything at all! In the spring when it’s overwhelming I set up small goals so I feel accomplished. But throughout the late spring, summer and fall, there aren’t that many weeds so I just pull them as I see them.
What was your garden like 10 years ago, did you partake in any garden/landscape renovation?
When we moved in 18 years ago it was just foundation shrubs and boxwoods around the front door and front walk– and weeds everywhere. And so much grass to mow! Not only did we triple the two existing beds, we have added three beds in the front as well as a bed in the side and backyard. The back garden bed was filled with plastic weed covering which wasn’t keeping out the weeds but was also choking out the trees so I removed that over two years.
There was a small pond installed by the previous owner that we expanded, and then made even better about 8 years ago. I planted whatever I liked back then – natives or non-natives. In 2020 I started focusing on native plants. That means I removed the invasive plants (some of which I’d planted, like vinca!) and only buy natives when adding new bushes, trees and plants. I also removed the garden bed that was all roses – to much work into maintaining those and they always looked horrible. Plus, then I had space for more native plants!
Two years ago we completely changed the hardscaping by updating and modernizing the walkways and front and back patio areas. We also changed the fence at that time so now all sides of our fence matches!
Garden Features
Do you have any specimen trees-shrubs that would be a focal of your garden?
Not one specific, no. I have a variety of shrubs, though, some of which are spectacular in the spring, others in the summer or fall. At that time I should have berries on my serviceberry trees and blueberry bushes. We also planted a willow oak tree in the backyard about three years ago that will eventually provide shade when our ash trees die. We are planning ahead, as ash trees in this area will eventually succumb to emerald ash borer.
Do you have a collection of perennials, shrubs that you would like to highlight as a feature in your garden (i.e., fern collection, variety of different cultivars of hostas, azaleas, etc.)?
Check out my native cactus around the light pole at the driveway, but don’t touch them! I think what’s amazing about my garden is that the backyard is shaded by two enormous ash trees so it’s cooler in the back but also much shadier, so I’ve planted for that. In the front and sides it’s so much hotter with all the sun, and I’ve planted for that.
Does your garden feature a variety of native plants, trees, and shrubs?
YES! Since 2020 I’ve moved to intentionally planting only natives so now I have shrubs with berries for the birds, many shrubs and perennial plants that are host plants for butterfly and moth caterpillars and pollinators. We love having the caterpillars not only to help butterflies thrive but also to feed the baby birds as they don’t eat seeds; they absolutely need fed protein-filled caterpillars to thrive and survive. We also found a box turtle in our yard last summer, which was a peak native experience for us! Box turtles love mayapple fruit (I have a mini forest of it) but I also planted native strawberries once I realized we had a box turtle because they love strawberries. We hope to see it again this summer.
Is there a special story about a particular tree or shrub (i.e. family heirloom tree, shrubs that you have been able to carry over into your garden)
Most of the non-natives still in my yard were gifts from my mother and aunts, who loved to garden. That includes a HUGE ‘Empress Woo’ hosta, daylilies that my aunt hand-pollinated to create new colors and peonies and one vibernum bush. But what I love the most is when I see birds (so many hummingbirds), frogs, toads, turtles, rabbits, butterflies, moths and pollinators enjoying the native environment we’ve created for them.
Do you have a particular water feature, sculpture, hardscape that you would like to highlight?
The pond is small but wonderful! We love our green frogs who have found their way in and our goldfish continue to be happy and to multiply. It’s so much fun to watch the birds drink and bathe in the stream/waterfall section.
Describe any unusual physical features of your garden. (Stream? Extreme shade? Extreme slope? Difficult soil? etc.) None. We do get lots of water in two specific areas but I worked with that by planting plants that love water!
Parking recommendations
You can park on the street – there aren’t any restrictions, it’s easy.
Any Gardening Tips you would like to share
Don’t fight what you have – if you have mostly shade, plant shade loving plants. If you have blistering sun, plant those that love that. I’ve spent some time moving plants around when I discovered that the original place didn’t have enough sun – or shade – for them to be happy and thrive. I consider my garden as a work in progress – there is always something you can add or change. At the same time, I also don’t “work in” my garden all the time, but I enjoy it every day. This winter we lost a huge limb off one of our ash trees so we’ll see how more sun effects that section of the garden this summer; I might need to move some plants in the fall. And I would add, please try to plant as many native plants to help support our ecosystem, the birds, the butterflies/moths and the pollinators! I love my gorgeous garden but I ALSO love that I’m helping other living creatures as well.
Locally native plants
Insect-attracting plants
Butterfly-friendly
Bird-friendly
Hummingbird-friendly
Wildflowers
Low maintenance
About The Garden
What, if any, fertilizer do you use?
I don’t use any in the a gardens. Leaves places around the plants serve as mulch and they also break down to put nutrients into the soil.
