Teixeira Park in Black and White

Teixeira Park Plantings in Early September

The native grass, Eragrostis spectabilis, adds a light frothy texture to the Ruin Garden. 

I didn't know Parthenium integrifolium, known as American feverfew, until a gardening friend shared a division. The white flat-topped, terminal corymbs are a useful contrast in color and texture at the Ruin Garden. It has a sturdiness that reminds me of cauliflower.

I added Sanguisorba officinalis to the mix at the West Rain Garden several years ago. It is indispensable for the red dots floating in the breeze. The goldenrod in the foreground is Solidago speciosa. Its common name is Showy Goldenrod. It is a good source for nectar for pollinators late in the summer. The ironweed in the back is Vernonia 'Bay State Border Selection'  from a local nursery in northwestern Massachusetts called Bay State Perennial Farm.

My favorite liatris is Liatris ligulistylis. It is about 4 feet tall and is robust. I was hesitant to plant the gargantuan  Silphium perfoliatum, known as the cupplant, but when I read the description in the Prairie Nursery website I had to include it in this bird/butterfly/pollinator garden. They claim that it was the "single best species for attracting birds! It provides food, water and cover. The leaves clasp the stems to form cups that catch rainwater. Songbirds, butterflies and hummingbirds come for a drink, and in fall, goldfinches descend upon the plants to devour the seeds."

Teixeira Park in Early August

Cedar Waxwings at Teixeira Park

Earlier this week, I visited Teixeira Park and was pleased to find a flock of Cedar Waxwings devouring the fruit of the Malus 'Prairiefire' trees grove planted in a small grove along Union Street in West Peterborough. My intention, when we redesigned the park, was for it to have a wild flavor that would attract wildlife; especially birds and butterflies. Later, as I learned more, I concentrated on planting native herbaceous plants to attract insects to promote biodiversity.

Don and Lillian Stokes, the well-known birding experts and authors who live in nearby Hancock, NH, are gardening friends. In 2005, they came to visit Teixeira Park to give me ideas on how to attract birds and butterflies. They suggested planting a grove of crabapples along the street to attract birds. The idea was that the trees would provide food but would also serve as a stepping-stone for the birds to enter the park from the woods across the street. They suggested using native dogwoods, viburnums and shadblows. They also pointed out that the Nubanusit River provided the water that birds require. All the stars were aligned for birds: food, water, cover and nesting oppurtunities.

Six years later, I was pleased to read in Doug Talamay's book Bringing Nature Home that crabapples are fifth on the list of woody plants that support the order of Lepidoptera (the moths and butterflies), an important representative of the insect herbivores. Insect herbivores in turn are necessary for the biodiversity of other wildlife including birds. There are only four species of crabapples in the United States. Crabapples are unique in that the leaf chemistry of the alien crabapples (Malus 'Prairiefire' included) is indistinguishable from native crabapples to insects which often have a special evolutionary relationship with native species.

Birds, on the other hand, don't have a specific evolutionary relationship with their food: they will eat almost anything. So planting the grove of Malus 'Prairiefire' served two purposes. It provided food (fruit) and shelter for the birds while providing food (leaves) for 311 species of moths and butterflies which resulted in an overall increase of biodiversity. From a garden beauty/garden ecosystem perspective, it is having your fruit and eating it too.

The East and Ruin Gardens at Teixeira Park in Late July

These gardens are planted with primarily American natives and pollinators. The aim is to compliment the wild landscape near the Nubanusit River to attract birds and butterflies in particular.

 

Teixeira Park Yesterday Morning

Peterborough Parks: Different Styles and Influences for Different Parks

The recent rains have breathed life and color back into the parks in Peterborugh. This is the Pavilion Garden at Depot Park. It has a very high proportion of annuals. I think of the waved yew hedges bordering this planting like a gargantuan pot for a huge container planting. It changes dramatically each year.

Susannah, Mollie and Laura stop working long enough to pose for a quick photo.

The planter at Peter's Gate at Depot Park

This garden at Putnam Park is three years old and beginning to fill in nicely.

There is a "block" style of planting used here like Piet Oudolf's earlier work which has influenced this planting. This garden is weighted toward grasses and perennials. One of the few annuals, Verbena bonariensis self seeds throughout the garden.

 The planter at Putnam Park

The Boccelli Garden was influenced by the "succession" planting philosophy of Christopher Lloyd and Fergus Garrett at Great Dixter. There is a mixture of cut-back shrubs, perennials, grasses, annuals, biennials and bulbs in this planting.

Teixeira Park's Ruin Garden has mostly native plants that attract birds, butterflies and pollinators. I think of Teixeira Park as the "wild" park in Peterborough. We tend to let the plants "duke it out" in this garden. Calamagrostis brachytricha, was one of the few exotic plants I used in this garden. Early on, I thought it might take over the garden, but as the other plants have filled in, it has not been able to handle the competition of the natives and is slowly being crowded out.

 The sunny East Garden at Teixeira Park is just a year old. It has a high proportion of native American prairie plants-- again attractive to birds and pollinators. It is looking a bit sparse its first season but thankfully almost all the plants survived the winter.

The new West Garden at Teixeira Park is quite shady. Mostly natives, like the rest of Teixeira Park, it has a very wild feel to it. Both the East and West Gardens incorporate a "blended" style of planting much like Piet Oudolf's most recent work.