Ecoplantia

We are set up at the Pennsylvania Herb and Garden show at the York expo center. If you’re in the neighborhood stop by to say hi!

For all of our Maryland residents, Brandon will be testifying at the State Capitol Building in Annapolis on behalf of the growers, retail nurseries, employees, and consumers in Maryland that will benefit from this designation. Take a moment to add your name to the petition, link is in the comment section. (We need to show widespread support)

"This is a no-cost action that would create a focus for educational and volunteer events, nursery participation, school programming, and public awareness. More than 45 states already recognize a Native Plant Month, many of which have made that recognition permanent through statute. It is time for Maryland to join that movement." - Katie Garvey - Wild Ones Greater Baltimore
The link to sign the petition is in the comment section!

With all of the rapid development and the race to construct data centers and more affordable housing across the nation, we cannot get so excited that we forget we share this planet. We have reached the time where homeowners must become conservationist on their own property. A little bit of effort goes a long way, and we can ensure Maryland remains one of the most cherished and inspiring places to live in the country.

Bad landscaping stops when the homeowner is informed!!! Your yard is a reflection of knowledge, care, appreciation, recreation, and stewardship. Investigate who you hire and learn as much as you can. Sometimes people don't know what they don't know and if you don't either, we perpetuate the problems.

Way to go Maryland!!!!

Maryland Invasive Plants Prevention and Control An official website of the State of Maryland.

As ornamental flower gardeners, how can we grow and cultivate community health?

1) Diversified landscapes provide superior ecosystem services compared to simplified landscapes (like lawn or foundation beds with just a few plants and lots of wood mulch). Some of those ecosystem services include:

-- cleaner and cooler air
-- reduction in energy costs (trees / shrubs cool structures)
-- less urban flooding in extreme storm events (even in winter)
-- increased pollinators which support local food systems
-- increased beneficial predators (wasps, bugs) of "pests"

2) There are a plethora of studies that show physical and visual exposure to more diversified landscapes increases work and school performance, reduces stress levels, increases health outcomes (especially inflammatory diseases and recovery from illness), and exposes kids to beneficial organisms that reduce the chances of developing allergies. How do you feel when you see a butterfly? How do you feel when you hear birds?

3) More diverse landscapes that replace lawn will often mean a reduction in power tools that pollute the air and support a fossil fuel industry that's, well, not good for the overall planet. Such landscapes often require less watering -- if plants are matched to site conditions -- and almost no if any fertilizer applications (which also have a large environmental footprint from mining to transport to off-gassing to groundwater pollution).

What corporations might benefit from a fear mongering that says lawns are essential to healthy kids, wasps are pests, bees are pests and are dangerous, tall plants are a nuisance, or nature generally is something to fear? In generating that fear, where is the wealth (and power) transfer going?

Gardens take back power and take back health. They support the community of people and wildlife while mending bonds broken by interests outside of the local community. Prairie up!

Spotted inside the Mary Livingston Ripley Garden earlier this week. I wasn’t sure what to do in that moment.

What do you do when its 95+ degrees, and you have almost 2,000 sq. ft. of grass and w**ds to remove before planting it out? The plants are too wilty to effectively respond to herbicide, the retaining wall tiers are too dangerous for a sod cutter, and we have a deadline to finish the install preventing us from solarization.

The answer? A Smother Sheet! Thick bio-degradable paper that actively smothers the grass and w**ds while your plants grow! This particular paper is much thicker than our traditional Roll-Out Garden paper and provides the weight and coverage to knock-out most w**ds and cool-season grasses within 2 months. The only trade-off with this method is to remove any grass-plant or w**d within a 5-6 inch diameter of each planting hole, otherwise it will grow along with your desired plant, leading to a more difficult removal.

Overall the installation was a success and we look forward to using the smother sheet much more in the future!