March—the garden wake-up begins. The weather starts to settle. Hurrah!

Handmade stepping stones, shades of purple and chartreuse, and a collection of succulents reveal the "happy place" of this gardener.

Photos by E Barth-Elias

Gardeners understand that our world is interconnected—plants, animals, and microorganisms depend on each other to survive and to thrive. While our gardens provide joy and fulfillment, Doug Tallamy and others encourage us to also appreciate their role as a small piece of a larger green web essential to the life around us. I recently came across the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s mission statement, Gardening for the Greater Good, and was impressed by its four tenets. They are thought-provoking and affirm what gardeners already know but may not have put into words. While created to direct the PHS’s work in the greater Philadelphia area, these guiding principles can be adopted by gardeners everywhere in our quest to create environmentally friendly, community-supporting green spaces.

Celebrate Gardening.  Follow your heart and immerse yourself in the garden style and plants you love. Your garden tells your story. Embrace new and unusual planting spaces. Learn about plants and gardening styles. Take gardening from a chore to a celebration.

Choose your plants with intention. Choose plants that are suitable for your growing conditions, strong growers (and therefore less likely to need chemical intervention), and that support wildlife (particularly pollinators). Ask whether they have been treated with insecticides or herbicides. Support local nurseries and businesses, the only way to keep the plant selection they offer available.  

See your garden as part of the ecosystem. Expand your garden where possible, minimizing monocultures, such as turf, and impervious surfaces, such as pavement. When chemical intervention is required, use targeted applications of the least lethal option. Compost food and garden waste, and “leave the leaves,” either whole or shredded, to decompose in your garden. Welcome wildlife by providing water sources and plants for food and shelter.

Embrace a Sharing Mindset. Build interest in and appreciation for gardening by sharing your passion and enthusiasm with others. Donate extra produce and share plant starts and divisions. Volunteer to create and/or maintain beds at schools, churches, community buildings, or group homes. Be the start of something.  

The PHS tells us that Gardening for the Greater Good is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s a way of looking at our gardens and directing our focus. It doesn’t take away from the gardening styles and activities that give us joy, but encourages us to embrace them with an appreciation of the bigger picture and the part they play in the web of living things. Look Around!

K Edgington

Photos by E Barth-Elias

By this time of year, winter can be quite fatiguing. Don’t despair. Keep an eye out for pussy willows in bloom on your next outing and you’ll know spring is not far behind. Considered a “harbinger of spring,” the furry catkins, which are said to resemble tiny cat paws, are actually flowers, the first to bloom of the willow family. Pussy willows (Salix discolor) are technically not native to Ohio. Still, they are found here and throughout the northeastern United States and most of Canada. They have become well established, taking advantage of full to part sun areas in wetlands alongside meadows, and streams.

Commonly growing around 10 feet tall, pussy willow can reach more than 25 feet in optimal conditions. They are dioecious, meaning there are separate male and female plants. The male catkins are larger and more visually striking, displaying shades of gray-black or rose, while the female catkins are smaller and primarily green. Both types of catkins appear while other plants are dormant and may bloom even when snow is still present. Their ‘fur’ acts as insulation and protects the flower parts from ice and cold temperatures.

Pussy willows make charming additions to flower arrangements and hold their own alone in a vase or larger floor display. If you want to speed things up you can bring dormant branches indoors to force them. More on forcing HERE. They can also be dried to extend their use.

Pussy willows are more than just a pretty face. Their nectar and pollen attract emerging flies and bees and the plants host several butterfly species. Although they attract early pollinators, they do not rely on these insects to spread their pollen; instead, it disperses in the air, where pollination is aided by blustery spring winds. Woodland animals benefit from the plant as a food source and birds use the catkins for nest building. Read about the pollinators that favor pussy willows HERE.

As spring progresses, rather understated light green leaves will replace the catkins, and small brown clusters 2 to 2 ½" long of small fuzzy seeds will form. Hard pruning every few years will keep pussy willows vigorous and control their size. Because they sucker freely, they may not be a good choice for limited spaces. 

Propagation by seeds is an option but rooting cuttings is not difficult. Clip cuttings and place them in a jar of water and roots will form in a few weeks. Cuttings can also be placed directly in moist soil in the spring. The plant will become a narrow shrub or multi-trunked tree with dark gray textured bark. Remember their rapidly spreading shallow roots can interfere with sewers, drains, and other plants. That said, pussy willows are tolerant of deer, assist in controlling erosion along stream banks, and can grow alongside black walnut trees. In autumn they have a nice golden color.

Pussy willows hold a special place in American culture, frequently mentioned in children’s stories, poems, folk tales, and crafts. Their blooming is yet another reminder to take a moment to look around and enjoy the beauty that surrounds us, even amidst the lingering chill.

