Native Plants Archives - Page 10 of 18 - Nature Center at Greenburgh

November 17, 2022February 19, 2025 Cathy Ludden Around the Grounds, Native Plants

A Better Hedge

Are you frustrated with deer destroying your arborvitae? Are you sick of seeing your curbside hedge poisoned by road salt? Are you fertilizing your boxwood or yew hedge to make it grow even though you end up trimming off the new growth every year? Are you embarrassed to learn your barberry, privet, burning bush, or forsythia hedge is invasive and spreading into natural areas provoking disapproval from the neighbors?

Well, friends, we’ve got good news for you! How about a hedge that is deer tolerant, salt tolerant, drought and flood tolerant, doesn’t need pruning, and even makes its own fertilizer? This wonderful shrub grows in sand, clay, or rocky soil and survives mostly on sunshine. It’s beautiful, fragrant, supports wildlife, and provides you with a long-lived privacy screen.

Northern Bayberry (Myrica or Morella pensylvanica) is a fantastic plant that is inexplicably under-used in suburban landscapes. It is native to the Atlantic coast from Newfoundland to North Carolina and as far inland as Ohio. Its natural habitats include seaside dunes, pine barrens, dry forests, rocky slopes, and even bog and swamp edges, which explains its versatility in gardens. It is hardy in zones 3 to 7, and semi-evergreen in the warmer part of that range.

Bayberry naturally takes the form of a dense rounded shrub, 5 to 10 feet tall and wide, with glossy fragrant leaves and gray-green scented berries. It can be used as a specimen or foundation plant, but it is particularly attractive massed as a privacy screen or informal hedge. It does not thin out at the bottom with age or become leggy. The shrub expands very slowly by extending suckers out from its base, but does not try to take over. Once it reaches its full height, it will retain its shape and survive for many years. We suspect the Bayberry hedge along the Meadow path at the Nature Center has been there for close to 50 years.

**A very old Bayberry hedge lines the Meadow path at the Nature Center**

As the name suggests, Bayberry produces interesting berries that cling close to the stems over the summer. The shrub is naturally dioecious, meaning male and female plants are necessary for berry production. But modern horticulturists have managed to combine at least some male and female flowers on single plants for guaranteed berries. Planting both male and female plants, as you would in a hedge, assures maximum berry production.

**Bayberry’s spring flowers are inconspicuous**

**By mid-October, a few waxy berries still cling to the stems**

The berries are a magnet for birds, including chickadees, mockingbirds, blue jays, cedar waxwings, cardinals, robins, catbirds, and the beautiful yellow-rumped warbler. Even after Bayberry drops its leaves in the winter, the dense branches form a thicket that shelters birds from predators. At least two species of caterpillars also rely on Northern Bayberry as a larval host, including the red-banded hairstreak butterfly and the Columbia silk moth.

Northern Bayberry belongs to that interesting group of plants that utilize specialized bacteria to fix nitrogen in the soil. It is amazing to see Bayberry growing lush and green in nothing but sand because it is essentially manufacturing its own nutrients from air and sunlight. In your garden, the nitrogen provided by Bayberry can enrich the soil for other plants as well.

**Northern Bayberry growing in the salt air and sandy soil of Nantucket, MA**

Northern Bayberry does best in full sun. It is relatively slow-growing, so pruning is not necessary, but it can be pruned for a more formal effect.

**A young Northern Bayberry hedge at the New York Botanical Garden**
Photo: Carolyn Summers

**The same hedge in early winter 5 years later pruned into a more formal shape**
Photo: Carolyn Summers

American colonists recognized the value of Northern Bayberry for making scented candles. The berries were boiled until the waxy outer coating floated to the top. After cooling and re-melting, the wax could be poured into molds or used for dipping tapers. The wax burns clean with a lovely herbal scent, and is still used for that purpose. The aromatic leaves have been used for their fragrance and various medicinal purposes as well. It is the aromatic quality of Bayberry leaves that makes the shrub so unattractive to deer.

**Northern Bayberry catches the afternoon light in October**

Though American settlers appreciated Northern Bayberry and planted it in their gardens as early as the 1700’s, the introduction of exotic ornamental plants in recent times seems to have diminished its popularity. That should change. If you are frustrated with the failings of over-used hedge plants, consider Northern Bayberry. It really is a better hedge.

