How Do You Design A #WildlifeCorridor For #Maine Garden Design?

Excerpt:

"Plant Palette: #NativeSpecies and Layering for Maine

Choose plants that are native to your Maine ecoregion and that provide multiple functions: forage, cover, nesting structure, and seasonal continuity.

- Canopy and large trees (plant for future shade and mast): white pine (Pinus strobus), red #maple (Acer rubrum), sugar maple (Acer saccharum), paper birch (Betula papyrifera), red oak (Quercus rubra), balsam fir.
- Small trees and large shrubs (structure and fruit): serviceberry (Amelanchier spp.), crabapple (Malus spp. native selections), chokecherry (Prunus virginiana), witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana).
- Shrubs for berries and cover: highbush #blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum), #winterberry holly (Ilex verticillata), highbush #cranberry (Viburnum trilobum), black #chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa), #elderberry (Sambucus canadensis), #bayberry (Morella pensylvanica).
- Herbaceous layer and pollinator plants: common #milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), joe-pye weed (Eutrochium spp.), #asters (Symphyotrichum spp.), #goldenrod (Solidago spp.), mountain mint (Pycnanthemum spp.), columbine (Aquilegia canadensis).
- Groundcover and forest floor: bunchberry (Cornus canadensis), wild ginger (Asarum canadense), sedges (Carex spp.), native ferns where appropriate.
- Wetland edge species for riparian corridors: blueflag iris (Iris versicolor), buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis), #sedges, and #NativeRushes.

Plant choice should reflect site moisture, sunlight, and soil pH. Avoid ornamental cultivars with little #wildlife value and never plant species known to be invasive in Maine such as Japanese #barberry or #bittersweet."

Learn more:
https://cultivatingflora.com/how-do-you-design-a-wildlife-corridor-for-maine-garden-design/

#SolarPunkSunday #WildlifeCorridor #NativeSpecies #GardeningForPolinators #Rewilding

Planting winterberries brings seasonal color to Takoma yards along with timely food for birds and mammals. This Takoma Natives blog from Friends of Native Trees in Takoma (FONTT) describes the year-round benefits of this low-maintenance shrub.

https://fontt.org/2024/12/11/winterberries-provide-a-winters-feast-for-feathered-friends/

#NativePlants #Winterberry #Maryland

It's not spring yet! The birds will soon be swooping in to gobble up these winterberries (Ilex verticillata) that have hung on through the winter until the time when they are most needed by wildlife. Not long ago one of "our" squirrels was in this shrub gathering a meal.

#Winterberry #IlexVerticillata #NativePlants #Gardening #permaculture #NewEngland #Massachusetts #FairhavenMA #SouthcoastMA

“The frost makes a flower, the dew makes a star.” ~ Sylvia Plath

#December #winterberry #berries #bloomscrolling #SolaceInNature #frost #creationstruck