 J Gramlich

Fireworks in winter? The blooms of witchhazels are a delight on a cold winter day.

Photo by E Barth-Elias

Meadows provide Nature's "Ahhhh" moment.

Photo by E Barth-Elias

Last month, we focussed on the importance of biodiversity to the well-being of our environment, and how meadows are one way of increasing biodiversity. But how do we create a meadow?

No surprise, the most important ingredients to creating a meadow are the same as for any kind of gardening: planning and patience. It can take two to five years to create a self-sustaining meadow that has the right combination of flowers and grasses to outcompete weeds and, over time, provide an ecosystem that supports a wide variety of insects, birds and other wildlife. 

My guide is Benjamin Vogt’s excellent book, Prairie Up: An Introduction to Natural Garden Design, which provides a solid foundation on the importance of meadows to biodiversity and a guide to creating a healthy meadow environment. He wrote an entire book to explain the process; my space is a bit more limited. 

Vogt says that plant diversity on its own is not enough, nor is selecting your plants according to hardiness zones. Plant selection needs to consider the array of soil, geology, climate, vegetation and other factors that characterize a particular area. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has divided the nation into 10 ecoregions, each region generally similar in type, quantity and quality of environmental services. Ohio is in Region 5, along with Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Once we know our ecoregion, we can begin to scout the kinds of plants that grow best in this region and decide which work best in our area. Be sure to look for the scientific name; common names are familiar but can be misleading. The Xerces Society, which is devoted to the conservation of invertebrates, publishes plant lists by ecoregion and goes further in recommending actions that support pollinators and other insects, It also offers several lists of plants that have high value for pollinators in general and pollinators in specific ecoregions. The USDA publishes county-by-county plant lists to ensure your plant is native to your specific area. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources offers a plant list for Ecoregion 5 that includes grasses, deciduous trees and shrubs, wildflowers, and vines. (To see the ecoregions, find them on the EPA site HERE.)

We are ready to begin. First, the lawn area your meadow replaces must go. There are several methods: kill it with herbicide (It’s only used once so the chemical method isn’t as horrific as it might seem.); solarize it (Cover it with clear—not black—plastic and allow the sun to kill the turf.); or till it. Vogt does not recommend tilling because it can destroy soil structure. However, like chemicals, tilling is not ongoing. It may take two or three passes over a summer to sufficiently destroy the old turf and weed seeds, but patience will be rewarded.

Armed with these lists, think about how meadows look and function. Flowers are rarely the same height, so include low growing plants, some of medium height, and some that tower over their neighbors. Also, while wildflowers are a key feature of meadows, most healthy meadows have grasses in abundance. Be sure to include those; there are several included on the plant lists.

Once you’ve prepared your site, there are a few ways to plant. One is to buy seed for both grasses and wildflowers. The other is to buy plugs and plant them directly into the ground. Vogt offers a hybrid method: buy plugs of the wildflowers and then seed the grasses in between. This has the benefit of color in the first season while the grasses fill in. 

Always be on the lookout for weeds, likely stragglers from your lawn-removal efforts. This early maintenance ensures that your area stays as weed-free as possible, giving your meadow time for the desired plants to establish. It also assures your neighbors that your meadow is an asset, not a liability. You may get complaints, but this is a good opportunity to describe the importance of biodiversity. Who knows? Maybe you’ll gain a convert. The last step is to wait patiently while Nature takes over. 

Creating a meadow isn’t easy, and as I dig deeper, plant lists, seeding ratios and ecosystem services and more make my head swim. Then I remember that it’s taken the Earth millions of years to get to this point. We are taking it apart at a dizzying speed, but surely, those of us intent on rewinding that clock can wait a couple of years to let Nature show us what she can do.

Vogt, Benjamin, Prairie Up: An Introduction to Natural Garden Design, Field Books, University of Illinois Press, 2023

NATIVE PLANT LISTS: Ohio Department of Natural Resources

PLANTING FOR POLLINATORS: ESTABLISHING A WILDFLOWER MEADOW FROM SEED: University of New Hampshire

POLLINATOR CONSERVATION RESOURCES: GREAT LAKES REGION: Xerces Society

S Vradenburg

Photo by E Barth-Elias

What could be more intriguing than plant communication? Picture two stately oak trees. One picks up his cellphone and calls his nearby buddy: “Hey, wanted to give you a heads-up—there’s a horde of spongy moths moving into the area. Better batten down the hatches.” “Thanks, Bud, I’m on it.” Seriously, though, research in the past decade has shown that plants do interact with each other—their own type of social network—and warning of pest infestations is just one such communication. In Jessica Walliser’s book, Plant Partners, she describes chemical signals, herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPV), that pest-infested plants emit into the air. The message warns neighboring plants about the oncoming pest threat so they can prime their immune systems and produce protective enzymes. HIPVs can also alert pest predators and help them locate their prey.  

