As our first season winds down.....
Dear Gardeners,
Tis the season for Friends & Family AND Flora & Fauna!
If you’ve planted berry producing natives - thank you! The birds and critters are now relying on their protein and sustenance to see them through the winter months.
If you’ve allowed the leaves to nurture your soil and house over-wintering insects - thank you! Lepidoptera are declining at a rapid rate and every step you take helps to renew our ecosystems.
It's been a very busy Autumn! We moved house and “closed” the nursery on Beagle Road. We loved the remote and private location in nature, and are forever grateful our friends offered to host the nursery from their farm. The first season was encouraging! As native plant enthusiasts, you ventured down the lane, ignoring GPS and committed to finding the right plant for your native garden. I enjoyed meeting each of you, talking plants, and learning about how you were using natives to control erosion, reduce turf lawn, and add valuable host plants and nectar for our pollinators.
Although the first season was busy and fun, I also learned an important lesson: I need to have my hands in the soil more than hosting a retail location. We’ll still be selling natives locally, but under a different and more flexible model in 2023. Given the interest in our off-site sales, we'll continue to partner with Chester County Arts Association, Kennett Square Library, the West Chester Green Team and other community organizations. We’ll be scheduling 4 to 6 large sales throughout next season, take pre-orders of curated plants for specific locations and solutions, and offer plant plugs for larger installations and projects. We’ll have order information on our website by 3/1/2023 and will be posting on Instagram and Facebook as stock is available for order, pickup or local delivery. This model affords me the time to spend on garden design and community projects, while still offering quality native plants to our Chester County gardeners.
If you’re in garden planning mode and need something specific for the Spring - call me or drop me an email. I’ll continue to source specific plants beneficial to our region or will happily refer you to other native nurseries if I can’t provide directly.
Come January, I’ll be sowing many native seeds for 2023 and beyond. Many of you do so yourselves, but if you’re new to seed growing natives, check out the ELA and Wild Seed Project tutorials.
Once you have nurtured your native garden, it’s rewarding to collect and propagate from your own seed. Dig in - it’s a worthwhile way to spend some winter hours and rewarding to watch seedlings break through the soil in early Spring.
A warm fire and a good book.....
As winter is also the time to rest, rejuvenate and read great books, I’m compelled to share my current favorite - “We Are The Ark” by Mary Reynolds.
Mary’s message is similar to Doug Tallamy’s, but with a wilder, less commercial twist - relying on nature to restore biodiversity over humans purchasing and planting natives.
Her message is about allowing land to return to its native archetype with our support by removing non-natives and invasives.
It’s a sweet and encouraging read with beautiful illustrations throughout.
Lastly, if you’re struggling for the perfect gift for your favorite gardeners, we now have gift cards available on the website for use on plants or garden design services in 2023.
Enjoy the season and THANK YOU FOR PLANTING NATIVE!
Michele
Northbrook Natives / Lifescapes Design