THIS BLOG IS AUTHORED WEEKLY BY CATHY LUDDEN, CONSERVATIONIST AND NATIVE PLANT EDUCATOR; AND BOARD MEMBER, GREENBURGH NATURE CENTER. FOLLOW CATHY ON INSTAGRAM FOR MORE PHOTOS AND GARDENING TIPS @CATHYLUDDEN.

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November 10, 2022February 19, 2025 Cathy Ludden Around the Grounds, Native Plants

5 Stars – Totally Recommend

Sometimes you discover a product that performs so well, you just have to tell all your friends to try it. If you’re a gardener, the same thing can happen with a plant!

We are obsessed with Prairie Dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepsis), a little native grass that is carefree, beautiful, and versatile. We’ve planted it in multiple places at the Nature Center, and we’ve admired it in other public and private gardens. We definitely give it 5 stars!

**Prairie Dropseed edges the path in front of our Greenhouse**

Prairie Dropseed is an ornamental grass with fine-textured leaves that reach out from its center in graceful arches. The grass is small enough, and elegant enough, to form a well-behaved edge along a sidewalk or path. It reaches only 18-24 inches in height before blooming in mid-summer. The tiny flowers are on delicate stems that stretch 18 to 24 inches above the leaves and then branch into dancing seed clusters. Most surprising for a grass, the blooming stalks are fragrant! The scent is hard to define, and is variously described as being like popcorn, or green coffee beans, cilantro, or anise. The scent fades as the seeds ripen in fall.

Prairie Dropseed is native to American prairies and dry meadows and is found in at least 26 states from the Canadian border to Georgia and west as far as New Mexico, but it is most common in the Central Plains states. It is categorized as a “warm season bunch grass,” which means it starts turning green as the weather warms (late spring), and it forms “bunches,” tidy clumps that stay where you plant them. It does not spread itself by runners and, despite its name, does not easily spread by seed. The “dropseed” in the common name apparently refers to the fact that ripe seeds do fall to the ground where they may be eaten by birds and small mammals, but they do not seem to germinate easily. In our own experience, and based on reports from other gardeners, the plant does not self-sow in gardens, so you won’t see it popping up in other spots.

Prairie Dropseed is happy in Zones 3 to 9. As a true prairie plant, it prefers dry, even rocky, soil in full or part sun. It never needs fertilizer, and is rarely bothered by deer or rabbits. Its roots are great for stabilizing slopes, and the plant needs so little care it is ideal for roadsides. It is relatively salt tolerant as well. And it is a great substitute for non-native “fountain grasses” (Pennisetum spp.) that are now recognized as invasive in the Northeastern US and other parts of the country.

The easiest way to establish Prairie Dropseed is from nursery-grown container plants or plugs. It may take a couple of seasons for the roots to form a dense clump, but once they have, Prairie Dropseed becomes very drought tolerant and care free.

**A new planting of Prairie Dropseed and native perennials**

We keep planting Prairie Dropseed in new places, and it does not disappoint. We planted it in the Pollinator Garden at the Nature Center, using it as an edger and a filler among flowering perennials. It makes a lovely unifying matrix, tying a flowerbed together visually, and covering the soil to eliminate the need for mulch. We’ve planted it in front of shrubs, in sunny flowerbeds, and at the edges of our Meadow. It is a winner in each site.

**In late summer, the flowering stalks of Prairie Dropseed are fragrant**

**Prairie Dropseed catches the light and ties the garden together**

Prairie Dropseed turns gold in October, and continues to add structure to perennial beds even in winter. The seeds are eaten by migrating birds and persist long enough to supply food for winter birds as well. The plant is a host to several native leaf hopper insects, and small animals may take cover under the grass year around.

**November in front of the Manor House**

Prairie Dropseed is deciduous, which means that its leaves die off in winter, but they hold their shape even after being buried in snow. By late winter, the plants look rather quirky – somewhat like Cousin It of the Addams Family. In spring, when green shoots are starting to show, a quick haircut tidies things up.

