March in the Garden
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Greetings from Birch Meadow,
“At this very moment, the Earth is above you, below you, all around you, and even inside you. The Earth is everywhere. You may be used to thinking of the Earth as only the ground beneath your feet. But the water, the sea, the sky, and everything around us comes from the Earth. Everything outside us and everything inside us comes from the Earth. We often forget that the planet we are living on has given us all the elements that make up our bodies. The water in our flesh, our bones, and all the microscopic cells inside our bodies all come from the Earth and are part of the Earth. The Earth is not just the environment we live in. We are the Earth and we are always carrying her within us.
Realizing this, we can see that the Earth is truly alive. We are a living, breathing manifestation of this beautiful and generous planet. Knowing this, we can begin to transform our relationship to the Earth. We can begin to walk differently and to care for her differently. We will fall completely in love with the Earth. When we are in love with someone or something, there is no separation between ourselves and the person or thing we love. We do whatever we can for them and this brings us great joy and nourishment. That is the relationship each of us can have with the Earth. That is the relationship each of us must have with the Earth if the Earth is to survive, and if we are to survive as well.”
– Thich Nhat Hanh, Love Letter to the Earth
We at Birch Meadow strive to help the Earth thrive. Our commitment to tending the earth naturally and in ways that create beauty, nourish the pollinators, feed our clients, sequester carbon, and reduce the need for excessive water use brings us deep joy and fulfillment each day.
THINGS TO DO IN YOUR GARDEN IN MARCH
• Here is a link for things that should have been done in February, just in case you are still catching up!
• Click here for Central NC Planting Calendar for Annual Vegetables, Fruits, and Herbs.
• Plant hardy woody vines like clematis.
• Divide and replant daylilies, hostas, peonies, shasta daisies, asters, phlox, rudbeckia and chrysanthemums when new growth is 1-2 inches high.
• Cut back liriope and monkey grass before new growth begins.
• Deadhead daffodils when the blooms fade, but allow the foliage to die back naturally to store nutrients for the next growing season.
• Cut back plants that were left for winter interest, including grasses and seed heads.
• Cut back dead and old foliage from ferns.
• Turn over soil in vegetable beds and add plenty of organic matter.
• Plant cool season crops – i.e., lettuce, chard, kale, spinach, peas, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, radishes, and beets. Cover them if temperatures dip below freezing.
• Start tender vegetables, like tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers, indoors.
• Prune summer-blooming plants like althea, buddleia, vitex and crepe myrtle.
• Prune deciduous azalea, forsythia, flowering quince, spiraea and viburnum after blooming.
• Prune roses, raspberries, blackberries if you haven’t already.
• Remove old camellia blooms to prevent spread of petal blight. Clean up any dead blooms from the ground.
• Repot houseplants and begin putting them outside on warmer days.
USING SCIENCE AND CELTIC WISDOM TO SAVE TREES (AND SOULS)
"Diana Beresford-Kroeger, a botanist and author, has created a forest with tree species handpicked for their ability to withstand a warming planet."
"MERRICKVILLE, Ontario — There aren’t many scientists raised in the ways of druids by Celtic medicine women, but there is at least one. She lives in the woods of Canada, in a forest she helped grow. From there, wielding just a pencil, she has been working to save some of the oldest life-forms on Earth by bewitching its humans.
At a hale 77, Diana Beresford-Kroeger is a medical biochemist, botanist, organic chemist, poet, author, and developer of artificial blood. But her main focus for decades now has been to telegraph to the world, in prose that is scientifically exacting yet startlingly affecting, the wondrous capabilities of trees.
Dr. Beresford-Kroeger’s goal is to combat the climate crisis by fighting for what’s left of the great forests (she says the vast boreal wilderness that stretches across the Northern Hemisphere is as vital as the Amazon) and rebuilding what’s already come down. Trees store carbon dioxide and oxygenate the air, making them “the best and only thing we have right now to fight climate change and do it fast,” she said.