Our arborist does fertilize our trees with organic drench annually and treats to prevent emerald ash borers in our two ash trees – so far so good, but it’s a matter of time before the ash borers find our trees.
What do you do with your yard debris?
- I leave the leaves where they fall, except on the grass, then we collect most of those and move them to a nearby garden bed.
- I leave the stalks of the plants over the winter for overwintering bees to lay eggs in and so that the stalks will help keep leaves from blowing away. In the late spring, I cut hollow stems down to about 12 or so inches, which will then be covered by the plant growth. For those sticks that aren’t hollow, I remove them.
- I add more leaves in the early summer as mulch so that the ground won’t dry out and we won’t need to water as mulch. These leaves break down and provide nutrients to the soil.
- I have a compost pile which is less active but still used.
How do you deal with persistent weeds?
I weed! I actually don’t hate to weed – I find it a great time to think about things, plan, solve problems in my mind… or to not think about anything at all! In the spring when it’s overwhelming I set up small goals so I feel accomplished. But throughout the late spring, summer and fall, there aren’t that many weeds so I just pull them as I see them.
What was your garden like 10 years ago, did you partake in any garden/landscape renovation?
When we moved in 18 years ago it was just foundation shrubs and boxwoods around the front door and front walk– and weeds everywhere. And so much grass to mow! Not only did we triple the two existing beds, we have added three beds in the front as well as a bed in the side and backyard. The back garden bed was filled with plastic weed covering which wasn’t keeping out the weeds but was also choking out the trees so I removed that over two years.
There was a small pond installed by the previous owner that we expanded, and then made even better about 8 years ago. I planted whatever I liked back then – natives or non-natives. In 2020 I started focusing on native plants. That means I removed the invasive plants (some of which I’d planted, like vinca!) and only buy natives when adding new bushes, trees and plants. I also removed the garden bed that was all roses – to much work into maintaining those and they always looked horrible. Plus, then I had space for more native plants!
Two years ago we completely changed the hardscaping by updating and modernizing the walkways and front and back patio areas. We also changed the fence at that time so now all sides of our fence matches!
Garden Features
Do you have any specimen trees-shrubs that would be a focal of your garden?
Not one specific, no. I have a variety of shrubs, though, some of which are spectacular in the spring, others in the summer or fall. At that time I should have berries on my serviceberry trees and blueberry bushes. We also planted a willow oak tree in the backyard about three years ago that will eventually provide shade when our ash trees die. We are planning ahead, as ash trees in this area will eventually succumb to emerald ash borer.
Do you have a collection of perennials, shrubs that you would like to highlight as a feature in your garden (i.e., fern collection, variety of different cultivars of hostas, azaleas, etc.)?
Check out my native cactus around the light pole at the driveway, but don’t touch them! I think what’s amazing about my garden is that the backyard is shaded by two enormous ash trees so it’s cooler in the back but also much shadier, so I’ve planted for that. In the front and sides it’s so much hotter with all the sun, and I’ve planted for that.
Does your garden feature a variety of native plants, trees, and shrubs?
YES! Since 2020 I’ve moved to intentionally planting only natives so now I have shrubs with berries for the birds, many shrubs and perennial plants that are host plants for butterfly and moth caterpillars and pollinators. We love having the caterpillars not only to help butterflies thrive but also to feed the baby birds as they don’t eat seeds; they absolutely need fed protein-filled caterpillars to thrive and survive. We also found a box turtle in our yard last summer, which was a peak native experience for us! Box turtles love mayapple fruit (I have a mini forest of it) but I also planted native strawberries once I realized we had a box turtle because they love strawberries. We hope to see it again this summer.
Is there a special story about a particular tree or shrub (i.e. family heirloom tree, shrubs that you have been able to carry over into your garden)
Most of the non-natives still in my yard were gifts from my mother and aunts, who loved to garden. That includes a HUGE ‘Empress Woo’ hosta, daylilies that my aunt hand-pollinated to create new colors and peonies and one vibernum bush. But what I love the most is when I see birds (so many hummingbirds), frogs, toads, turtles, rabbits, butterflies, moths and pollinators enjoying the native environment we’ve created for them.
Do you have a particular water feature, sculpture, hardscape that you would like to highlight?
The pond is small but wonderful! We love our green frogs who have found their way in and our goldfish continue to be happy and to multiply. It’s so much fun to watch the birds drink and bathe in the stream/waterfall section.
Describe any unusual physical features of your garden. (Stream? Extreme shade? Extreme slope? Difficult soil? etc.) None. We do get lots of water in two specific areas but I worked with that by planting plants that love water!
Parking recommendations
You can park on the street – there aren’t any restrictions, it’s easy.