A few weeks later, Prairie Dropseed leafs out again with fresh spring color, bringing the garden back to life. Totally a 5-star plant!

THIS BLOG IS AUTHORED WEEKLY BY CATHY LUDDEN, CONSERVATIONIST AND NATIVE PLANT EDUCATOR; AND BOARD MEMBER, GREENBURGH NATURE CENTER. FOLLOW CATHY ON INSTAGRAM FOR MORE PHOTOS AND GARDENING TIPS @CATHYLUDDEN.

November 3, 2022February 13, 2025 Cathy Ludden Around the Grounds, Native Plants

Autumn Hy-lights

Everybody loves hydrangeas. But especially at this time of year, it’s the Oakleaf Hydrangea that really steals the show. Just when other hydrangeas start dropping their leaves, Oakleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) lights up the landscape with colors ranging from hot pink to deep burgundy. The shrub holds its leaves until very late in the fall, and the colors keep changing for weeks — so the show lasts well past Thanksgiving!

**Oakleaf Hydrangeas blaze (no photo filters!)**

Oakleaf Hydrangea is a flowering shrub native to woodlands in the Southeastern US, from Georgia and Tennessee to Florida. It does very well in more northern gardens and is an excellent year-round landscape shrub in Zones 5 to 9, and even in Zone 4 with some protection. It prefers moist soil, but is surprisingly drought tolerant once established, especially with some afternoon shade. The fall color is best with more sun, so a morning sun/afternoon shade situation is ideal. Oakleaf Hydrangea is fast growing and can occupy a space 10-12 feet high and wide in just a few seasons. It is easily pruned for size, but should be pruned just after flowering to avoid cutting off the flower buds that form later in the season.

The scientific name “quercifolia” means “oak-shaped leaves.” The shrub is not related to oaks, but the leaves do resemble very large oak leaves. Interestingly, the leaves of the shrub grow significantly larger in shade than in sun. Deer resistance is questionable. Deer have not bothered the shrubs at the Nature Center, but neighbors report deer browsing, especially on younger plants.

Fall color may be the “hy-light,” but Oakleaf Hydrangea has advantages over non-native hydrangeas in other seasons as well. In spring, Oakleaf Hydrangea leafs out earlier than Asian mop-head hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla) and seems to be less vulnerable to late spring ice storms. While mop-head hydrangeas suffer significant winter die-back, leaving lots of twiggy stems into late spring, Oakleaf Hydrangea fills in attractively and reliably by the end of May.

**Side-by-side comparison in late May of Oakleaf Hydrangea on the left and mop-head hydrangea on the right**

Oakleaf Hydrangea blooms in June with large cone-shaped clusters of white flowers. The 4-petaled outer flowers are sterile, and their only purpose is to attract pollinators to the tiny fertile flowers hiding underneath. A huge variety of bees and other tiny insects feed on the pollen produced by the smaller flowers.

**Large cone-shaped clusters of white flowers in mid-June**

**The outer 4-petaled flowers attract pollinators**

**The tiny inner flowers supply the pollen**

While many gardeners love the big blue and pink flowers of mop-head hydrangeas, those flowers come at a price: they have been manipulated by growers to dramatically increase the number of colorful sterile blossoms, while eliminating entirely the tiny fertile flowers that feed pollinators. Have a closer look at mop-head hydrangeas and you will notice the complete absence of butterflies and bees. There is nothing for pollinators there.

After the fertile inner flowers of the Oakleaf Hydrangea have been pollinated, seeds form inside the flower clusters. At the same time, the sterile outer flowers begin to turn pink. It’s an enchanting sort of garden magic.

**The outer flowers turn pink in July sheltering the seeds produced by pollinated inner flowers**

**By late October, the flowers have turned craft-paper brown and the seeds are available for songbirds**

In November, Oakleaf Hydrangea lights up the late-season landscape as no other hydrangea can. When the leaves finally finish their show, they reluctantly fall, revealing cinnamon-brown bark on stems and twigs. As the shrub ages, the bark peels attractively, adding layers of warm brown color for winter interest, and forming a great shelter for winter birds.

Oakleaf Hydrangea really is a “hy-light” of the landscape all year long.

**Late season landscape composition with Winterberry and Hemlock**

THIS BLOG IS AUTHORED WEEKLY BY CATHY LUDDEN, CONSERVATIONIST AND NATIVE PLANT EDUCATOR; AND BOARD MEMBER, GREENBURGH NATURE CENTER. FOLLOW CATHY ON INSTAGRAM FOR MORE PHOTOS AND GARDENING TIPS @CATHYLUDDEN.

October 20, 2022February 13, 2025 Cathy Ludden Around the Grounds, Native Plants

Seasons in the Meadow

Meadows change. All landscapes change, of course, even the most formal manicured gardens. But native plant meadows are wilder, less predictable. Nature has a freer hand where plants are allowed and expected to reproduce naturally, and where humans impose less control over conditions. In each season since the initial planting of our native Meadow (see last week’s blog post here), we have been surprised, sometimes frustrated, and always fascinated by the changes we see. Our challenge is to accept as many of nature’s changes as we can, while preserving the value of the Meadow for nature itself.

In the Northeastern US, which was once almost entirely forest, naturally-occurring meadows are typically “successional.” They occur when a storm or fire opens a spot in the forest and more sunlight allows grasses and wildflowers to emerge. Eventually, woody shrubs and tree seedlings settle in, grow taller, cast shade, and the forest returns. Unfortunately, in modern times, any newly opened ground is immediately colonized by invasive species, plants from other parts of the world that out-compete native plants because they have no natural insect or animal controls here.

So, maintaining a designed meadow in the Northeastern US requires effort to prevent invasive plants or forest from claiming the space. The incredible value of a native meadow as habitat for insects, birds, reptiles, and mammals makes that effort totally worthwhile.

Guy Pardee of Suburban Natives, LLC mowing the Meadow in early April

We begin each year in the Meadow by mowing to prevent tree seedlings from developing, and to allow sun and water to reach new growth. The timing of mowing is important. We need to wait for over-wintering insects, including native bees and caterpillars, to emerge from their hiding places in leaves and hollow stems, usually in late March or early April. The Meadow is cut to the ground, leaving plant debris in place to add nutrition to the soil and to protect emerging growth from late frosts.

**Seedlings of White Pine, sumac, and birch appear every spring, trying to re-forest our Meadow**

Spring mowing also allows us to check the Butterfly Arbor and the trees in the Oak Circle for any winter damage. And it’s a good time to look for and remove invasive species before they can hide among the native plants.

A few weeks after mowing, when the first spring flowers emerge, we see that the Meadow has changed again. Each year there are surprises, and occasional disappointments, as plants appear and disappear. We are delighted when native plants volunteer in places they were never planted – a true indication of a healthy landscape! And, sometimes, we notice that flowers we love have disappeared as they reach the end of their life expectancies, or lose ground to stronger plants.

**Whorled loosestrife, Wild Sarsaparilla, and Appalachian Sedge are native plants that volunteered at the Meadow edge**

**Prairie Smoke, a spring bloomer, sadly disappeared from the Meadow after a few years**
Photo: Travis Brady

By June, the Meadow is in full bloom. Coreopsis, Penstemon, Baptisia, and many other flowers greet visitors — including butterflies, bees, and countless other pollinators!

Throughout the summer, the Meadow continues to change – not just seasonal changes, but changes in plant populations. Years after the original seeding, plants have appeared and bloomed for the first time as slow-growing seeds finally matured. And the number and location of plants in the Meadow changes every year.

**An uncommon plant, *Castilleja coccinea,* was included in the original seed mix planted in 2014, but only appeared and bloomed for the first time in June 2021**

**Joe Pye Weed was not a big presence in the early years of the Meadow, but after one rainy summer, it became prolific**

Throughout the growing season, some weeding is necessary to keep invasive plants out of the Meadow. Even some native plants are too aggressive to leave uncontrolled, or they would soon dominate. We make careful edits, avoiding use of herbicide, and quickly fill in weeded areas with container-grown native plants.

**Canada goldenrod is a beautiful native plant, but can out-compete everything else, so we cut it back before it goes to seed**

Autumn is the most dramatic season in the Meadow. Late-blooming flowers and grasses change the scene daily with a profusion of color. Seed pods from faded flowers attract songbirds in large numbers, and bees scramble to stock up for winter.