In his book, Knowing Trees, Ken Keffer describes the shuffling of nutrients taking place in the “wood wide web”. This vast communication and nutrient transfer system operates under the forest floor. For a share of the goodies, mycorrhizal fungi transport nutrients (photosynthesized sugars) from the roots of one tree to another. The canopy of large trees limits the photosynthetic capability of young saplings underneath. Research has shown that older, more resource-rich trees (mother trees) use the wood wide web to transport excess resources to the saplings below, and that saplings that are kin of the mother tree (genetically closer) receive a larger share of the nutrients. Who knew? Mycorrhizae also act as highways for chemical messages that trees send, indicating pest incursions and drought.  Scientists are studying these nutrient and information transfers, both from tree to mycorrhizae and tree to tree.

Researchers are also discovering that certain plants can alter their appearance in response to external stimuli. Keffer describes holly trees that grow spikier holly leaves after being attacked by leaf-eating pests. Take that, munching marauders! Leaf shape is a key ID tool—will we have to consider that some plants can alter their shape?  

Environmental reporter and writer, Zoë Schlanger, details recent research on plant communication and intelligence in her book, The Light Eaters. A few of her many examples:

• Farmers have long observed that plants are sensitive to touch. Researchers studying the effects of touch on plants have noted that when plants are repeatedly stroked, their elongation process slows or even stops, creating a tougher, stouter plant. Stroking the plant one time isn't enough—there must be repeated stroking, and when it ceases the plant resumes elongating. It appears that the plant is reprioritizing its energy expenditures from growing tall to withstanding the disturbance, reducing its growth rate up to 30% with regular stimulation.
• Research has shown that some plants respond to the vibration of chewing insects by producing defensive compounds. One research project found that the hairlike structures called trichomes on Arabidopsis leaves vibrate at the frequency of incoming sounds, and these vibratins are carried to other plant parts. Scientists are discovering ways that some plants use vibrations as part of their survival strategy. 
• Common sense would dictate that because of limited resources, when plants are grown in close proximity their productivity declines. Researchers have found just the opposite when those plants have a close genetic relationship. Sunflowers grown in close rows with sunflowers of the same species had stalks arranged to avoid shading their neighbors, and the resulting oil production soared. In another study it was shown that a leaf on an Arabidopsis plant shading a sibling's leaf below will change position within two days when it senses that lower leaf. How do plants know that a close relative is nearby? Scientists believe that in some cases the information comes from chemicals secreted in the root zone. In others, related plants are identified by the qualities of the light reflected by the lower leaves. There is much to learn. 

Some of this recent research needs to be replicated and confirmed, and we are far from universal agreement about how plants operate and what they are capable of. As stationary organisms, plants need specialized mechanisms to ward off threats. Are they intelligent? "Intelligent" is a loaded word, which invites skeptics and proponents to face off. Current research does illustrate that plants interact with each other and the environment in ways that we had not suspected. We are at the beginning of our understanding—the study of the nature of plants and their capabilities goes on. Stay tuned…

Walliser, Jessica. Plant Partners: Science-based Companion Planting Strategies for the Vegetable Garden. (Storey Publishing, 2020).

Keffer, Ken. Knowing the Trees: Discover the Forest from Seed to Snag. (Mountaineers Books, 2023).

Schlanger, Zoë. The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth. (HarperCollins, 2024).

                         K Edgington

March Checklist:

• Sow flower seeds such as dahlia, snapdragon, and verbena, along with vegetable seeds like broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower indoors.
• Prune trees and shrubs to remove diseased and dead branches, and to manage size, and shape.
• Trim and shape roses and cut out dead wood when buds appear; remove mulch by the end of the month.
• Consider a soil test for lawn or garden areas. SOIL TESTING: PennState Extension
• Be a good neighbor by cutting ornamental grasses to the ground and removing them before the blades are blown around the neighborhood.
• Prune oak trees before bud break to prevent the spread of oak wilt.
• Continue feeding birds as their natural resources become scarce.

J Gramlich

More learning opportunities:

• Summit County Master Gardeners on Facebook
• Follow Summit County Master Gardeners on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/osusummitmgv
• Submit questions to Ohio Master Gardener Volunteers at Ask a Master Gardener Volunteer (AaMGV)
• Find fact sheets and garden information at OhioLine Yard and Garden