DID YOU KNOW? IS OFF FOR THE SUMMER. SEE YOU IN THE FALL.ONLINE QUIZ AND INTERACTIVE GRAPHIC Test how much you’ve learned about THE MEADOW GARDEN at delawareonline.com/didyouknow

Learning pavilionsThere are four new themed pavilions in theMeadow Garden.

ForestEdgeView life alongthe edge,where smalleastern red-buds, flower-ing dogwoods,and whitefringe-treescreate a transi-tion betweenthe 150-year-old forest and

the flowering meadow. Edge habitats pro-vide a rich variety of food and shelter that,in turn, results in a mingling of many plantand animal species. Left untouched, themeadow would follow a gradual and naturalsuccession to forest. A prescribed scheduleof mowing and burning and the removal ofinvasive species will maintain the meadowlandscape.

PollinatorOverlookPollination isvital to life onEarth: flowersprovide foodfor pollinators,pollinators fer-tilize floweringplants and theharvests forour own tablesdepend on thisamazing natu-

ral process. Come witness the interplay ofbutterflies, bees, birds and flowers thatbenefits us all.

Hawk PointHike to a highpoint of themeadow anddiscover aflash of wing, ablur of feath-ers, a waterfallof song. Themeadow pro-vides food andhabitat forbirds as quickand tiny as the

nectar-sipping hummingbird, and as majes-tic as the slowly circling hawk. Managingthe meadow for a diversity of plant andinsect species ensures a thriving bird popu-lation.

HourglassLakePavilionSee a view ofHourglassLake whilelearning aboutthe wetlandsthat form athriving habi-tat and foodweb within theMeadow

Garden. From soil to sky, there is life inevery layer. Birds and insects fill the openair, while flowers and seed carpet theground. Unseen fungi, bacteria and wormshelp to decompose decaying plant materialand return nutrients to the soil.

Longwood Gardens space reaches back to nature, creating a new habitat for all creatures to enjoyBy Christine FaccioloSpecial to The News Jorunal

ature has a limited role in today’s urban landscapes. Formal gardens and parks are often nonsustainable phe-nomena dependent on man’s labor and materials. Moreover, most of the species used in these landscapes are“exotics” or non-native species that can harm local ecosystems and economies.

A meadow, on the other hand, is a sustainable landscape. Longwood Gardens has created a 21st-centurymeadow, reintroducing visitors to the beauty of this living landscape and reminding them of the intricate rela-tionships between wildlife and the native plant communities that serve as food and habitat.

Construction of the new Meadow Garden began last summer after a nearby highway project gave Longwoodthe ability to double the size of its existing meadow from 40 to 86 acres. The project is making more of

Longwood’s natural beauty accessible to visi-tors.

“We own around 1,100 acres but only 350acres are open to our guests,” said SharonLoving, director of horticulture at Longwood.“Some of the most beautiful lands are notaccessible.”

Longwood worked with landscape archi-tect Jonathan Alderson to design a visitor-friendly environment. More than three milesof walking and hiking trails guide gueststhrough its diverse habitats. Four bridgesspan the meadow, putting visitors in touchwith the natural world that surrounds themand to which they belong: sky, soil, water,plants and animals.

“It’s not somewhere where you’re going tobe restricted,” said Alderson, founder ofJonathan Alderson Landscape Architects inWayne, Pa. “And that’s something that we’dlike people to take away – that contrastbetween these open spaces and the more for-mal gardens on the property.”

There are also four new pavilions in theMeadow Garden. Each pavilion will have itsown theme, imparting the message of conser-vation activities and land stewardship. Thebenches in these structures were built by local artisans using wood from fallen trees on the gardens.

In addition, one of the oldest structures on the property has been restored. The historic Webb Farmhouse dates back tothe mid-1700s. The structure now houses two galleries: one showcasing seasonal changes in the meadow and the secondtelling the story of the people who worked and inhabited the land since the native Lenni Lenape.

