By Nancy Dorrans
Mary Reynolds, a young Irish native garden designer overcame many obstacles to turn her dream of competing in the Chelsea Flower Show and “bringing nature home” into reality. Her story is told in the movie “Dare to be Wild” (on Amazon). Mary’s natural garden designs encourage people to welcome nature into their own backyards. She has “often been considered an outsider.” Well, I am too. I think outside the box and prefer to be outside, just like Mary!
If you read my column regularly, you will know that I am also drawn to nature and native plants and gardens. Consider this one from 2019, “The Birds and the Bees (and Native Plants)”. I’m learning more each season about the reciprocal relationships plants have to each other and how these relationships help support all living things… including us! We are in this together and it is quite the adventure…
“When times are easy and there’s plenty to go around, individual species can go it alone. But when conditions are harsh and life is tenuous, it takes a team sworn to reciprocity to keep life going forward. In a world of scarcity, interconnection and mutual aid become critical for survival.” ― Robin Wall Kimmerer, “Braiding Sweetgrass“
And so I keep learning…
Green Home & Energy Show
In early April I attended several workshops at the Green Home and Energy Show, organized by my friend Heather Chandler of Green & Healthy Maine HOMES.
- From Deborah Perkins of First Light Wildife Habitats I learned more about how to “Plant for Wildlife” and how to “build native plant communities that support an array of species and promote biodiversity in home habitats” – just like Mary.
- Ivonne Vazquez of Bas Rouge Farm & Forge and I shared stories about her Farm, native lady slippers and the importance of vernal pools.
- Drew Dumsch spoke about the Ecology School learning campus at River Bend Farm on the Saco River.
- Amy Thomas of Native Landscapes explored the critical role of native species in restoring ecological balance. As a member of Wild Ones Midcoast Maine, she spoke about the benefits of native plants and how they “sequester, or remove, carbon from the air, require less water and no fertilizers or pesticides. Provide shelter and food for wildlife including beneficial insects that we need! How they increase biodiversity, a necessity for the health of our ecosystems. And how learning about native plants promotes stewardship of our natural heritage.” Mary would be pleased!
‘The Buzz on Native Plants’
What’s “The Buzz on Native Plants”? It is another film (on pbs.org) that explores the relationship between native plants and pollinators and how they can benefit local ecosystems in our ever-changing climate.
Did you watch Anderson Cooper’s 60 Minutes report on the migration of the monarch butterflies? I wrote about this Worldly Biological Phenomenon in The West End News in April 2020. Monarchs need milkweed. Milkweed needs habitat… It’s all reciprocal.
As you can see, there’s a lot of buzz around native plants and the interest is growing…
I hope you will dig in, dare to learn more, find and plant some natives this spring.
It takes a team. Here are a few more resources:
- Wild Seed Project has multiple events this spring including a Gardening for Biodiversity book launch, Spring Native Planting Workshop, and a guide for where to buy native plants.
- Maine Audubon Native Plants Festival & Sale is on Saturday, June 7th, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Gilsland Farm Audubon Center, Falmouth.
- Native Gardens of Blue Hill has a Spring Sale on Saturday, May 31st from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
And, new adventures are in the works to visit forests, trails, gardens, and other natural phenomena near and far… Stay tuned for details…
July 13-16 – Midsummer garden tour of the Eastern Townships of Quebec and Quebec City.
Sept 5-8 – Magog and Montreal, Quebec.
February 2026 – Witness the monarch butterfly migration in Michoacán, Mexico.
