A Year of Change
Last year in Takoma Natives, I described my backyard as a blank canvas and sketched the possibilities that lay there. The “managed wilderness” I aspired to may still be far…
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A Walk in the Transformed Stuart Armstrong Park
Just three years ago, Stuart Armstrong Park was a neglected urban space crowded with invasive shrubs and vines and strewn with garbage. Now, however, this sloping site next to Takoma…
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Let Sleeping Logs Lie
Let logs and tree branches lie in your yard or garden beds. They won’t really “sleep,” but slowly decay as natural processes consume the organic material and return it to…
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Packera Species Yield Gold in Early Spring
In just a few weeks, a glow will rise from verges and yards in Takoma Park as golden ragwort (Packera aurea) and running groundsel (Packera obovata), burst into bloom. Native…
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Neighborhood Author Looks to ‘Remove and Replace’ Program
Like many residents of Takoma Park, Mike Tidwell—the founder and executive director of Chesapeake Climate Action Network—is committed to environmental responsibility. Mike’s recent book, The Lost Trees of Willow Avenue,…
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Bountiful and Beautiful American Beech is under Threat
The American beech tree (Fagus grandifolia), one of the loveliest constituents of the woodlands of the eastern United States, is under threat. An invasive foliar nematode—a microscopic worm—has arrived that…
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Snags Provide Wildlife Benefits—and Beauty
If you practice leaving the leaves, you may be ready to leave the occasional dead tree or “snag” standing on your property, too. Like fallen leaves, snags offer abundant resources…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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.…
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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…
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