If you were lucky enough to reserve a spot last Saturday, November 7th, at the Mt. Auburn Eco-Tour, then you were in for a real treat. Organized by the Ecological Landscaping Association (ELA), a group that has been around for a long time (18+ years) and represents the leading minds in sustainable and ecological landscaping in this area (yes - I am a member and even a board member - but still a newbie!), it turned out to be an unbelievably informative tour showcasing how Mt. Auburn has been making impressive strides in moving to organic and sustainable landscaping and gardening practices. I was both impressed and inspired by Dennis Collins, both the Horticultural Curator of Mount Auburn and President of ELA, who walked us through the cemetery telling us what changes this historic institution has made to be a better environmental steward. If you get a chance to take the tour next spring - make sure not to miss it and hope for perfect weather like we had on Saturday. It was heavenly! In the meantime - here are a few of my snapshots and hopefully some basic info that you can use even if you venture out on your own.
Dennis talking about his progress on freeing the yews - from shearing that is. Lower maintenance overall is the mantra.
Mount Auburn minces their leaves with a mulch-mower. They mince-mow them 2x during the fall and let the debris decompose and feed the soil.
Lawn is getting reduced where possible given its low contribution to the ecology and high maintenance requirements. Here, hard to mow hillsides are being replanted with hay-scented ferns (native)....
....Lo-grow Sumac. (native)...
...Christmas Ferns (native).....
grasses and Contoneaster.
The three bodies of water - two ponds and a vernal pool - are critical for wildlife, especially the birds, many who use this spot during their migration. The ponds were dredged and cleaned up so that the water is cleaner and healthier. Pesticides are not being used anymore and the edge of the ponds were planted to help keep the ponds clean. This is Northern Sea Oats, a native grass and one of my favorites, planted around the pond helping to minimize runoff pollution. Dennis explained about a test project that was tried involving sunken barley in sacks to help clean out the pond algae - but it had mixed reviews. I was impressed that Mount Auburn seemed to be willing to give something a try even if it is not proven just yet.
Tops of graves which historically had grass that had to be mowed are getting planted with perennials. Here is grasses - I believe it was sesleria autumnalis - and geraniums. These plantings need to be weeded the first year or two but they are trying to choose perennials that can quickly cover an area in a dense fashion so weeding is minimized.
This oak is over 150 years and is from the original forest before Mt. Auburn was built. They require little maintenance but in recent years, they've removed the turf around the trees and put down bark mulch which the oaks prefer.
These Rhododendron maximum, our native rhodies, were planted as part of the restoration happening in the Dell. This area had been overtaken by Norway Maples, and they've been slowly removing and dealing with this invasive and replanting sections at a time. The dell is an all-native area and seemed rather special with its narrow woodland paths.
The banks of the Dell are very susceptible to erosion so they've been planting them using these compost sacks. These pouches are blown in with compost and are staked into the paths. Next spring, they will get planted with a variety of perennials - ferns, yellowroot, etc. and eventually the burlap will decompose over time. At that point, the plants will be established and will be able to hold down the hill with their root systems. That was one of the neatest things we saw on the trip and we were lucky because they had just put these in the previous week.
Mt. Auburn makes their own compost - a bacterial one which is more suited for lawns and perennials and a more fungal one suited for trees and shrubs.
Rain barrels are daisy chained along the green house to collect rain water. Over 11,000 gallons of water was used for irrigation this season.
The diversity of plants here is spectacular and not to be missed. Here is a grasses only garden.
Lastly - this Sourwood - another native plant - and one of my absolute favorites - was glorious without any leaves and just the seed pods!
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