Planning Your Wildlife-Friendly Garden This piece is an excerpt from the September 2024 Capital Nature Newsletter about the transition from summer to fall. It highlights upcoming fall native plant sales and activities to support and protect wildlife in yards. Enjoy! Native plant sales abound in September and October. See our growing list of plant eventsContinueContinue reading “Native Plant Sales Galore!”
Author Archives: ARMN Publisher
Deer Exclosures in Gulf Branch and Glencarlyn Parks in 2024: Are they working?
By Jeff Elder, Steve Young, and Kasha Helget The white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) impact on local forests has grown, with the loss of many native trees and shrub seedlings to deer browse. ARMN provides detailed information about these adverse impacts in its “Learn About” feature entitled, Deer Population and Forest Health, as well as blogContinueContinue reading “Deer Exclosures in Gulf Branch and Glencarlyn Parks in 2024: Are they working?”
2024 Update on the ARMN Ozone Bioindicator Garden: A Wonderful Climate Tool Right in Our Backyard
By Barbara Hoffheins Overview The ARMN Ozone Bioindicator Garden continues for a fourth year at Walter Reed Community Center (WRCC). ARMN has been working with Arlington County, NASA, and the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Science Education in building and maintaining the bioindicator garden as part of a nationwide project to monitor the impact ofContinueContinue reading “2024 Update on the ARMN Ozone Bioindicator Garden: A Wonderful Climate Tool Right in Our Backyard”
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,ContinueContinue reading “News from the Jerome “Buddie” Ford Native Plant Garden”
News about American Chestnut Tree Seedlings Installed Eleven Years Ago
By Kasha Helget In late 2013, volunteers installed dozens of American chestnut tree saplings (Castanea dentata) in Arlington and Alexandria parks and public sites. These young trees were propagated by the Earth Sangha nursery from seeds collected mainly in the northern Blue Ridge area (https://armn.org/2014/02/05/seeds-of-hope-american-chestnut-replanting/). The hope was that the offspring of trees that hadContinueContinue reading “News about American Chestnut Tree Seedlings Installed Eleven Years Ago”
The Mulberry Conundrum
by Devin Reese Eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) at Dyke Marsh feeding on white mulberries. Photo by Barbara Saffir. Mulberry Season Fruits from the white mulberry (Morus alba). Photo by Geo Lightspeed7, Wikimedia, CC-BY-SA-4.0. It’s that time of year when mulberries are fruiting all around Northern Virginia. Sidewalks are dotted with squashed, blackberry-like fruits; andContinueContinue reading “The Mulberry Conundrum”
Reestablishing Itea virginica at Little Hunting Creek
By Matt Bright Founded in 1997, the Earth Sangha operates a volunteer-based ecological restoration program for the greater Washington, DC, region. The program is designed to conserve and restore the native plant communities that are essential to the region’s ecological health. At the heart of the program is our Wild Plant Nursery, the region’s mostContinueContinue reading “Reestablishing Itea virginica at Little Hunting Creek”
Spring into Action: Admiring and Protecting Our Spring Ephemerals
By Ajani Simmons Unveiling the World of Spring Ephemerals Spring ephemerals—ever heard of them? Don’t worry if you haven’t; I was in the same boat until recently. Picture this: you’re on a nature walk in Ft. Bennett Park, guided by Mary McCutcheon, a local nature guru, ARMN master naturalist, and park steward with a knackContinueContinue reading “Spring into Action: Admiring and Protecting Our Spring Ephemerals”
Night at the Arlington Outdoor Lab: Salamander/Amphibian Exploration
Text by Mary McLean Photos by Toni Genberg and Simon Willig During the waning weeks of winter, I joined a group of ARMN members in driving to the Arlington Outdoor Education Association’s Outdoor Lab (Outdoor Lab) in Broad Run, VA, about 40 miles from Arlington. The Outdoor Lab is a 225-acre facility that provides hands-onContinueContinue reading “Night at the Arlington Outdoor Lab: Salamander/Amphibian Exploration”
It’s Spring! Time to Shop for and Install Native Plants
With longer daylight hours, warming soils, and the return of birds, bees, and butterflies, it’s time to think about gardening, and preferably, installing native plants in your pots and/or yards. Our local animals depend on them, AND they provide beauty to our landscapes. So, please consider a few—or several native plants to brighten your yard,ContinueContinue reading “It’s Spring! Time to Shop for and Install Native Plants”