Happy Earth Day, 2024! Celebrate by Planting a NN Native Plant!

Plant an Oak for Earth Day... “Oaks are the quintessential wildlife plants: no other genus supports as many species of Lepidoptera thus providing more types of bird food, than the mighty oak... The value of oaks for supporting both vertebrate and invertebrate wildlife cannot be overstated.”

Doug Tallamy, Bringing Nature Home -How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens.”

What can you do to promote Biodiversity on your own property? Shrink your lawn, Plant native species such as Oaks, native cherry, willows, or birches or herbaceous perennials such as asters, goldenrods or sunflowers that support hundreds of species of wildlife; Plant for specialist pollinators that are often dependent on a single genus or species of plant – like the Monarchs and milkweed, Plant generously and in layers – plant a dogwood or serviceberry under your Oak and surround this with shrubs and an herbaceous groundcover as a “living mulch”. Refer to our guide, Native Plants for the Northern Neck for more beautiful and ecologically rich plant choices.

From the April 2024 Newsletter

This famed White Oak, Quercus alba, in Nelson County is estimated to be around 400 years old.

Shown with long time member, and Remarkable Tree enthusiast Hilda Wilson. Photos by Carole Hammer