Fall cleanup in the garden can be really easy. Please see the article at the bottom of this update and share as widely as possible.
Check out our site index on both websites
There is a site index for the Plant NOVA Natives website and another for Plant NOVA Trees. Both websites are voluminous, so this is usually the easiest way to find the information you need.
2024 Year-end wrap-up
It often surprises folks to learn that Plant NOVA Natives/Plant NOVATrees is not a separate 501C-3 or entity, but is rather a campaign sustained over the past twelve years by over a hundred organizations and thousands of individuals. We always say that PNN/PNT doesn’t actually do any of the real work (planting native plants and preserving or creating habitat). That work is being done by all of you. What we do is form collaborations to try to break down the barriers to action, providing resources, connections, and publicity. Here are some of those initiatives in 2024.
Labels on native plants at 22 garden centers placed by 69 volunteers
Tree Rescuer door hangers distributed by over 70 volunteers
Campaign updates distributed monthly to over 6,000 people
6th annual native plant conference for landscape professionals
2nd annual native plant conference for Spanish-speaking landscape professionals
14 “mini bird sanctuary packages” delivered to faith communities
12 successful mini-grants in collaboration with the Northern Virginia Bird Alliance (NVBA) for community associations and faith communities in Fairfax County to remove tree-threatening invasive plants
167K site visits by 106K unique visitors to PlantNOVANatives.org in the past year (this is down slightly from the year before). As always, the most popular page is the one on groundcovers.
30K site visits by 22K unique visitors to PlantNOVATrees.org (about the same as the year before)
7.2K followers on Facebook (up by 1.5K)
13.7K views on our YouTube channel (2.5K were views of Spanish-language videos)
160 packages of outreach materials mailed out by one dedicated volunteer, and 44 by another
Articles posted on NextDoor and other social media sites by 47 volunteers
35 tabling events and presentations
Displays or brochures at 13 libraries and 2 rec centers
Donation by Transurban for tree rescues in Churchill Road Park
Over 2000 more copies sold of Native Plants for Northern Virginia
Countless educational and other events by the partnering organizations.
Doing the actual work is fun and rewarding. Nevertheless, the outreach curve is flattening and we are losing habitat everywhere we look - so let’s all ramp it up!
Keep in mind that the most effective way to promote behavior change is to personally recommend an action to people who know and trust you.
Installing native plants? Do it in your front yard and put up a sign.
Buying native plants or rescuing a tree? Boast about it on social media.
Reading a good, practical article? Share it along with your own experience.
Receiving a newsletter from one of your groups? Submit our articles (or write your own) on native and invasive plants.
Involved in a community that owns land (commercial, HOA, faith community, school, etc)? Talk to the decision makers and request a free site visit from a volunteer from the NVBA Wildlife Sanctuary Program (formerly Audubon-at-Home).
Noticing invasive plants in your community? Talk to your neighbors or leave them a Tree Rescuer door hanger.
Enjoy funny videos? Hook your friends on our “Just for Fun” YouTube channel.
We love to hear what you are doing to promote native plants, so please send us your updates and photos.
Become a Master Naturalist
Virginia Master Naturalists are volunteers who take a basic training course then dedicate at least 40 hours a year as volunteer educators and stewards of the natural world.
Fairfax: Applications for the spring 2025 training are due December 29.
Applications periods for Arlington/Alexandria, Loudoun, and Prince William are not yet announced
Partner of the month: This month we are pleased to highlight the Virginia Coastal Zone Management program (CZM), which is funded by NOAA at the U.S. Department of Commerce. CZM made a decision to promote native plants by supporting community based social marketing campaigns, which are known to be more effective at changing behavior than education alone. Plant NOVA Natives and the eight other regional native plant campaigns, unique to our state, would never have launched but for the foresight and funding of the folks at CZM, who continue to provide critical support. Not only that, CZM’s Virginia Witmer, the mother to all of Virginia’s regional campaigns, has done all the design work for the Native Plants for Northern Virginia guide, now in its fourth edition.
Report your native tree and shrub plantings
Please help Northern Virginia meet its tree-planting obligations by reporting your tree and shrub plantings here. So far 17,350 have been reported!
Report your tree rescues
Millions of trees in Northern Virginia are at risk from invasive non-native vines. You can help by saving them on your own land or by volunteering for programs on public land. So far, 16,223 tree rescues have been reported in Northern Virginia, exceeding our (completely arbitrary!) goal of 16,000 by the end of this year. Please add your report here.
Next Steering Committee meeting – via videoconferencing. Thursday, December 12, 10:00 am – noon. All are welcome. Check our Event Calendar for future meetings.
This month’s newsletter articles to share. For social media, please use this link.
Let Dead Plant Material Lie
Our splendid native plants are going dormant for the winter and leaving behind their seed heads and dead stalks as a reminder of growing season glory. Many of us are inclined to perceive these remnants as unsightly “garden debris” that should be cut and cleared sooner rather than later. Better now than in the spring, right?
Wrong. Dead native plant material is integral to a healthy ecosystem. An essential support for the populations of pollinators and other animals upon which we all depend, nothing comes close to replacing its role in the health of a diverse ecosystem. Before trotting out the clippers and rakes, consider this:
Dead stalks: Many dead stalks of native plants contain hollow spaces that are like 5-star winter resorts for the insect world. We may frown at their appearance, but native bees, among others, are industriously and ingeniously taking advantage of them in surprising ways. Adorable little bees that are so tiny you may never have noticed them are laying eggs, hibernating, and otherwise snuggling down for the harsh winter in the stem shelter of the native plants we installed. Insects aren’t the only critters who profit. Dead plant material provides shelter and nesting resources for birds and many others.
Dead leaves: Butterflies can spend the winter in leaf litter as caterpillars and chrysalises. The Mourning Cloak, Question Mark, and Comma butterflies, for example, overwinter in dead leaves as adults after entering a dormant phase called "diapause." Moth species such as Luna Moth and Isabella Tiger Moth also pupate in leaf litter. Salamanders, some turtles and other creatures find shelter there as well.
Seeds and berries: Seeds on flowerheads and winter berries are an important source of nourishment for both resident and migrating birds and are consumed throughout the fall and winter. Living or dead, native plant material has immense value for wildlife.
Living soil: Dead and decomposing plant material are valuable components of soil. Gardeners and landscapers spend considerable time and money on store-bought organic material to condition the clay soil often encountered in Northern Virginia. But the decomposing plant material already present helps build humus, a dark organic material comprised of approximately 60% carbon, 6% nitrogen, and small amounts of phosphorus and sulfur. Humus-rich soil encourages a proliferation of beneficial soil organisms and microorganisms. It also holds moisture and retains soil structure for better air and water circulation. The decomposition process creates very fertile ground indeed for native plant gardening.
Armed with this expanded understanding, it seems that the best fall cleanup strategy is to not have one: leave the stalks, stems and leaves alone and let them lie, right where they are, over the winter. A light cleanup or pruning in early spring to encourage new growth can be done with little or no harm to local wildlife. More information on garden and landscape maintenance can be found on the Plant NOVA Natives website.
We would be remiss not to include a word here about gardening aesthetics. We humans care about how things look. In daily life, surrounded by people, garden beauty and aesthetics will always be a consideration. Our definition of “garden beauty,” however, can certainly evolve. Are not waving seedheads more interesting than bare ground? And is it not beautiful that all kinds of animals need our pollinator gardens for more than just pollen? That our efforts not only attract pollinators but enable their very survival? That it takes just a bit of forbearance to advance and strengthen the biodiversity of the region?
Let’s pause the garden cleanup until spring, and then be gentle on the emerging life.