Sieur de langy7/29/2023 ![]() ![]() ![]() Paths now link the diff erent areas featuring plants from Acadia’s many habitats. The Wild Gardens of Acadia committee began laying out paths and introducing plants - all native to Mount Desert Island. The plot, however, was covered with blackberry bushes and mature red maples damaged by the Great Fire of 1947. In 1961, Acadia National Park Superintendent Harold Hubler offered three-quarters of an acre of park land for volunteer gardeners in the community to grow and display wildfl owers. In fact, the process of adding plants hearkens back to the garden’s history as “a plant propagation experiment,” according to Langley. Late-season planting occurs aft er the drought stage when it is less stressful for plants to adapt to a new environment. “We add plants to the garden every year,” Langley continues. Doing so in the fall rather than during spring clean-up prevents damage to the little fern croziers as they push up out of the ground. ![]() Gardeners also cut back the tough stalks of large ferns, such as the cinnamon and interrupted ferns. They remove dead wood and branches that cross and rub, a particular problem for winterberry, the native holly with bright red berries that brightens the winter landscape. “But fall is a good time to start looking up.”Īs the leaves fall and tree structure becomes visible, the gardeners prune both for aesthetics and the health of the plant. Up to this point, “we have been busy looking down,” says Langley. They also begin pruning trees and shrubs. Year-round, the gardeners collect leaves and other materials, which they turn and sift to create the next year’s compost. The first step in the process begins in mid-September, when the gardens enjoy a fall feeding of compost mixed with leaf duff, the decomposed litterfall rich in nutrients. With 13 years of experience working alongside volunteer gardeners from April into November, this consummate list-maker reels off an end-of-the-season routine that may be surprisingly familiar to home gardeners. “It is wild, but tended,” says the College of the Atlantic graduate, who holds a master’s degree in ecology and environmental science from the University of Maine. It is unique because, in less than an acre, it mimics Acadia’s diverse habitats - 13 in all. Langley cares for the award-winning garden of 400 indigenous plant species located next to the Sieur de Monts Nature Center in Acadia National Park. Like children, the autumn leaves slyly resist, and rakes must patiently wait. When supervisory gardener Geneva Langley describes how the Wild Gardens of Acadia are put to bed for winter, there are echoes of the same step-by-step rituals and even inevitable delays. As every parent knows, putting a child to bed starts well before opening the bedroom door. Supervisory Gardener Geneva Langley prepares the hardscape of the Wild Gardens of Acadia for winter. ![]()
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