The beautiful grounds of MLUC feature a wide variety of plants, including native, nonnative, and
invasive. Some areas are low-maintenance monocultures with English ivy, vinca, pachysandra. Some
areas teem with a diversity of plants, color, and design (e.g., cup plants, Lenten rose, wood poppies,
asters, coneflower, winterberry, hydrangea, and butterfly weed) as the garden volunteers bring their
personal touch, loving care, and many hours to their spaces. And some areas are wilder and weedier.
Since 1981, one area of the grounds has been designated the Memorial Garden – a place for
memorial markers. It’s a semi-shaded garden and much of the ground is covered with vinca minor.
There are some native perennials and shrubs and a canopy of several tree varieties. There is an effort
afoot to remove some invasive ground cover to incorporate native species.
There is a good environmental reason to plant native species in a garden. Today, with habitat loss and
fragmentation, climate change and invasive species, insect, bird, and other wildlife numbers have
dramatically declined. In our region, as throughout the world, there is an urgent need for more
ecologically productive local habitat for a sustainable future. One way we can address this need is to
plant more native plants that are low maintenance and deer resistant and that support a wide
diversity of insects (e.g., moths, bees, skippers, beetles, leafhoppers, butterflies, wasps, flies,) and
wildlife (amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals).
What constitutes a native plant? Native plants evolved or adapted to our local environment
for thousands of years, and are an important part of our local habitats, ecosystems and ecosystem
services (pollination, infiltration, carbon sequestration, etc.). They are the most sustainable plants for
a specific area.   Native plants not only adapt physically, but chemically and genetically.

As you walk the path in the Memorial Garden, you will see some prime examples of native plants.

Look for these:

Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) (March–April bloom)

Pinxterbloom Azalea – Rhododendron periclymenoides (April-May bloom)

Mayapple – Podophyllum peltatum (April bloom)

Columbine – Aquilegia Canadensis (April–May bloom)

Rosebay Rhododendron – Rhododendron maximum (April–May bloom)

Oakleaf hydrangea – Hydrangea quercifoli (May–July bloom)

Doghobble – Leucothoe axillaris (May bloom)

Pennsylvania sedge – Carex pennsylvanica

Christmas fern – Polystichum acrostichoides

White wood aster – Eurybia divaricatus (August–September bloom)

There are also many native trees such as Eastern redbud, red cedar, white oak, white pine, black
cherry, and linden (basswood).

As happens throughout our region, invasive plants find their way into our Memorial Garden, and
volunteer gardeners are challenged to keep them at bay. Many are easy to pull but it takes visiting
the garden often to spy the weeds and remove them, ideally before they seed.

Some of the invasive plants include:

Hairy Bittercress – Cardamine hirsute

Garlic mustard – Alliaria petiolata

English ivy – Hedera helix

Japanese Stiltgrass – Microstegium vimineum

Lesser Celandine – Ficaria verna

As you explore MLUC’s Memorial Garden, take note of the deep roots—human stories of the past
and nature’s ongoing tale—intertwined.