Witch Hazels Enter Their Most Bewitching Season
This month, Takoma Park’s witch hazels are entering their most bewitching season. American witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) is a tall and unfussy native shrub with four-season appeal. Although it can…
Keep reading
A Trio of Native Perennials Volunteers White Blooms This Month
The intense heat and erratic rainfall of this past summer was stressful for Takoma Park’s gardens—and gardeners. However, some native perennials have emerged from these challenges to put on a…
Keep reading
Bush Honeysuckle: The Unloved and Unlovely Interloper
Bush honeysuckle offends me. To begin, it’s invasive. It outcompetes our native plants, offering inferior services to the bugs and birds who depend on our indigenous shrubs for food and…
Keep reading
Bringing the Pawpaw Challenge to Takoma Park
The pawpaw (Asimina triloba), which produces the largest edible fruit of any tree native to North America, has a bit of a cult following in Takoma Park and the mid-Atlantic.…
Keep reading
Ripping Out the English Ivy Was the Easy Part
It started as a simple task—Takoma Park residents Jen and Scott tore out the invasive English ivy that carpeted a large section of their backyard. Read about the harm that…
Keep reading
Milkweeds Bloom in Takoma Park
As most school children know, monarch butterfly caterpillars feed only on the leaves of milkweed plants. To support the beautiful and iconic monarchs, many Takoma Park gardeners are making space…
Keep reading
A Backyard Oasis Arises from Covid’s Confinement
In 2020, as the Covid pandemic raged, Sally Ours Kern and her husband Stephen retreated to their home and yard. Because Stephen had health issues that put him at risk…
Keep reading
Stuart Armstrong Park Undergoes Transformation
Stuart Armstrong Park has undergone a remarkable transformation. Not so long ago, this sloping site next to Takoma Park Elementary School was a thicket of invasive shrubs and vines, littered…
Keep reading
A Blank Canvas of a Backyard Inspires Possibility
I have a great problem. After construction on the back of our Park Avenue house, we’re left with barren, rocky, and compacted ground. Now covered in a quilt of plastic…
Keep reading
FONTT Gardeners Identify Natives that Beat Drought and Deer
As the days grow longer, FONTT gardeners emerge from hibernation to plan. They know the harsh conditions of the last growing season—drought, extended high temperatures and hungry deer—are likely to…
Keep reading
Learn about Native Plant Gardening in the New Year
The best New Year’s resolutions encourage us to wonder, learn, and engage. In that spirit, Takoma Natives offers the following ideas for readers who want to learn more about native…
Keep reading
Winterberries Provide a Winter’s Feast for Feathered Friends
“I love winterberries!” says FONTT member Sally Ours Kern. Winterberry (Ilex verticillata) is not evergreen, unlike other native hollies such as inkberry and American holly. Still, its bright red berries…
Keep reading
Friends of Native Trees in Takoma 