Any Gardening Tips you would like to share
Don’t fight what you have – if you have mostly shade, plant shade loving plants. If you have blistering sun, plant those that love that. I’ve spent some time moving plants around when I discovered that the original place didn’t have enough sun – or shade – for them to be happy and thrive. I consider my garden as a work in progress – there is always something you can add or change. At the same time, I also don’t “work in” my garden all the time, but I enjoy it every day. This winter we lost a huge limb off one of our ash trees so we’ll see how more sun effects that section of the garden this summer; I might need to move some plants in the fall. And I would add, please try to plant as many native plants to help support our ecosystem, the birds, the butterflies/moths and the pollinators! I love my gorgeous garden but I ALSO love that I’m helping other living creatures as well.
Stop 3: Ashbury - 6007 Parkway Dr
How would you describe your garden?
Locally native plants
Drought-tolerant plants
Low-water-use plants
Insect-attracting plants
Butterfly-friendly
Bird-friendly
Hummingbird-friendly
Wildflowers
Formal garden
Deer-resistant
About The Garden
What, if any, fertilizer do you use?
No traditional fertilizer used. I ‘leave the leaves’ and most of my herbaceous stems/debris directly in the garden to rot and build up the soil naturally.
What do you do with your yard debris?
100% of yard debris is kept on property – I have a compost pile, brush pile, or I tuck it in under mature shrubs. I chop up stems from the pervious year to use as a mulch in my herbaceous borders. I also collect the neighbors leaves each fall for assorted projects!
How do you deal with persistent weeds?
Minimal herbicide is used in the garden and that is reserved for tough to control invasive species such as lesser celandine and Japanese knotweed. Otherwise, I pull, pull, pull. Sometimes I use the lasagna layering or smothering technique to eradicate entire sections of lawn or invasive groundcovers.
What was your garden like 10 years ago, did you partake in any garden/landscape renovation?
My garden was much more traditional 10 years ago. I’m in the process of transitioning to a 90% native garden. Each year, more and more non-natives (and lawn) are removed and replaced with diverse native plantings.
Garden Features
Do you have any specimen trees-shrubs that would be a focal of your garden?
Too many to list!
Do you have a collection of perennials, shrubs that you would like to highlight as a feature in your garden (i.e., fern collection, variety of different cultivars of hosta’s, azalea’s, etc.)?
My native meadow in the backyard might be of particular interest. Dozens of varieties of native sedges and grasses create the backbone of the meadow. Dozens more of flowering perennials emerge through the grassy matrix.
Does your garden feature a variety of native plants, trees, and shrubs?
Yes, many! Native plants is certainly the theme of the garden.
Describe any unusual physical features of your garden. (Stream? Extreme shade? Extreme slope? Difficult soil? etc.)
There is a stream along the back edge of the property that I’ve been restoring for the past 10 years. Work includes removing invasive plants, planting native plants, and shoring up the eroding stream bank with rocks and logs.
I’ve also struggled with a whole host of invasive plants in the garden – bishops weed, Jap. stiltgrass, English ivy, periwinkle, Japanese pachysandra, liriope spicata, lesser celandine, mugwort, Jap knotweed, mile-a-minute.
Parking recommendations
There is plenty of street parking available on Parkway Drive.
Any Gardening Tips you would like to share
Locally native plants
Drought-tolerant plants
Low-water-use plants
Insect-attracting plants
Butterfly-friendly
Bird-friendly
Hummingbird-friendly
Wildflowers
Formal garden
Deer-resistant
About The Garden
What, if any, fertilizer do you use?
No traditional fertilizer used. I ‘leave the leaves’ and most of my herbaceous stems/debris directly in the garden to rot and build up the soil naturally.
What do you do with your yard debris?
100% of yard debris is kept on property – I have a compost pile, brush pile, or I tuck it in under mature shrubs. I chop up stems from the pervious year to use as a mulch in my herbaceous borders. I also collect the neighbors leaves each fall for assorted projects!
How do you deal with persistent weeds?
Minimal herbicide is used in the garden and that is reserved for tough to control invasive species such as lesser celandine and Japanese knotweed. Otherwise, I pull, pull, pull. Sometimes I use the lasagna layering or smothering technique to eradicate entire sections of lawn or invasive groundcovers.
What was your garden like 10 years ago, did you partake in any garden/landscape renovation?
My garden was much more traditional 10 years ago. I’m in the process of transitioning to a 90% native garden. Each year, more and more non-natives (and lawn) are removed and replaced with diverse native plantings.
Garden Features
Do you have any specimen trees-shrubs that would be a focal of your garden?
Too many to list!
Do you have a collection of perennials, shrubs that you would like to highlight as a feature in your garden (i.e., fern collection, variety of different cultivars of hosta’s, azalea’s, etc.)?
My native meadow in the backyard might be of particular interest. Dozens of varieties of native sedges and grasses create the backbone of the meadow. Dozens more of flowering perennials emerge through the grassy matrix.
