Sustainable Gardens

On Thursday, April 30th Professor Melanie Trecek-King and her Issues in Environmental Science students planted a Native New England Garden on the Brockton Campus Quad. This project was supported by a Raise Your Voice Presidential Civic Engagement Activity Fund grant from the Massachusetts and Rhode Island Campus Compacts.

The new Native Garden has the following species:
Eastern red columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)
New England Aster (Aster novae-angliae)
Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi)
Blue wild indigo/False indigo (Baptisia australis)
Summersweet/Coastal sweet pepper bush (Cethra alnifolia)
Sweet Fern (Comptonia peregrina)
Pink coreopsis/Pink tickseed (Coreopsis rosea)
Dwarf crested iris (Iris cristata)
Virginia rose (Rosa virginiana)
Arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum)
Woodland phlox/Wild blue phlox (Phlox divaricata)

The Native Garden that was planted in November of 2008 has the following species:
New England Aster (Aster novae-angliae)
Dwarf crested iris (Iris cristata)
Woodland phlox/Wild blue phlox (Phlox divaricata)
Big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii)
Black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa)
Butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)
New York aster (Aster novae-belgii)
Flat-topped white aster (Aster umbellatus)
Appalachian sedge (Carex appalachica)
Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
Wild geranium (Geranium maculatum)
Oak-leaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia)
Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum)
Purple-flowering raspberry (Rubus odoratus)
Black-eyed susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)
Little bluestem (Schizachyrium turbinellum)
Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia)
Barren wild strawberry (Waldsteinia fragarioides)

If you are looking to add new flowers and plants to your native home garden, you may want to consider buying your supplies at the following locations:

Garden in the Woods in Framingham - Everything they carry is native!
http://www.newfs.org/

Kennedy’s Country Gardens in Scituate - They carry the American Beauty brand of natives
http://www.kennedyscountrygardens.com/

Please take a few moments from your busy schedules to visit the quad and enjoy the native gardens!

Check out the AASHE blog

AASHE is an association of colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada working to create a sustainable future. It was founded in 2006 with a mission to promote sustainability in all sectors of higher education - from governance and operations to curriculum and outreach - through education, communication, research and professional development. Businesses, NGO's, and government agencies can participate as AASHE partner members.

Check it out.