**Milkweed seed pod**
Photo: Travis Brady

**Late October view of the Butterfly Arbor**

Meadow plants are left standing all winter to provide seeds for birds, cover for animals, and winter hiding places for insects. There is a lesson here for all of us as home gardeners: a little mess, a little bit of wild in the landscape, can be as beautiful as it is beneficial for living things.

As the light changes with the seasons, the Meadow changes, too. It really is a different place each time we visit!

THIS BLOG IS AUTHORED WEEKLY BY CATHY LUDDEN, CONSERVATIONIST AND NATIVE PLANT EDUCATOR; AND BOARD MEMBER, GREENBURGH NATURE CENTER. FOLLOW CATHY ON INSTAGRAM FOR MORE PHOTOS AND GARDENING TIPS @CATHYLUDDEN

October 13, 2022February 13, 2025 Cathy Ludden Around the Grounds, Native Plants

How We Made a Meadow

It was a weed-infested patch of land just steps away from the busiest commercial corridor in Greenburgh. A little less than 2 acres, it had been neglected for decades. But it was flat, sunny, dry, and open. Perfect for a meadow!

After an initial clearing, we got a better look. There were some nice native birch trees, an ancient stand of bayberry, and several old apple trees remaining from what had once been an apple orchard.

We were very lucky to meet a talented landscape architect who offered to donate his design services to the Nature Center. Bill Boyce of Biosphere Landscape Architects brought his expertise in natural landscape restoration to the project. He designed a space that would retain the best features of the site, while adding places for education and contemplation. Our guiding principle was to create and preserve a diverse habitat of native plants for insects, birds, and other animals.

We knew that the most natural look for the meadow would require planting from seed, carefully selected for site conditions, using a large variety of native wildflowers and grasses. For that, we turned to Larry Weaner of Larry Weaner Design, the foremost authority in the Northeastern US on designing and planting native meadows. Larry formulates custom seed mixes using a complex formula based on seed germination rates, aggressiveness of various species, length of time each species takes to germinate and establish roots, and many other factors. Like Bill, Larry was kind enough to contribute his time and expertise for the Nature Center’s meadow project.

**Larry Weaner, expert on meadow design and planting**

In December of 2014, we cleared the site again, much more thoroughly, removing as many roots of the weedy invasive species as possible, but leaving a few valuable native plants. Bill marked off the areas to be seeded, and we carefully hand-cast Larry’s specially-formulated seed mix.

**Final thorough clearing and marked off planting areas**

**Hand casting seed in the new meadow before rolling to press seed into bare soil**

**Bill Boyce, Cathy Ludden, Larry Weaner, and Travis Brady did the final clearing and hand-seeding in December 2014**

Bill’s design included an Oak Circle, which we hoped would become a calm space for meditation, as well as contribute the immense ecological value of native oak trees. Bill also designed a Stone Classroom, where our staff naturalists could work with students on-site in the meadow.

It takes at least 3 years for a seeded meadow to establish. Soon after plants emerge in the first spring, the meadow is mowed to about 6 inches in height. The idea is to cut back returning invasive species, which grow faster, giving the native seeds time to germinate without being overwhelmed. Two additional mowings the first summer, at increasing heights, keep invasive weeds under control as the new native plants develop roots.

**First season meadow is kept short to allow new seeds to germinate, Spring 2015**

In the second season, the meadow is mown once in the spring, and once more in mid-summer. The third year, the meadow is mown only once in the spring, as it will be annually thereafter.

**Baby native plants appear in the meadow**

In the winter of 2016, Bill Boyce constructed our Butterfly Arbor, taking his design inspiration from the wings of a Monarch Butterfly. He allowed native sumac shrubs to remain near the Arbor to soften the edges of the design.

**The new Butterfly Arbor in April 2016**

The Arbor has removable doors and is specially designed to allow netting to be suspended inside for our annual butterfly exhibit.

**Preparing for the butterfly exhibit, Spring 2016**

The native plant meadow at the Nature Center is now 8 years old. It has matured, but it still changes each year and in every season. It has become the very special place we hoped it would be. It is filled with life and beauty.