The Meadow Garden utilizes the principles of ecological landscape design – a blend of the art of horticulture and the sci-ence of ecology – to manage the various ecosystems that span its acreage. Human interventions promote native flora andfauna through the seeding of native species and the management of invasives through mowing, burning and monitoring. Plugplantings increase plant diversity to attract a wide variety of pollinators that fertilize flowering plants. The successional edgebetween field and forest provide a rich variety of food and shelter, resulting in a mingling of many plant and animal speciescharacteristic of both habitats. This diversity makes the community less vulnerable to short- and long-term stressors.

“The more diverse it is, the more resilient it is,” said Tom Brightman, Longwood’s land steward specialist.Visitors to the Meadow Garden will see a constantly changing landscape under the stewardship of the Longwood staff.

“Meadows, when they’re brand new, evolve fairly rapidly for the first three to five years because not every seed comes up thefirst year,” said Brightman. “What’s really neat about the Meadow Garden is that it will be different all the time. It’s not thesame thing every season, every year.

N

Plantings in the Meadow GardenThe plants of the Meadow Garden blend the art of horticulture and the sci-ence of ecology to produce a colorful and sustainable landscape.Woodland TreesNative flowering trees edge the woodlands of the Meadow Garden:• Flowering dogwood, fringetree, Allegheny serviceberry, Eastern redbudbloom in spring before much of the meadow comes into height. Floweringdogwood and Allegheny serviceberry produce berries in the fall providingfood for many songbirds.• Many native species of oak – white, scarlet, willow, and pin – host manyinsects eaten by native birds and produce acorns that feed species such aswhite-tailed deer, blue jay and wild turkey.

Attracting pollinatorsLongwood augmented the existing meadow with plug plantings of speciesimportant for their blooms and their ability to attract and support pollina-tors.• Joe Pye weed provides nectar for butterflies, including the swallowtail.• Common milkweed and the bright-orange butterfly weed are two impor-tant host plants for the threatened monarch butterfly caterpillar.• Cardinal flower is a favorite of the ruby-throated hummingbird• Wild bergamot and penstemon are favored by bumblebees.

Grasses• Little bluestem and broom sedge are native warm-season varieties thatprovide seeds for birds in fall and winter and add interesting textures andcolors to the landscape. Their deep root systems break up compacted soiland allow water to infiltrate the earth, helping to absorb stormwater runoffand recharge aquifers.SOURCE: Longwood Gardens

Benefits of meadowscaping1: Meadows restore the natural environment,eliminating the need for chemicals or fertiliz-ers.2: Meadows soften rainfall, preventing waterfrom rushing over the surface of the soil.3: Meadows provide year-round cover forinsects and wildlife.4) Meadows are low maintenance, conservingfuel and labor.5) Meadows build soil organic matter andprevent soil erosion.

THE ART OF

Meadowscaping tipsHere are some things you need to know in orderto create a successful meadow or meadow-garden:1: Site analysis. Identify the soil type, moistureconditions and the amount of sunlight available.2: Site preparation. Clear vegetation by smoth-ering with newsprint or cardboard, spraying withorganic herbicide, cutting or singeing. Disturb thesoil as little as possible.3: Design. Select plants according to the condi-tions they like. Choose plants that grow togetherin nature like Joe Pye weeds and Ironweeds.Include grasses (40 to 60 percent of the meadow)to give the meadow a foundation and inhibit thegrowth of weeds.4: Planting. Meadows can be seeded, plantedwith “plugs” or large containers of plants. Whileseeded meadows are inexpensive, they can takeyears to establish.5: Maintenance. Once established, meadowsrequire little maintenance, no fertilizers, wateringor pesticides. Unlike lawns, meadows are mowedonce in late winter or early spring.SOURCES: Catherine Zimmerman, “Urban & SuburbanMeadows,” (Silver Spring, MD: Matrix Media Press, 2010).

MeadowGarden area

LongwoodGardensvisitorsentrance

MEADOWSCAPING

The photos of flowers,wildlife and walking trailsabove were taken at the newMeadow Garden.COURTESY OF LONGWOOD GARDENS

Design by Dan Garrow/The News Journal