Walking back toward TNC’s building, we have a wide selection of trees and other plants. Walking toward the Taylor Street gate, we have purple spiderwort on the right and, nearby, bright yellow sundrops will start blooming in late spring or early summer. These include Virginia bluebells, mayapples, foamflower, golden ragwort, yellow wood poppies, golden Alexander, Jacob’s ladder, wild geranium, green and gold, and various violets. Behind the benches are a variety of shade-loving perennials, most of which bloom in spring. Nearby, the roses will soon be starting to bloom, and the trellis is quickly getting covered with trumpet creeper, a locally native vine with large orange flowers that attract hummingbirds in summer. On the small hill surrounding our oak tree, look closely at the unusually shaped red and yellow flowered columbine, while purple and white moss phlox and the native sedum ternatum grow among the blueberry bushes. Above the sweetspire you may see the beautiful blossoms of the redbud trees.Ĭontinue along toward the trellis, and you pass our white oak tree, the leaf of which is on The Nature Conservancy’s logo. Nearby, arching branches of white flowers appear on the Virginia sweetspire bushes in late spring. Further along, look for patches of low-growing purple iris. Fun fact: Switchgrass is being researched for its use as biomass energy to replace coal and other non-renewable energy sources.Īlong the back walk is our woodlands area with more river birches showing off their beautiful peeling bark. Taller grasses have been added for variety and switchgrass, a light, airy grass further back from the pathways, has been successfully used as a large scale filtration device to stop soil erosion. Water-loving plants, such as iris and swamp sunflower, are in the lowland area, and drought-tolerant plants, such as black-eyed susans and butterfly weed are higher up. Note a slight hill here: this feature allows us to plant a wider variety of plants, because the hill stays drier than the lower areas. The two evergreen trees toward the back in the central meadow are eastern red cedars and provide excellent habitat and food for birds. These are surrounded by a selection of perennials: the bright pink smooth phlox and the scarlet tradescantia bloom in late spring, and the other perennials bloom in the summer and fall. The three small trees with hanging blossoms that turn from green to white are appropriately named fringe trees, and always bloom at slightly different times. The related paper birch of the north woods has thicker, layered bark strong enough for canoe building. These are river birches, the southernmost American species in this mostly boreal genus. Our two composters are used for our office composting program, while most of the garden waste is either composted on site or in the large wire containers in the back.įollow the winding path away from our building, and you’ll see some trees with a whitish, papery, peeling bark. Deciduous flame azaleas also bring some brief late spring color. The Carolina Silverbell tree, which is covered in pale pink flowers every spring, was planted in honor of Wangari Maathai, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize and an avid environmental activist. Around the birdbath is a selection of ferns, and further back are clumps of June blooming penstemons. Their sweet perfume fills this area when they are in bloom. To your right up the steps, the sweetbay magnolia blooms in late spring, in contrast to earlier flowering cultivated species. The more subtle drooping purple flower-heads of wild onions will start in June, along with red trumpet honeysuckle vines hanging over the wall. Large clumps of false wild indigo start to sprout in the center-in late spring, they will have bright purple spikes of flowers. Purple moss phlox on the left side bloom first, before patches of deep purple delphiniums appear near the wall. Here, you may catch many of the perennial wildflowers in bloom in the long, curved bed straight ahead. A tour of our garden can begin just outside TNC’s back doors.

Tree frog purple flower