Webinar: Native Plants for New England Gardens

Tower Hill Botanic Garden horticulture director Mark Richardson shares his knowledge of native plants for our home gardens.

[ShaunStanwood]

This is awesome and SO useful. I want to make a comment on Mountain Laurel for other viewers interested.

I live in an area with LOTS of Mountain Laurel. I LOVE it. Their branches are scraggly like Rhodedendron.
-It does not bloom every year. When it DOES bloom large wild stands of it make the forest look like it snowed flowers, even though it's relatively warm out.
-I've *heard* that picking off the seed pods in fall will encourage the bloom in Late Spring/Early Summer
-I've only lived here for a year or so but I've taken to pruning dead dry branches. All my Laurels are wild.
-Laurels want acidic compost. They pop out of areas of deep oak leaf detritus and white pine needles. They want all that dead junk on the floor - sticks included - so don't rake your stands of oak and white pine. They're growing out of my compost pile.
-I've been feeding them Rhodedendron/Azaela food (related plants). At some point I might report on the effectiveness of that.
-They ARE poisonous. I do NOT know if honey made from their nectar is toxic but it sounds like it's possible. Take note.
-Mark mentioned they may not impress people looking for evergreen bushes in the winter. Personally I think they're fine - they stay green all winter and it's nice to see something green that isn't pine needles all winter, but don't expect it to "fill" the space.

[christopherhughes]

Just ordered the book the other day. We moved to CT and bought a house on 2 acres that has been neglected for years. The entire lot was just covered in overgrown invasives. I've been clearing it all out and hope to landscape it all with natives by spring 2022.

[volunteersmile]

This video was so helpful! Thank you for sharing and your excellent insight to planting with native species. I’m trying to revitalize a neglected yard with lots of invasive vines and trees and some challenging working conditions- deep shade, clay soil, steep grade/unstable hillside. Thank you!!

[jellybean]

Thank you so so much for all this wonderful knowledge you’ve shared! Greatly appreciate you taking the time to make this and share it

[olgakuchukov]

This is great, thank you! I’ve got Mark’s book and look forward to visiting the garden.

[jabrowski_]

I spray for tick and mosquito control commercially in the summer. This was great for understanding more ty

[jacquelinetremblay]

Just got a job at a local (western ma) landscape design business and as a veggie and cut flower gardener who's worked to make plants work for our area so it will produce, this video was super helpful! Thank you!

[moniqueollinger]

Thank you for sharing so much great information. I look forward to reading your book. I’m hoping to add more native species to my property. 🌱✨

[floopfloopian]

Battling the autumn olive here in CT. Turning lawn into meadow has been a fun project of mine.

[Dollgrl]

Is this Tower Hill in Rhode Island ? One of my ancestors homesteads was supposedly right where the tower stands or very close by . I never knew this was there .

[Canny-Octopus]

Three toothed cinquefoil - is it soft enough to be a grass alternative in a lawn?

[ksero]

Our hemlock is dying in Pennsylvania. I’d like to propagate, but I don’t know how to prevent the aphids that are killing them off.

[joanfrellburg]

People seem to forget that some plants spread like crazy.
There's a reason for that.
Just pick the native ones that do that, and remove the non natives.
That's how I'm going to remove my lawn.

[GraftingTactick]

Great content, very informative, lots to take from, Thanks for sharing 👍subbed #439