M&M!: Natural Chimneys

July and August 2015

July 31, photo by Sandy Greene

Kelly and Judy making puddling rocks, July 31. Photo by Sandy Greene

M&M Migration Tour, August 15, 2015

June 2015

… our garden just a day or two ago-it’s blooming nicely! – Kelly Rourke, July 1, 2015

Friday, May 15, 2015

On Friday, May 15, we finished planting all our perennials and extras at Natural Chimneys. Kelly had a pile of mulch for us, and survival from previous planting was great. There’s still some room for a few more natives; we’re still looking for a coral honeysuckle vine, and excited about getting our sign. We will be pulling out creeping strawberry for a long time though. Ready to make a summer weed and water schedule among our team. – Sandy Greene

Natural Chimneys site May 15, 2015.

Janet Joseph with a sprouting milkweed.

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Milkweed coming up!

Ginny and Janet

Sandy and Ginny

Happy Earth Day! Ginny, Janet and I did get out there today to dig out the creeping strawberry and plant these things (and we saw the new shoots coming up from two of the milkweed plants!):

Whorled coreopsis
Woodland sunflower (Helianthus diverticula)
Blue dogbane (Amsonia)
NY and heartleaf asters (Symphotinia)
Mountain mint (Pycnanthemum)
Phlox divaricata
Obedient Plant (Physotegia virginiana)
green headed coneflower x 2
Sundrops (oenothera fruticum)
12 little black eyed susies (Rudbeckia hirta)
6 beebalm ( Monarda didyma)

Thanks Chris and the VNPS for being our “personal shoppers” at Staunton Earth Day, and everyone for getting the area so well prepared.

We watered them a little (but were hoping it would rain when we left). It was very windy, so we (artfully) placed rock windbreaks. We also placed the plant markers, and they look snazzy! – Sandy Greene

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Kelly and I got in, composted, watered and staked 10 milkweed roots today. The garden size was bigger than I remembered. the soil at that location is sandy and stoney, but the stones are fist size or smaller, mostly. – Kate Guenther

photo by Kate

Thursday, January 22, 2015, Workday

Janet, Judy and Ginny. Photo by Kelly Rourke.

Ginny, Judy and Kelly working on the stone boundary of the Natural Chimneys garden. Photo by Janet Joseph.

Tuesday, January 6, 2015, Workday

With Kelly’s leadership, we had fun pulling out the pampas grass and benches today…looks like the wayside dimensions will be 32 x 14′, with a tapered end to make it easy to mow around. Thanks to Mike and the Natural Chimneys staff for helping with the cleanup. Fun ahead: hauling some rocks to complete the outline and make some butterfly puddling places, digging out the fescue from the new planting end. We talked about planting some native trumpet honeysuckle on the fence, and the potential for posting the sign on it also. Great interpretive spot by the check-in center, great soil, great sun, woo-hoo!
– Sandy Greene

Photos by Sandy Greene from January 6, 2015: