Best viewed from the board walkway, this garden was established in 2021 after a number of large trees were removed to increase sunlight reaching the solar panels on the Care building roof. Smaller, native trees form the new canopy. A pollinator garden was planted below to control weeds and slow the flow of water. This garden needs lots of weeding!
Have you noticed how much the native trees have grown that were planted in the space between the boardwalk and the playground? Large trees that grew in this area were removed in 2020 order for the solar panels on the CARE building to get more sunlight. After some research, the Garden team selected a series of smaller growing native trees which were planted in 2021 by Kiefer Landscaping. These included Little Gem Magnolia, Sweet Bay Magnolia, Black Gum, Red Maple, Fringe Tree, Tennessee Pink Redbud and Hophornbeam.
If you look under the tree canopy, you will find the beginnings of a pollinator garden, some of which is in bloom right now. Plants include natives swamp milkweed, buttonbush, Cherokee sedge and obedient plant.
The hope for the pollinator garden, in addition to providing food for pollinator insects, is to provide attractive ground cover. The area contains significant water drainage, which necessitated installing large pipes to channel the water and significant disruption to the soil there. Consequently, LOTS of weed seeds were activated and weeding under the trees has been an ongoing effort. We are using cardboard mulch to help.
This garden niche is best viewed from the board walkway. Take a look the next time you walk by! Volunteers are always needed to help keep down the weeds and keep the area looking good. Contact Barbara Beaman for more information.
