News from the Jerome “Buddie” Ford Native Plant Garden

Text and photos by Dan Huddleston

It’s been a couple of years since we last reported on the native plant garden at the Buddie Ford Nature Center. Three years ago, we started revitalizing a native garden that had been strangled into submission by Porcelain berry and other invasive plants. After the invasive plant removal phase, we then began to address water runoff, add a teaching area, update walkways and add more native plants.

More recently, we entered a new phase in the garden. Now that we have established a basic collection of native plants, we are trying to expand our palette to present a wider selection of plants for both pollinators and other wildlife. So, we have been thinning some of the most prolific plants and relocating others to allow for new additions.

 

 

One of our projects has been to obtain new plants through rescue. We have made several trips to rescue plants ahead of the Accotink Creek Restoration project in Fairfax County, where areas around the stream will be bulldozed, destroying many native plants. We collected Christmas ferns, Sensitive ferns, Solomon’s plume, and American Beech trees. The Beech tree saplings are a replacement for a nearby “Legacy” American Beech Tree that died about 5 years ago, so we are hoping to start a new legacy.

We are also working on creating and acquiring signs in English and Spanish for the garden to let more of our friends and passers-by know about our native plants. The Buddie Ford Native Plant Garden is definitely worth a visit. It’s attractive both to pollinators and people!

Finally, we do invasive pulls in adjacent Dora Kelly Nature Park on the second Sunday of each month from May through November. Anyone, including Master Naturalists, Master Gardeners, and members of the public are welcome to join in. To sign up for these invasive plant removals, click here.