Asters and Goldenrod and Beardtongue (Oh My!) or: A Short History of Conservation and Native Plants Teaching Gardens at Friends School

Asters and Goldenrod and Penstemon Digitalis (Beardtongue) on the Upper School Steps

Curious about how Friends has come to have landscaping that is as ecologically sensitive as it is beautiful? Here's a great history (with pictures) written by Kay McConnell & Julie Moir Messervy about their work on campus. Here's a brief sample from that piece in which Kay describes how Friends administrators collaborated with Guilford Garden Club to get the process rolling:

Together, we agreed upon a plan for GGC members to design garden spaces, shop for locally grown native plants, and supervise the school community on planting days. Lower School science teacher David MacGibeny wrote a series of grants to the Chesapeake Bay Trust, and with CBT support and an investment of both dollars and elbow grease by the school, 3,750 native trees, shrubs, grasses, ferns, and perennials have been planted over the past five years. Another 700 have been sold at three campus native plant sales to be planted in home gardens.

And here's a gallery on the Baltimore Sun featuring Kay McConnell and Friends School landscaping. We'll ask Kay to write an update soon--these gardens are still going strong, but there are many new exciting projects as well.