Grow native; buy local

#MiddleburyCT #NativePlants #BuyLocal

A redbud (native to this area) blooming next to bright yellow forsythia (not a native) makes a lovely combination in spring. Depending on the weather, both bloom in late March or early April. (Janine Sullivan–Wiley photo)

By JANINE SULLIVAN–WILEY

There is a strong emphasis now on growing native plants for their benefit to birds, bees, butterflies, insects in general, animals – the entire ecosystem. And there is recognition that by buying local, we help our communities thrive.

Well, we’ve now got a two-fer! Representatives from the Middlebury Land Trust have been in conversation with Anthony Calabrese, owner of our local farm – Vaszauskas Farm – for over a year now about enhancing their stock of native plants, and a plan has come to fruition (all puns intended). Starting in April, they will be selling a much larger variety of natives (they always had some), and they will organize them in a way that will make finding natives for our own gardens much easier (that’s new). Calabrese has ordered a wide variety of new stock that will cover the spectrum from trees to perennials.

They will start arriving at the farm at the corner of Middlebury and Regan Roads in mid-to-late April, with some more hardy ones arriving early in the month. This writer spoke with Calabrese about the timing of buying and planting. He said, “Everybody’s in a hurry to plant after Mother’s Day, but it is usually better to wait until Memorial Day. Plants planted later catch up as the ground warms up. The end of May is just a smart time to plant.”
He said he has seen that clearly in his own farming: things planted too early can be delayed or even die from a late cold snap. And with climate change, weird weather does seem to becoming the norm, so we need to be extra cautious.

Eastern redbud, which will be arriving in late April, is one of my favorite small trees. The magenta flowers that trace the branches and twigs are pure beauty. Several native shrubs will be coming as well: inkberry, mountain laurel, ninebark, red twig dogwood, and viburnum. In late April the winterberry shrubs should arrive. Also in the later arrivals group are some ferns, grasses and a variety of perennials. Perennials on order include blazing star (liatris) and butterfly weed (two butterfly favorites), followed by tickseed (an unfortunate name for a lovely flower) and creeping phlox.

There’s no need to rip the nonnatives from your gardens. But adding natives helps us bit by bit to make our community a better ecosystem for all of our necessary native insect, bird and animal species. Some flowers will feed butterflies and bees directly, others support their larvae or are food sources for our native birds and animals. And by buying them from our local business, you help our town’s economic well-being, too!

Watch this paper for the day and time of an event planned at Vaszauskas Farm with gardeners available to help you plan pairings and provide resources and more information about these native plants.

Contact this writer at jswspotlight@gmail.com. You can visit the Middlebury Land Trust on Facebook or the website at middleburylandtrust.org. Happy hiking!