Does your garden feature a variety of native plants, trees, and shrubs?
Yes, many! Native plants is certainly the theme of the garden.
Describe any unusual physical features of your garden. (Stream? Extreme shade? Extreme slope? Difficult soil? etc.)
There is a stream along the back edge of the property that I’ve been restoring for the past 10 years. Work includes removing invasive plants, planting native plants, and shoring up the eroding stream bank with rocks and logs.
I’ve also struggled with a whole host of invasive plants in the garden – bishops weed, Jap. stiltgrass, English ivy, periwinkle, Japanese pachysandra, liriope spicata, lesser celandine, mugwort, Jap knotweed, mile-a-minute.
Parking recommendations
There is plenty of street parking available on Parkway Drive.
Any Gardening Tips you would like to share
- Plant native.
- Grow a freedom lawn – no pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, fungicides.
- ‘Leave the leaves’. Birds love rummaging through leaves on the ground all winter in search of food.
- ‘Leave the stems’ up over the winter months to create habitat for overwintering insects.
- Start a brush pile. Birds love a good brush pile.
- Many ‘weeds’ are great natives. Leave the violets and the pokeweed and the boneset…
Stop 4: Rogers- 303 Sandy Spring Road
How would you describe your garden?
Locally native plants
Drought-tolerant plants
Low-water-use plants
Edible landscape
Insect-attracting plants
Butterfly-friendly
Bird-friendly
Hummingbird-friendly
Wildflowers
Low maintenance
Deer-resistant (with some caveats)
About The Garden
What, if any, fertilizer do you use?
I do not use any fertilizers. I have in the past amended with city compost (top-dressing), but I did not this year.
What do you do with your yard debris?
Leaves that blow into my yard are trapped between the fall plant stalks and I leave them in place. I leave the leaves in place on my grass and sometimes gather additional leaves from my neighbors to leave on my garden beds.
For the new swale planting, we used pine needles from a neighbor, as they grip onto the ground better in the wind when plants are not yet tall enough to hold onto deciduous leaves.
How do you deal with persistent weeds?
I have planted dense ground covers that dramatically reduce weed pressure after the first or second year of growing in. I hand-weed areas where there is no dense groundcover, such as paths and some edges. I have occasionally sprayed a monocot-selective herbicide to deal with Bermuda grass, but I try to limit the use of herbicides.
On the pocket meadow, I mostly do not weed at all, except for invasives like garlic mustard, bittersweet, and non-native clematis, which I dig out by hand. However, we have a big invasive Japanese blood grass infestation, so we are following an extension service-recommended plan to use the selective herbicide on it as it emerges each year.
What was your garden like 10 years ago, did you partake in any garden/landscape renovation?
I’ve only been on the property for three years, but when I moved in it was a standard lawn with fairly typical foundation shrub plantings.
Garden Features
Do you have any specimen trees-shrubs that would be a focal of your garden?
I have a miniature, weeping Japanese cherry tree. I have built a garden around it and also under it.
Do you have a collection of perennials, shrubs that you would like to highlight as a feature in your garden (i.e., fern collection, variety of different cultivars of hosta’s, azalea’s, etc.)?
I have a wide variety of goldenrods, used both structurally and as filler throughout the front yard. I also have a variety of native ground covers throughout the beds. The most striking group of plants is often the central “stumpery,” which contains native plants that particularly like hot sun, such as cactus.
Does your garden feature a variety of native plants, trees, and shrubs?
My garden is made up of at least 90% plants native to Maryland or nearby regions. There were over 150 species at last count.
Is there a special story about a particular tree or shrub (i.e. family heirloom tree, shrubs that you have been able to carry over into your garden)?
The blue/white striped violets in my back yard all came from my partner Stephanie’s previous home. She loves seeing them in the spring and hopes to spread their seeds at her new home.
Do you have a particular water feature, sculpture, hardscape that you would like to highlight?
I keep a simple birdbath with a solar bubbler in the center of my front yard. It attracts birds in the morning and evening that I can watch from my porch.
Describe any unusual physical features of your garden. (Stream? Extreme shade? Extreme slope? Difficult soil? etc.)
The soil around my home gardens is very low in organic matter and mostly clay. This is because most of it was formerly lawn, which strips away topsoil and nutrients. I planted natives densely and they are slowly rejuvenating the soil as they dig deeply with their roots. Unlike popular ornamental plants, many of our native plants love the harsh conditions (hot, dry clay).
Parking recommendations
There is usually open street parking along the 1000 block of Montgomery Street. Do not park in the parking lot behind the house, as that is for residents only.
Any Gardening Tips you would like to share
Reduce your lawn and plant native plants!
