Wild Plant Nursery: Review of 2010 Activities
Pictures of the activities described below are available in the 2010 Wild Plant Nursery slide show.
Structural Improvements
We almost finished renovating the 5,500 square-foot northwest section of the nursery, the nursery’s oldest section. (We still have to build a large cold frame there and elevate some of the growing space with a layer of gravel.)
We nearly completed a watering upgrade for the entire container yard. (We still have to refit sprinkler heads in some sections.)
We began laying gravel in the aisles between the growing troughs in the eastern sections of the container yard. (These areas had become very muddy and difficult to work in.)
Propagation Improvements
We managed a substantial expansion of our propagation effort in the direction of herbaceous meadow flora. The entire northwest section of our container yard is now devoted to these species, as are about 1,000 square feet of raised bed space, and a small amount of growing-trough space.
We are also improving our propagation techniques for ferns and ericaceous plants (plants in the family Ericaceae—for example, blueberries, huckleberries, mountain laurel, and pinxterbloom azalea). These species are important in many local plant communities, but most of them are challenging to propagate.
The total number of species in our system continues to grow. In 2010, we added about 45 species, to bring that total to over 200. (Of course, the number in production at any particular time is smaller.)