By Nancy Dorrans
Springtime, sunshine, and blooming crocus have motivated me to get out in the garden and BACK TO NATURE!
I have some good news to share. My happy place garden, maintained by a small group of West End neighbors on Crescent Street in Portland, is still ours to nurture this season! Last summer the owner of this small vacant lot told us he was going to develop the land and we wouldn’t be able to garden there anymore. I was crushed. It was as if our sweet garden was a foster child we’d been caring for and now we had to give her back.
Heartbroken, I called on my gardening friends and neighbors to come dig and transplant all the perennials. I’m hopeful they are all happy in their new gardens and will continue to thrive. The good news is that the development of the lot is delayed, so the garden is ours again this season! I’ve ordered a Pollinator Palooza Seed Mix from Prairie Moon Nursery that includes a free native plant-insect interactions guide to replenish the perennials in a wild way.
My gardening passion has led me to learn and know more about native plants and all things green and heathy in Maine. I’ve joined Wild Seed Project and attended several workshops and webinars. I’ve connected with Annie Wadleigh of the Portland Pollinator Partnership and attended the Green Home and Energy show in April organized by Heather Chandler of The SunriseGuide and Green & Healthy Maine HOMES.
All this newfound knowledge is being put to good use…
WOODED LOT 135
Last spring an ad popped up offering wooded lots for sale in Waltham, Maine, just north of Ellsworth. I was intrigued, called a friend and off we went to the “big sale” at Sunset Shores, a 146-lot subdivision located along the east side of Graham Lake. My appointment was at 3pm. By then only a dozen or so lots were still available.
It was all very spontaneous, but I had to follow the signs. First, there was a lady slipper blooming next to the for-sale sign (one sign). Second, this lot had some DEP restrictions… because of the adjacent vernal pool (another sign).
So, I now own wooded lot 135 on White Tail Road. I have a driveway, a hemlock tree, and one big rock. Some of the perennials from Crescent Street Garden were native and those I transplanted up to my lot last fall along with a scattering of native flowers, local milkweed, and cattail seeds.
Plans are to build something someday. This spring I’m bringing up a small vintage Shasta camper I bought from my sister. Oh, and my friend Elaine that went with me also purchased a lot. There are over a hundred acres of protected land between our lots. We’ll be backdoor wooded trail neighbors!
JOIN US! GARDEN IN THE WOODS TOUR
The push to go green, native, and rewild Maine is taking hold. The more I learn the more I want to know and share. My good friend Andrea Southworth and I have been talking for years about planning garden tours! Andrea teaches botany at SMCC and formerly at MECA. She also serves as the Ecology Project Manager for Friends of Fort Williams Park, leading their work to restore native landscapes and habitats, and has partnered with a number of other nonprofits in Maine.
On Tuesday, May 17th Andrea and I have organized a full day tour from Portland to visit Native Plant Trust’s Garden in the Woods in Framingham, MA. We have always wanted to go to Garden in the Woods, especially in the spring with all of the spring ephemerals. The trilliums should be blooming along with the lady slippers. It will be nice to sit back and relax and hang out with our friends, enjoy a day of gardens and native plants. It’s also a nice way to build community around the importance of native plants and green spaces, plant corridors, etc.
We do hope you’ll join us.
We are very excited to finally put this idea in motion. If it’s successful, we’ll plan other tours to other gardens in New England, the United Kingdom, and more.
Please feel free to contact me if you’d like to help out with our foster child garden on Crescent Street and if you’d like to join us for the tour to Garden in the Woods on May 17th. More details are online at adventure-marketplace.com/adventures.
Below are a few (off the beaten path) native plant sanctuaries in Maine as listed on the Native Plant Trust’s website: http://www.nativeplanttrust.org/visit/native-plant-sanctuaries.
Annie Sturgis Sanctuary (ME)
Lime-loving plants and woodland wildflowers thrive on 40 acres along the Kennebec River.
Where: Vassalboro, Maine (8 miles from Augusta)
Highlights: Rare plants, scenic hiking trails, historical significance, view of river and Mount Tom overlook, Critical Natural Area in Maine
Prime time: Early to mid-May for spring ephemeral wildflowers and birds. Autumn brings fall flowers and hardwood foliage displays.
This 40-acre tract along the Kennebec River is notable for its good diversity of spring ephemerals and woodland wildflowers, including bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), trout-lily (Erythronium americanum), wood anemone (Anenome quinquefolia), white baneberry (Actaea pachypoda), and red trillium (Trillium erectum). This site is listed as a Critical Natural Area in Maine.
Robert P. Tristram Coffin Wild Flower Reservation (ME)
Find hilly woods, sandy shores, a tidal marsh, and more than 100 wildflower species at this 177-acre preserve on the shore of Merrymeeting Bay.
Where: Woolwich, Maine (7 miles from Bath)
Highlights: The site borders Merrymeeting Bay, a freshwater tidal wetland that is the confluence of six rivers and an important migratory flyway for waterfowl.
Prime time: Spring, for forest wildflowers. Waterfowl migrate to the area in spring, fall, and winter. Hilly woods, a brook, and 1,256 feet of sandy shore and tidal marsh make up this 177-acre sanctuary, which borders lovely Merrymeeting Bay. More than 100 wildflower species
Harvey Butler Rhododendron Sanctuary (ME)
Discover woodland wildflowers and a rare 5-acre stand of rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum).
Where: Springvale, Maine (3 miles from Sanford)
Highlights: This gently sloping 56-acre site borders a red maple swamp and wet meadow.
Prime time: Mid-July for rhododendron bloom.
This undulating landscape contains numerous spring wildflower species, but is most noteworthy for its large stand of rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum), which is rare in Maine, on the northern extent of its range. The site is listed on the Maine State Register as a Critical Natural Area. Spring wildflowers include yellow blue-bead lily (Clintonia borealis), painted trillium (Trillium undulatum). Attractive shrubs include northern spicebush (Lindera benzoin) and sheep-laurel (Kalmia angustifolia). The site borders a red maple swamp and wet meadow, which offer brilliant fall color.
Nancy Dorrans is a professional travel expert and founded Adventure Marketplace in 2014.
