Laudholm Native Plant Sale pre-orders are now being accepted. Plan ahead and get your order in by May 2 (it's pre-order only again this year). We've added an online form to make it easy.
Volunteers Pat Smith and Lynn Jourdan, who coordinate the sale, have put together a great list of 40 species native to Maine. Whether you have already started incorporating native plants into your landscape, here are Pat's…
Top Ten Reasons to Garden with Maine Native Plants
- There is a native plant for every growing condition in Maine.
- Maine natives originated here or arrived here hundreds of years ago without human intervention. They are survivors.
- Native plants provide food and shelter for indigenous animals.
- By definition, native plants are not invasive.
- Native plants thrive in Maine's acid soil.
- Maine natives have a natural resistance to pests and disease.
- Growing zones are not an issue. Maine natives are hardy.
- Native plants require less maintenance, easing the gardener's chores.
- Native plants make the gardener look good.
- Native plants keep Maine looking like Maine; they preserve our historic landscape.
Associated People Paul Dest
While marking fields for mowing on the newly acquired Lord Parcel this past August, Reserve Manager Paul Dest was thrilled to discover two stems of the showy yet threatened native plant, the Northern Blazing Star. Paul made sure the lonely stalks were well marked to avoid being mowed over.
The Northern Blazing Star (Liatris scaiosa) is a member of the aster family. It likes dry open grassy habitat and thrives in sandy barrens. It is at its northern most limit in Southern Maine and is found as far south as New Jersey. The largest population anywhere is located quite close by in the Kennebunk Plains. It truly lives up to its name in late July and early August, when the vibrant flowers turn the Plains ablaze in purple.
It may be numerous on the Kennebunk Plains, but actually the Northern Blazing Star is imperiled. This beautiful plant is listed as Threatened in Maine, Endangered in New Hampshire and Rhode Island, and of Special Concern in Massachusetts and Connecticut.
One factor is that it prefers early successional open space and particularly likes habitat subjected to periodic fires. Since natural fires have been widely suppressed and most open habitat is left to grow into mature forest, this special need of the Northern Blazing star requires special management practices. The Kennebunk Plains is actively managed for the Northern Blazing Star by the Nature Conservancy who regularly schedules controlled burns.
This year, while working on a controlled burn in a different field, the fire technicians stopped by the two Liatris stalks and burned an area around each plant to help make it feel at home and hopefully entice them to grow neighbors. This might enable the fields to return to a more native habitat rather than being primarily comprised of introduced agricultural species like it is now.
The Wells Reserve manages open space habitat for a variety of plants and animals. Now we can add the Northern Blazing Star to our list. Who knows, maybe someday soon we will be able to stand at the Webhannet Overlook and see our field ablaze in purple flowers as the late summer sun sets behind the hills.
The Laudholm Native Plant Sale is on for the second year in a row—despite rain and rumbles of thunder today. This year, over $4,400 worth of plants have been pre-ordered for purchase by community members.
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