The Nature Conservancy in Vermont - The Oak Log: Fall 2007 Story 4

Download a copy of the Autumn 2007 issue of The Oak Log (PDF, ~1MB).

The Oak Log / Autumn 2007

Tucked behind the Vermont State House in Montpelier, just outside the windows of the cafeteria where legislators, staff, and visitors dine, is a forgotten garden that is now being brought back to life. A three-way collaborative between The Nature Conservancy’s new Wise on Weeds! program, the State of Vermont’s Department of Buildings and General Services, and Vermont Master Gardeners, is working to rehabilitate the garden for the enjoyment of the more than 150,000 visitors who pass through the State House each year.

Once resplendent with hostas, spring wildflowers, ferns, and other native species adapted to the shaded space behind the capitol, the garden is now overrun with invasive species like bishop’s weed, a plant that can invade and take over natural habitats. In early July, more than a dozen volunteers gathered to remove these multiplying weeds and cover the soil with black plastic in preparation for a fall 2008 replanting. Since these invasive plants are so hardy and persistent, the soil will need to remain covered for a year to ensure they will not resprout.

The State House is one of several high-profile demonstration sites in the Conservancy’s new Wise on Weeds! program, which seeks to educate the public about invasive species and the threat they pose to Vermont’s natural habitats. Posters in the State House cafeteria will update visitors on the garden’s progress and provide information on how to recognize, remove, and replace invasive plants.

Spotlight on an Invasive Weed
Bishop’s weed, also known as goutweed or snow-on-the-mountain, or as variegatum in its two color form, is a quarantined species and cannot be sold in Vermont, Massachusetts, or Connecticut. However, gardeners should be aware that this plant is still sold extensively in other states as a reliable and fast-growing ground cover and can be shipped to Vermont.

Since goutweed grows so fast and is so well-suited to growing just about anywhere, it can quickly crowd out other plants. It can easily escape gardens and, in a forested setting, it can prevent the regeneration of seedlings from native trees and shrubs.

Visit our Wise on Weeds! page for more information on plant species that are invasive in Vermont and ways to remove them. You can also check out what several schools and businesses are doing with their Wise on Weeds! demonstration sites.

Return to Autumn 2007 Contents Page

Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Oak Log Cover Design: The Laughing Bear Associates; Cover Photos © Sarah Wakefield/The Nature Conservancy (Pitcher plants and visitors to Morristown Bog).