Locally native plants
Drought-tolerant plants
Low-water-use plants
Edible landscape
Insect-attracting plants
Butterfly-friendly
Bird-friendly
Hummingbird-friendly
Wildflowers
Low maintenance
Deer-resistant (with some caveats)
About The Garden
What, if any, fertilizer do you use?
I do not use any fertilizers. I have in the past amended with city compost (top-dressing), but I did not this year.
What do you do with your yard debris?
Leaves that blow into my yard are trapped between the fall plant stalks and I leave them in place. I leave the leaves in place on my grass and sometimes gather additional leaves from my neighbors to leave on my garden beds.
For the new swale planting, we used pine needles from a neighbor, as they grip onto the ground better in the wind when plants are not yet tall enough to hold onto deciduous leaves.
How do you deal with persistent weeds?
I have planted dense ground covers that dramatically reduce weed pressure after the first or second year of growing in. I hand-weed areas where there is no dense groundcover, such as paths and some edges. I have occasionally sprayed a monocot-selective herbicide to deal with Bermuda grass, but I try to limit the use of herbicides.
On the pocket meadow, I mostly do not weed at all, except for invasives like garlic mustard, bittersweet, and non-native clematis, which I dig out by hand. However, we have a big invasive Japanese blood grass infestation, so we are following an extension service-recommended plan to use the selective herbicide on it as it emerges each year.
What was your garden like 10 years ago, did you partake in any garden/landscape renovation?
I’ve only been on the property for three years, but when I moved in it was a standard lawn with fairly typical foundation shrub plantings.
Garden Features
Do you have any specimen trees-shrubs that would be a focal of your garden?
I have a miniature, weeping Japanese cherry tree. I have built a garden around it and also under it.
Do you have a collection of perennials, shrubs that you would like to highlight as a feature in your garden (i.e., fern collection, variety of different cultivars of hosta’s, azalea’s, etc.)?
I have a wide variety of goldenrods, used both structurally and as filler throughout the front yard. I also have a variety of native ground covers throughout the beds. The most striking group of plants is often the central “stumpery,” which contains native plants that particularly like hot sun, such as cactus.
Does your garden feature a variety of native plants, trees, and shrubs?
My garden is made up of at least 90% plants native to Maryland or nearby regions. There were over 150 species at last count.
Is there a special story about a particular tree or shrub (i.e. family heirloom tree, shrubs that you have been able to carry over into your garden)?
The blue/white striped violets in my back yard all came from my partner Stephanie’s previous home. She loves seeing them in the spring and hopes to spread their seeds at her new home.
Do you have a particular water feature, sculpture, hardscape that you would like to highlight?
I keep a simple birdbath with a solar bubbler in the center of my front yard. It attracts birds in the morning and evening that I can watch from my porch.
Describe any unusual physical features of your garden. (Stream? Extreme shade? Extreme slope? Difficult soil? etc.)
The soil around my home gardens is very low in organic matter and mostly clay. This is because most of it was formerly lawn, which strips away topsoil and nutrients. I planted natives densely and they are slowly rejuvenating the soil as they dig deeply with their roots. Unlike popular ornamental plants, many of our native plants love the harsh conditions (hot, dry clay).
Parking recommendations
There is usually open street parking along the 1000 block of Montgomery Street. Do not park in the parking lot behind the house, as that is for residents only.
Any Gardening Tips you would like to share
Reduce your lawn and plant native plants!
Stop 5: Hess-Webber - 323 Compton Avenue
How would you describe your garden?
Locally native plants - We are on a journey to recreate our gardens and yard into a habitat for our native wildlife. To that end, we have replaced many plants in our gardens and are increasing the size of our native gardens each year. We are careful to purchase our plants at nurseries that are committed to native gardening to ensure that the bees, birds and butterflies will find our plants a comfortable home and will choose to live here.
Drought-tolerant plants - One of the things that we have learned about native gardening is that native plants are, by their nature, drought tolerant. Indeed, to have evolved in this climate where our summers are hot and humid with occasional prolonged periods of drought, the plants had to learn to live in those conditions. Since we began on our native plant journey, our gardens have thrived in all our local weather conditions.
Low-water-use plants - Again, because our native plants are so well-adapted to our local conditions, we seldom water our native gardens once they are established.
Edible landscape - We do plant some vegetables in our gardens, especially tomatoes and peppers. We have a very young apple tree as well as a fig tree that is about three years old. We also enjoy planting herbs that we can use in our kitchen.
Insect-attracting plants - Our focus on native plants is in part to invite our native insects and birds into our gardens. With the global population of insects and birds in frightening decline, we want to do our part to protect and welcome these creatures that have been displaced by habitat loss, pesticide use, and competition from invasive and non-native species.