Her admirers, who included the late biodiversity pioneer E.O. Wilson, say what sets Dr. Beresford-Kroeger apart is the breadth of her knowledge. She can talk about the medicinal value of trees in one breath and their connection to human souls in the next. She moved Jane Fonda to tears. She inspired Richard Powers to base a central character of his Pulitzer-prize winning novel, “The Overstory,” in part on her: He has called her a “maverick” and her work “the best kind of animism.”
WHAT IS A NATIVE PLANT AND WHAT ISN’T?
By NC State Extension
Native Plants are defined as any plants that occurred in North America before European settlement. Non-native plants are those not originally located in North America or in a specific region, like North Carolina. In North Carolina, there are many non-native plants from Asia or western Europe because these regions have similar climates and environmental conditions to those found in the state.
Now, how did all these non-native plants get here? While some non-natives have ended up here accidentally, we brought most of them here ourselves, on purpose. Many non-native species were brought here for use as ornamental, lawn, and garden plants. They were chosen for their attractiveness and hardiness. Some of these non-natives have been here so long that we don’t even realize they are not native. Callery ‘Bradford’ pear, Chinese privet, Japanese Honeysuckle, and Queen Anne’s lace have become such common sights that we tend to think of these plants as native, but they aren’t. Other plants, such as multiflora rose, bicolor lespedeza, and autumn olive were even introduced for the purpose of promoting “wildlife habitat”. However, each introduction has proven detrimental in some ways to North Carolina’s native plants and wildlife.
Native plants are better for native wildlife. Over thousands of years, native plants and animals have evolved together. Natural checks and balances developed in the environment, reducing the chance that a single plant species will increase in number to the point where it completely dominates a plant community. Competitors, diseases, and insects control a plant’s growth and dispersal throughout the native range.
Invasive plants can be attractive to wildlife, but not good for them. Non-native fruits, while attractive to wildlife, may not provide the best nutrition for native wildlife. Areas covered with only a few invasive, non-native plant species can be harmful because habitats with low plant diversity are poor for wildlife. New evidence from the mid-western United States indicates birds that nest in some non-native shrubs experience poor nesting success. Lower nest height, the absence of sharp thorns on non-native plants, and different branching patterns can allow predators easier access to nests built in non-native plants.
Without natural checks, non-native plants can become invasive. The same characteristics that make many non-native plants attractive in urban landscapes – colorful berries, pest resistance, and tolerance to harsh conditions – make them difficult to contain. Non-native plants that are attractive to birds and other wildlife are often the most invasive because animals serve as great dispersers of fruits and seeds, often moving the seeds great distances away from where the fruits were eaten. Autumn olive is a non-native plant that produces fruits favored by birds, but the plant grows and often spreads quickly where the seeds are defecated. When a non-native species becomes “naturalized,” or when that plant is able to survive, spread, and reproduce on its own, it can invade the native habitat and crowd out native species. Approximately 25% of the plants growing wild in the United States are naturalized non-natives, some of which have become invasive, growing uncontrolled where native plants otherwise would occur. Native fruit-producing plants may succumb to the competition from this type of invasive non-native, thereby reducing the diversity of foods available to birds and other wildlife. Native plants are never invasive. The term invasive applies only to non-native plants and not to native plants; invasive implies a negative effect on native plants and animals. On the other hand, native plants that establish quickly in your garden and spread readily are more appropriately termed “aggressive”. Aggressive native plants generally are species adapted to recently disturbed sites where they establish and spread quickly but give way to other native plants within a few years.
Native plants are never invasive. The term invasive applies only to non-native plants and not to native plants; invasive implies a negative effect on native plants and animals. On the other hand, native plants that establish quickly in your garden and spread readily are more appropriately termed “aggressive”. Aggressive native plants generally are species adapted to recently disturbed sites where they establish and spread quickly but give way to other native plants within a few years.
Not all non-native plants are invasive. There are many non-native plants that do not become invasive, and many can safely be planted in your landscape. However, it takes scientists many years or even decades to fully understand a non-native plant’s potential invasiveness. New information is being gathered, and you should check with your local nature center, botanical garden, or Cooperative Extension agent to find out about a plant’s invasiveness before introducing it to your property. There are a number of plants that we already know are invasive and that pose the greatest risk to the native plants and animals of North Carolina. Yet despite the growing base of knowledge related to the potential problems of non-native plants, species like sawtooth oak continue to be recommended as plantings to encourage wildlife. Until adequate information on the invasiveness of such plants exists, native alternatives should be used.
