News & Blog

Broadmead Collaborates to Protect Nature

By Lynne Shue

Residents at Broadmead love being surrounded by nature. In fact, for some, Broadmead’s bucolic setting was the main reason they chose to live here. Two of those residents, Master Gardeners Beth Babikow and Marsha Howes, are actively engaged in safeguarding our natural environment.

This past spring, Beth Babikow spearheaded efforts to eradicate noxious invasive plants at Broadmead by forming a volunteer group of 14 “Weed Warriors.” All the volunteers went through training with Beth to learn how to identify and properly get rid of the different invasive plants.

According to a page on the University of Maryland Extension’s website, they are doing important work because “invasive plants are the greatest threat to our natural environment, other than natural disasters.”

Beth commented that the volunteers are very faithful in performing their task and enjoy doing something positive to protect the natural environment around Broadmead that they love so much. This year they focused on removing Japanese stiltgrass and Canada thistle from around the edge of Copper Beech Lane. They hope that areas cleared of stiltgrass can be replanted with deer-resistant native plants.

Not only are volunteer residents helping to eradicate invasive plants, but Gina Mathias, Broadmead’s VP of Sustainability, is providing an opportunity for Broadmead to collaborate with the Green Trust Alliance to create a pollinator garden around Broadmead’s apiary, as a convenient food source for bees. On August 28, the area around the apiary was mowed. Then Marsha Howes, in conjunction with the Weed Warriors, worked with Amy Walls, community ecologist at the Green Trust Alliance, to prepare the area for the pollinator garden.

First, some of the Weed Warriors soaked large pieces of cardboard with water to lay down on the mowed areas. The cardboard creates a barrier that keeps light out so unwanted plants can’t grow. Then, four inches of mulch was laid on top of the cardboard to further suppress grass and weeds and to add organic matter to help future native plants grow.

On October 7, Amy Walls returned with 30 volunteers from the Green Trust Alliance to remove all remaining invasive plants from around the apiary. In late October, native flowering plants will be planted in the mulch for the pollinator garden. All the plants for the garden will be provided by the Green Trust Alliance. In addition, Amy Walls will continue to support the project by returning once a month to weed and maintain the garden.

And that’s not all! Through Beth and Marsha’s efforts, Broadmead was one of a very few sites in Maryland selected to participate in an important long-term experiment being conducted by Lisa Kuder, an experienced native plant and landscape specialist from the University of Maryland Extension. Our two master gardeners first heard about the Competitive Plant Control Project when Lisa gave a presentation about it this past March at a Nature Committee meeting. Lisa wants to determine if invasive stiltgrass can be eliminated by planting more aggressive native plants that she hopes will outcompete the stiltgrass for the same space.

On September 16, Beth, Marsha, and Broadmead’s Weed Warriors attended training in Ellicott City led by the University of Maryland Extension to learn more about how they can support this project at Broadmead. In October, the University of Maryland Extension will provide 300 plugs of four different types of aggressive native plants—eastern woodland sedge, river oats, golden ragwort, and Golden Alexander—to be planted among the Japanese stiltgrass at the bottom of Paw Paw Lane. It’s hoped that the native plants will take over the area now overrun by the invasive stiltgrass.

Over the next four years this site will not be weeded, and Lisa will simply observe the area to see if the native plants can outcompete the invasive plants to thrive in the same area.

If you want to learn more about invasive and native plants or any of these special projects at Broadmead, you can check out the following websites:

• Green Trust Alliance
• University of Maryland Extension
• See: “Removing Invasive Plants and Planting Natives in Maryland"

In addition, the University of Maryland Extension has published The Maryland Native Plant Guide: Piedmont Region, a 184-page book focusing on native plants of Maryland. This booklet can be found in the Nature Committee’s library space in the back of the auditorium, or it can be downloaded for free or purchased for $10.