The Wrack

Geranium, bluestar, and pagoda dogwood are in bloom in early June in the Native Plant Border.

This common and casual shrub is called serviceberry, wild currant, shadbush, and sometimes So-Delicious-It’s-Sinful-Berry.

Clethra alnifolia is easy to grow, beautiful all season, tough, and a big attractor of pollinators. Plant it in your garden to help our native bees.

Eastern red columbine is a great plant for the natural shade garden. Hummingbirds, bees, butterflies, and moths savor the nectar, and you can add its blossoms to your salad.

This low-growing, native perennial wildflower has few needs and tolerates full sun or part shade, dry conditions, and poor soil. What more could a gardener ask?

We have 19 native goldenrod species in Maine, but they're not to blame for itchy eyes and runny noses. The real culprit is ragweed, which blooms at the same time and is pollinated by wind.

Pollinator heaven: The purples and pinks of bee balm and liatris.

Elderberry is a pioneer species that is found in disturbed and open areas. It displays opposite branching, deeply cut green leaves, and creamy, flat-topped blossoms. Its berries are important food for birds.

Flowers and foliage abound in the native plant border that welcomes visitors to the reserve. York County Master Gardener volunteers have nurtured the garden over a decade to form a gorgeous display.

We're setting the stage for growing vegetables throughout our Maine winter with the installation of a hoop house alongside our existing garden. Thanks to York County Master Gardeners for constructing it as part of our joint workshop series.

This hoop house is a modified Gothic-arch high-tunnel design oriented roughly east/west and is light weight and movable (a movable greenhouse allows soil to be restored by sun, rain, and deep-rooted cover crops). Row covers of translucent fabric, such as Agribon or Remay, will be laid over a wire armature to offer an additional layer of cold weather protection.