Butterfly-friendly - We have a special interest in inviting butterflies, and especially Monarchs, into our gardens. As the Monarch butterfly population has declined by about 80% worldwide, we are planting various types of milkweed (the only food of the Monarch caterpillar) in various locations. It is our hope that the Monarchs will find our milkweed and move in!
Bird-friendly - Again, what we know about native plants is that they are host to the caterpillars that our native birds require in order to feed their young. Without the proper plants, there aren’t caterpillars, and without the caterpillars, the birds disappear. So we are planting with the goal of welcoming the birds back to our yard.
Hummingbird-friendly - I’m not aware that we are planting hummingbird-friendly plants but I don’t know.
Wildflowers - We don’t have wildflowers in our gardens. We like an orderly garden so we
Kids-friendly - Our gardens can be very kid-friendly when the critters are flying around in the garden. I love watching the bees and butterflies flit from flower to flower on a warm, sunny day and being able to share that joy with young people is part of the joy of native gardening
Low maintenance - Again, because native plants have evolved to live in our climate and soil conditions, there is very little that they need from humans once they are established in the garden. They do not need upgraded soil, extra watering, fertilizer, and they certainly don’t need pesticide application. While a gardener like me who prefers order in the garden will be weeding several times a summer, once a native garden is established, the lack of sun under all those happy plants will dramatically cut down on weeds. In addition, we are learning to plant native ground covers that further discourage weeds.
Formal garden - Our gardens are only formal in the sense that we require order. We don’t allow plants to spread haphazardly and we move them when we don’t like their location. As our gardens expand, we are planning walkways and we are always adding fun garden art.
Deer-resistant - We have no problem with deer since we are in the city but not close to the river.
Other - While we are focused on our native gardening, we are also dedicated to keeping some of the special plants that were on our property when we purchased our house forty years ago. We have continued to cherish our peony garden and our lilac bushes over the years and have no plans to replace them.
Locally native plants - We are on a journey to recreate our gardens and yard into a habitat for our native wildlife. To that end, we have replaced many plants in our gardens and are increasing the size of our native gardens each year. We are careful to purchase our plants at nurseries that are committed to native gardening to ensure that the bees, birds and butterflies will find our plants a comfortable home and will choose to live here.
Drought-tolerant plants - One of the things that we have learned about native gardening is that native plants are, by their nature, drought tolerant. Indeed, to have evolved in this climate where our summers are hot and humid with occasional prolonged periods of drought, the plants had to learn to live in those conditions. Since we began on our native plant journey, our gardens have thrived in all our local weather conditions.
Low-water-use plants - Again, because our native plants are so well-adapted to our local conditions, we seldom water our native gardens once they are established.
Edible landscape - We do plant some vegetables in our gardens, especially tomatoes and peppers. We have a very young apple tree as well as a fig tree that is about three years old. We also enjoy planting herbs that we can use in our kitchen.
Insect-attracting plants - Our focus on native plants is in part to invite our native insects and birds into our gardens. With the global population of insects and birds in frightening decline, we want to do our part to protect and welcome these creatures that have been displaced by habitat loss, pesticide use, and competition from invasive and non-native species.
Butterfly-friendly - We have a special interest in inviting butterflies, and especially Monarchs, into our gardens. As the Monarch butterfly population has declined by about 80% worldwide, we are planting various types of milkweed (the only food of the Monarch caterpillar) in various locations. It is our hope that the Monarchs will find our milkweed and move in!
Bird-friendly - Again, what we know about native plants is that they are host to the caterpillars that our native birds require in order to feed their young. Without the proper plants, there aren’t caterpillars, and without the caterpillars, the birds disappear. So we are planting with the goal of welcoming the birds back to our yard.
Hummingbird-friendly - I’m not aware that we are planting hummingbird-friendly plants but I don’t know.
Wildflowers - We don’t have wildflowers in our gardens. We like an orderly garden so we
Kids-friendly - Our gardens can be very kid-friendly when the critters are flying around in the garden. I love watching the bees and butterflies flit from flower to flower on a warm, sunny day and being able to share that joy with young people is part of the joy of native gardening
Low maintenance - Again, because native plants have evolved to live in our climate and soil conditions, there is very little that they need from humans once they are established in the garden. They do not need upgraded soil, extra watering, fertilizer, and they certainly don’t need pesticide application. While a gardener like me who prefers order in the garden will be weeding several times a summer, once a native garden is established, the lack of sun under all those happy plants will dramatically cut down on weeds. In addition, we are learning to plant native ground covers that further discourage weeds.
Formal garden - Our gardens are only formal in the sense that we require order. We don’t allow plants to spread haphazardly and we move them when we don’t like their location. As our gardens expand, we are planning walkways and we are always adding fun garden art.
Deer-resistant - We have no problem with deer since we are in the city but not close to the river.
