Latin for Gardeners: June 2022

June’s Native Maryland Plant

Pycnanthemum muticum 

(pik-NAN-thee-mum mu-tee-kum)

Common Name: Short-toothed/Clustered Mountain Mint

What’s all the buzz? Pollinator week (June 20-26) is this month - awesome! Another reason to celebrate pollinators, especially bees, and rejoice in the ecosystem services they provide. In addition to pollinating over 85% of flowering plants, bees improve or stabilize 75% of crop yields (mainly fruits, vegetables, and nuts). When it comes to native bees, their contribution goes well beyond pollinating plants for humans to eat; they also support the growth of trees and other plants that create healthy habitats for all species, which increases biodiversity and sustains the complex food web that we all need. Native bees are especially valuable since they are three times more efficient than honeybees. Native plants are essential for native bees because, unlike many ornamental and nonnative plants, they reliably produce the nectar and pollen on which bees depend. The impact of their pollination results in better air and water quality for everyone.

Pollinator week is also about raising awareness and taking action to support all pollinators – we need them, and they need our protection. The Maryland Native Plant Society designated 2022 as the year of the mints (1). Taken together it seems right that we should be planting mints in our gardens to sustain an abundance of pollinators. Pycnanthemum muticum is one such mint. It’s an adaptable, wonderfully aromatic plant that I use in a swale in front of my home, allowing school students to marvel at the diversity of life it supports as they make their way to the bus stop. Elsewhere I use it in partly forested areas along the edges of my property and in my pollinator garden with other longstanding plants that won’t be overtaken by its tendency to spread; it’s also deer resistant, a valuable feature of most mints.

Do your part this month (don’t just lie there!) – stand up for pollinators, don’t fear them and don’t be afraid to plant this mint either. You’ll benefit many pollinator species and create a healthier environment for everyone.

1-MD Native Plant Society: https://mdflora.org/resources/Publications/Marilandica/Marilandica_Fall_2021.pdf

Alison Milligan – MG/MN 2013

Watershed Steward Class 7, CBLP

aligmilligan@gmail.com

Replant Anne Arundel

Replant Anne Arundel was born in 2020 following a tree canopy study commissioned by the County to understand and reduce forest loss. The tree canopy study found a loss of 2,500 acres of forest in Anne Arundel County from 2013 to 2017 – the highest rate of loss among the urban counties in Maryland. Replant Anne Arundel is a partnership of Anne Arundel County, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the Helena Foundation and Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay.

Led by the Watershed Stewards Academy, Replant Anne Arundel helps local communities restore their lost tree canopy. So far, Replant has installed over 11,000 climate resilient native trees in projects from Linthicum to North Beach and engaged thousands of residents in tree planting and maintenance.

The cornerstone of the Replant Program is a dedicated volunteer corps called Tree Troopers, who are specially trained by the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay and WSA to design, install and maintain community tree projects. Over 100 active Tree Troopers have developed projects at churches, schools, libraries and residential communities throughout the County. Each tree installed by Tree Troopers comes from WSA’s Resilient Tree Species list, ensuring that it will thrive in the coming decades as our climate shifts. Most importantly, each tree will be monitored and maintained to ensure ongoing growth.

Tree Ambassadors

WSA is proud to partner with Defensores de la Cuenca (Watershed Defenders), a nonprofit dedicated to helping the Latino* community connect with the natural world through knowledge, shared experiences, and opportunities to preserve and defend the Chesapeake Bay watershed for a healthier mind, body and soul.

The partnership is designed to engage the Latino community by forming new connections, not only with residents but also with contractors who make their living working in urban gardens and rural gardens and farms.

Tree Ambassadors, members of Latino community, will be specially trained and equipped to design, install and maintain projects in their own communities. The program, including training and outreach materials, will be offered in Spanish and English.   

*WSA is using the term Latino, rather than Latinex as recommended by Abel Olivo, Executive Director of Defensores de la Cuenca.

Protecting Large Trees

Newly planted trees will take years to reach maturity, so it’s vitally important that we protect our existing trees. Stewards throughout the County are focused on two important actions to protect trees:

Removing Invasive Vines

English ivy and other invasive vines threaten canopy trees. Controlling ivy and other invasives is critical to protecting our existing tree canopy. You can learn more about English ivy and how to control it on our website. Dozens of Watershed Stewards are focusing their communities on controlling ivy and installing a “ring of life” around canopy trees in their communities. A new resident group, Save our Trees, is being co-led by Steward Nina Fisher and advised by Steward Candidate MaryAnne Marbury to focus entirely on saving trees in the City of Annapolis.

Tree Mulch Matters!

Mulch Matters to Steward Annie Hillary! In partnership with the Master Gardeners, Annie has launched a campaign to stop volcano mulching in our communities. In addition to presentations, Annie has created outreach materials in English and Spanish.