Invitation To Edit

Dear Vernon Neighbors,

The purpose of this letter is to invite you to edit your gardens. Yes that's right, I'm requesting that as you walk about your property, take an informal survey of the flowers that are growing there and then do some "rewriting" with wildlife in mind. The same could / should be done with shrubs and trees; but lets face it, it's springtime and flowers are on all of our minds right now.

Now I thought that this would be a quick friendly note; but if you search native Vermont flowers or any related question about why they are important,  an overwhelming number of sites and hours of reading are ahead of you -yikes! I don't know about you, but I want to spend my time outdoors enjoying the flowers and not in front of the screen.  So allow me narrow it down a bit for you. Native flowers and plants have over a long period of time, grown accustomed to growing here in Vernon and the wildlife that live here rely on them for food, reproduction and shelter. I know that those non-natives that are sold at..well just about everywhere are pretty sexy; but they really just don't deliver the nutritional punch to support the food web that natives do.

I know what your thinking here because I'm right there with you, all of this sounds expensive and like a lot of hard work.  But here's the thing, native plants since they figured out how to grow here, don't require all of that junk we like to toss at flowers who begin looking peaked because they aren't happy living here on there own. Think of all the money time and energy that you will save by not buying chemical fertilizer and pesticides! Remember when I said that native plants know how to live here in Vernon? Translation: you won't need to spend time and money keeping their feet wet if you set them in the right spot! I know, it's all truly liberating, your weekends have never been so free!

So what exactly is a native plant and how do you find them? Fortunately for us, very smart people who make a living studying these sorts of things and have made an easy to use picture list of Vermont native plants.  (there are a lot of lists out there). The buying part is a little more involved however. Seeds and container plants typically list the basic information of how much sun, shade and room plants require as well as their hardiness zone (we are 5b). Some containers even tout "Northern Grown." Be careful here because those may not the same as being a Vermont native plant. Additionally, organically grown isn't the same as being Vermont Native. So this is what I do, I carry a list of Vermont native plants with me when I go shopping and when I forget my list I ask the garden center representative to direct me to the Vermont natives selection.

So how does one exactly "edit" their yard? This morning I laid down all of my, The Commons and Brattleboro Reformers on top of a patch of grass. I managed to cover an area of around 8x10 feet. I then covered the newspaper with dirt. Finally I sprinkled the native perennial wildflower seeds that good old Wayne bought me for my birthday, on top of the dirt and used the bottom of my hoe to gently tap them in.

Well I'm off to enjoy this beautiful day! (I saw my first honey bee on a Dandelion this morning.)

Sincerely,
Norma A. Manning

Vermont native: Viola Sororia - Common Blue Violet