AVOID ADDING THESE PLANTS TO YOUR LANDSCAPE
ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ORGANIC FERTILIZING
Organic gardening emphasizes cultivating your garden so that it sustains enriching soil, plants and beneficial insects. This is achieved by avoiding the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, and using products that nurture your garden soil and the organisms in it. When you embrace the organic gardening philosophy, your plants experience a balanced and nourished ecosystem that works as nature intended.
Creating Healthy Soil
Organic products are ideal for your landscape, because they feed the soil, creating a sustaining environment. Healthy soil leads to healthy plants. But when you garden organically, you do much more than nourish your plants.
As in nature, an organic soil alive with microbes and fungi releases nutrients slowly to plants. By enriching the soil with organic supplements and encouraging the growth of naturally occurring beneficial organisms, you give your plants the tools they need to access nutrients in the soil and the strength to protect themselves from harmful pathogens and pests. Take the natural approach and amend with soil conditioners, such as earthworm castings, which add organic matter, including humid acid and desirable microorganisms to your garden soil. This helps make soil borne nutrients, such as iron, more available to plants.
Organic gardening also calls for adding homemade or bagged compost to the soil. This improves the overall soil structure by increasing organic matter, which enhances nutrient release to plants and increases water retention. Adding compost also reduces runoff and erosion, and suppresses certain diseases.
Nutritious “Food” For Plants
High-quality organic fertilizers are the products of natural decomposition and are easy for plants to digest. Made from natural sources, organic fertilizers provide garden plants with slow-release, consistent nourishment. Such a “health food" diet makes your plants strong and self-sustaining. Rather than depend on you for feeding them a steady supply of synthetic fertilizers, they find what they need in soil that has been fed with organic fertilizer.
Organic fertilizers that feed the soil and sustain plants include animal waste and byproducts, such as bird and bat guano, blood meal, bone meal and feather meal, as well as fish and kelp fertilizers. Certified organic products, such as Fish Emulsion, which we procure from Southern States, provide plants with nutrient-rich sources of organic matter that breaks down and slowly feeds plants, making them strong and vigorous.
Most organic fertilizers are low in nutrients, which is why the NPK macronutrient ratio (nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium) printed on product labels generally consists of numbers below 10. The gentle nature of organic fertilizers also means they won't burn plant roots or foliage like chemical fertilizers can.
Organic Pest and Disease Management
Organic gardening takes a gentle approach to dealing with pests and diseases. This method includes taking steps to prevent pests and diseases before they occur, and using mild control methods and products.
One of the least invasive prevention and control methods for pests and diseases is inspecting plants for problems, and then physically removing any pests or diseased areas found. This works well when a plant has a limited amount of problem areas. Organic gardening also uses exclusion methods to keep pests and diseases at bay. This includes covering plants with lightweight, spunbonded fabrics known as row cover.
Gardeners dedicated to organic gardening practices know that it's best to destroy as few insects as possible, as a large majority of insects are beneficial or benign. But when pest or disease invasions are extensive, they turn to organic pest control products. Such substances tend to break down quickly once applied, which means they have a lower likelihood of harming plants.
When to Fertilize
It's best to wait until the date of last frost to prevent harm to juvenile growth. Fertilizer is most effective when used on plants at their peak growing cycle. This is when the plant is leafing out for deciduous species, flowering, or putting on new growth after leaving the dormant winter stage. During cooler temps, plants don't typically drink much, so wouldn't benefit much from early fertilizer application.
If you would like help tending your established garden or installing a new one, please let us know! Click here for Maintenance Policy & Pricing.
Enjoy the brilliant flowers, fragrances, and birdsong that are once again emerging, blessing our gardens, and carrying us towards the coming Spring.
The Birch Meadow Team
Mary Beth, Kelley, Barbara, Karla, Jared, Frankie, Kizzia, Jess, Rachael & CommUnity Based Landscaping
919-224-9697