Other - While we are focused on our native gardening, we are also dedicated to keeping some of the special plants that were on our property when we purchased our house forty years ago. We have continued to cherish our peony garden and our lilac bushes over the years and have no plans to replace them.
Stop 6: Dalphonse- 331 Prince George St.
How would you describe your garden?
Locally native plants
Drought-tolerant plants
Low-water-use plants
Butterfly-friendly
Bird-friendly
Hummingbird-friendly
Wildflowers
Kids-friendly
Low maintenance
About The Garden
What, if any, fertilizer do you use?
A little bit of water-soluble
What do you do with your yard debris?
The city picks up yard debris in paper bags.
How do you deal with persistent weeds?
We won the award for Prince George County's best small yard five years in a row until we could not compete anymore
What was your garden like 10 years ago, did you partake in any garden/landscape renovation?
Garden Features
Does your garden feature a variety of native plants, trees, and shrubs?
Most of our flowers are locally grown from Fehr’s nursery.
Is there a special story about a particular tree or shrub (i.e. family heirloom tree, shrubs that you have been able to carry over into your garden)
Our large Magnolia tree was planted as a tiny little thing when my 38 year old daughter was born
Do you have a particular water feature, sculpture, hardscape that you would like to highlight?
We have a lion water fountain that we enjoy looking at from our French doors we do not have any grass just mulch so we softened the look with pea gravel
Parking recommendations
The park on Prince Georges St. Or in the farmers market parking lot behind our house and enter through the back gate
Locally native plants
Drought-tolerant plants
Low-water-use plants
Butterfly-friendly
Bird-friendly
Hummingbird-friendly
Wildflowers
Kids-friendly
Low maintenance
About The Garden
What, if any, fertilizer do you use?
A little bit of water-soluble
What do you do with your yard debris?
The city picks up yard debris in paper bags.
How do you deal with persistent weeds?
We won the award for Prince George County's best small yard five years in a row until we could not compete anymore
What was your garden like 10 years ago, did you partake in any garden/landscape renovation?
Garden Features
Does your garden feature a variety of native plants, trees, and shrubs?
Most of our flowers are locally grown from Fehr’s nursery.
Is there a special story about a particular tree or shrub (i.e. family heirloom tree, shrubs that you have been able to carry over into your garden)
Our large Magnolia tree was planted as a tiny little thing when my 38 year old daughter was born
Do you have a particular water feature, sculpture, hardscape that you would like to highlight?
We have a lion water fountain that we enjoy looking at from our French doors we do not have any grass just mulch so we softened the look with pea gravel
Parking recommendations
The park on Prince Georges St. Or in the farmers market parking lot behind our house and enter through the back gate
Stop 7: Horton- 36 4th Street
How would you describe your garden?
Drought-tolerant - plants Yes
Butterfly-friendly Yes
Bird-friendly Yes
About The Garden
What, if any, fertilizer do you use?
None
What do you do with your yard debris?
Composter
How do you deal with persistent weeds?
Take my time and keep them gone.
What was your garden like 10 years ago, did you partake in any garden/landscape renovation?
Always have had a garden, I love flowers.
Garden Features
Is there a special story about a particular tree or shrub (i.e. family heirloom tree, shrubs that you
have been able to carry over into your garden)
I have a pink carnation from my Mothers yard from about 10 years ago
Do you have a particular water feature, sculpture, hardscape that you would like to highlight?
Koi Pond
Drought-tolerant - plants Yes
Butterfly-friendly Yes
Bird-friendly Yes
About The Garden
What, if any, fertilizer do you use?
None
What do you do with your yard debris?
Composter
How do you deal with persistent weeds?
Take my time and keep them gone.
What was your garden like 10 years ago, did you partake in any garden/landscape renovation?
Always have had a garden, I love flowers.
Garden Features
Is there a special story about a particular tree or shrub (i.e. family heirloom tree, shrubs that you
have been able to carry over into your garden)
I have a pink carnation from my Mothers yard from about 10 years ago
Do you have a particular water feature, sculpture, hardscape that you would like to highlight?
Koi Pond
Stop 8: Laurel Elementary-516 Montgomery St
How would you describe your garden?
Locally native plants
drought tolerant plants
low water use plants
insect attracting plants
butterfly friendly
Hummingbird friendly
wild flowers
kids friendly
low maintenance
About the Garden
What if any fertilizer do you use?
We use compost dash mainly food, like coffee grinds and eggs. We also use manure.
What do you do with your yard debris?
The grass is left to compost on the lawn new sentence large debris and branches are removed from the property in the trash dumpster
How do you deal with persistent weeds? Manual removal
What was your garden like 10 years ago, did you partake in any garden/landscape renovation?
About 12 years ago, we installed our first raised dash bed gardens in front of the school via a Girl Scout gold award project. a pollinator space out of one of the raised beds and student learning spaces out of the other two. we have been adding raised beds since then.
