Place, Purpose, Plants:Urban Gardening with Native PlantsChris Kreussling (Flatbush Gardener)

Long Island Botanical Society

2015-05-12

PlaceWhere I garden

Long Island

Bennington, J Bret, 2003. New observations on the glacial geomorphology of Long Island from a digital elevation model (DEM). Long Island Geologists Conference, Stony Brook, New York, April 2003.

HHm: Harbor Hill Moraine

My Garden

op: Glacial Outwash Plain

Rm: Ronkonkoma Moraine

Rpm: Roanoke Point Moraine

Central Brooklyn

My Garden

Greenwood Cemetery

Grand Army Plaza

Prospect Park

Prospect Lake

ProspectExpressway

GowanusCanal

B/Q Subway Line

HHm

op

op

Flatbush: Etymology, Land Use History Anglicization of old Dutch:

“vlachtebos” (vlacke bos, vladbos, flakkebos)

“wooded plain” (“flat woods”)

“Settled” in early 1600s

One of five townships consolidated into the City of Brooklyn (Kings County) in 1890s.

Primarily used for agriculture: woodland -> pasture, meadow

Railways provided access from “the city” (Brooklyn) through “the country” (Flatbush) to beach resorts, e.g.: Coney Island

1870s: Prospect Park

1880s: Brooklyn Bridge

Excursion railways converted to commuter lines

Last farms converted to residential in 1890s, early 1900s: pasture/meadow -> savannah

From Space

My Garden

Greenwood Cemetery

Prospect Park

From the Air

Prospect Park

My Garden

Ground Truth

PurposeWhy I garden, and why I garden with native plants

Why I Garden Beauty:

More than pretty flowers!

Study:

Learn the flora, practice my id skills

Experiment with garden uses of native plants

Practice observation, learn plant-insect associations, garden ecology

Education:

Demonstration gardens

Garden tours, e.g.: NYC Wildflower Week

Community workshops on botany, weed ID, pollination

Retreat, Balance

Contrast to day job!

Connection to something larger than myself

Genius loci – the spirit of a place

Backyard, April 2005

Backyard, May 2011

Front Yard, April 2005

Front Yard, this morning

Front Yard, July 2014

Urban gardening: •Plus: I don’t have to deal with deer.•Minus: There is the occasional car driving through the front yard.

Plants

Plant List Species, Family, Nativity, Habitat, Wetland Indicator

Date/Year acquired, Retail & Wholesale source

142 species native to Eastern North America

~90 species (64%) native to NYC, 7-12% of NYC’s Flora

Some Favorite NYC-natives

Adiantum pedatum,Maidenhair Fern

Aquilegia canadensis,Eastern Red Columbine

Asclepias incarnata,“Swamp” Milkweed

Ilex verticillata,Winterberry

Lonicera sempervirens,Trumpet Honeysuckle

Pycnanthemum muticum,Clustered Mountain-Mint

Plant-Insect AssociationsPollinators

Insect Visitors, and Residents Hymenoptera: 36 species

Bees: 19 species

Wasps: 17 species

Lepidotera: 19 species

Butterflies: 13 species

Moths: 4 species (daytime only)

Skippers: 2 species

Diptera, Flies: 11 species

Coleoptera, Beetles: 7 species

Other insects: 4 species

Pollinators

Pycnanthemum muticum, clustered mountain-mint

Bombus impatiens, Eastern bumblebee, on Monarda fistulosa, beebalm

Vanessa atalanta, Red Admiral, on Viburnum dentatum, Arrowwood

Tiny NOID bee on Zizia aurea, golden alexander

Agapostemon, Jade Bee, on Helianthus

Herbivores

Battus Philenor, Pipevine Swallowtail,on Aristolochia tomentosa

Nesting and Shelter

Leafcutter Bee on Rhododendron viscosum, swamp azalea

Signs of Leafcutter Bees on Wisteria

Colletes thoracicus, cellophane bee

Colletes nest entrances

Closing Remarks

Planting is meditation.Weeding is meditation.Watering is meditation.There is spirit In leaves In insects In soil.Gardening is prayer.

- June 24, 1997 waiting for F train to work, ~9:45am

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