Garden Features
Do you have any specimen trees or shrubs that would be a focal point of your garden?About five years ago the Japanese Maple in front of our school had to be removed due to disease. We replaced it with a native eastern redbud.
Do you have a collection of perennials, shrubs that you would like to highlight as a feature in your garden (i. e., fern collection, variety of different cultivars of hosta’s, azaleas, etc.)?
We tried to add appropriate signage so that visitors to our garden would understand that the plants in the pollinator gardens had a habitat purpose dash and are not just weeds
Does your garden feature a variety of native plants, trees, and shrubs? We try
Describe any unusual physical features of your garden. (stream? Extreme shade? Extreme slope? Difficult soil? ETC.)
Being next to a school, we struggle with educating students that the gardens are not play places - the wood bark boarded helps, but we still get students running into the boxes and all over our plants.
Locally native plants
drought tolerant plants
low water use plants
insect attracting plants
butterfly friendly
Hummingbird friendly
wild flowers
kids friendly
low maintenance
About the Garden
What if any fertilizer do you use?
We use compost dash mainly food, like coffee grinds and eggs. We also use manure.
What do you do with your yard debris?
The grass is left to compost on the lawn new sentence large debris and branches are removed from the property in the trash dumpster
How do you deal with persistent weeds? Manual removal
What was your garden like 10 years ago, did you partake in any garden/landscape renovation?
About 12 years ago, we installed our first raised dash bed gardens in front of the school via a Girl Scout gold award project. a pollinator space out of one of the raised beds and student learning spaces out of the other two. we have been adding raised beds since then.
Garden Features
Do you have any specimen trees or shrubs that would be a focal point of your garden?About five years ago the Japanese Maple in front of our school had to be removed due to disease. We replaced it with a native eastern redbud.
Do you have a collection of perennials, shrubs that you would like to highlight as a feature in your garden (i. e., fern collection, variety of different cultivars of hosta’s, azaleas, etc.)?
We tried to add appropriate signage so that visitors to our garden would understand that the plants in the pollinator gardens had a habitat purpose dash and are not just weeds
Does your garden feature a variety of native plants, trees, and shrubs? We try
Describe any unusual physical features of your garden. (stream? Extreme shade? Extreme slope? Difficult soil? ETC.)
Being next to a school, we struggle with educating students that the gardens are not play places - the wood bark boarded helps, but we still get students running into the boxes and all over our plants.
Stop 9: Blair & Knox- 606 Prince George St.
How would you describe your garden?
This 1893 home features a backyard garden with plenty of perennials, pollinators, and a pond. A collection of salvaged stones from around the area have been repurposed into the garden walls. Covid lockdown-inspired raised garden beds utilized turn-of-the-century scrap lumber from this home. Purchased this property in 1990 it had been a rental for many years, the backyard didn't have a blade of grass or flower instead a collection of broken golf carts, assorted vehicles, and two 250-gallon fuel oil tanks.
This 1893 home features a backyard garden with plenty of perennials, pollinators, and a pond. A collection of salvaged stones from around the area have been repurposed into the garden walls. Covid lockdown-inspired raised garden beds utilized turn-of-the-century scrap lumber from this home. Purchased this property in 1990 it had been a rental for many years, the backyard didn't have a blade of grass or flower instead a collection of broken golf carts, assorted vehicles, and two 250-gallon fuel oil tanks.
Secret Garden
Locally native plants/Edible landscape/Insect-attracting plants/Butterfly-friendly/Bird-friendly/Low maintenance. If we plant it and it grows, we keep it.
About The Garden
What, if any, fertilizer do you use?
We use our own compost for the gardens and pots. We have the lawn treated.
What do you do with your yard debris?
Compost the majority of it.
How do you deal with persistent weeds?
Pull them out by hand or use a garden tool.
Garden Features
Do you have a collection of perennials, shrubs that you would like to highlight as a feature in your garden (i.e., fern collection, variety of different cultivars of hosta’s, azalea’s, etc.)?
All in-ground plants are perennials and most of the plants in pots are perennials.
Does your garden feature a variety of native plants, trees, and shrubs?
Yes
Parking recommendations
Street Parking is available
About The Garden
What, if any, fertilizer do you use?
We use our own compost for the gardens and pots. We have the lawn treated.
What do you do with your yard debris?
Compost the majority of it.
How do you deal with persistent weeds?
Pull them out by hand or use a garden tool.
Garden Features
Do you have a collection of perennials, shrubs that you would like to highlight as a feature in your garden (i.e., fern collection, variety of different cultivars of hosta’s, azalea’s, etc.)?
All in-ground plants are perennials and most of the plants in pots are perennials.
Does your garden feature a variety of native plants, trees, and shrubs?
Yes
Parking recommendations
Street Parking is available
