SPRINGFIELD, Vt. – On Tuesday, March 8, Alexis Doshas, nursery manager at the Native Plant Trust at Nasami Farm, gave a talk on the benefits of planting native plants in your yard, one being that they support vastly larger amounts of plant and animal species. For example, a native oak supports more than 500 different species of insects, versus only a handful for non-native trees. The insects and their caterpillars support the bird population, and a study has found that a chickadee needs about 5,000 insects and larvae – about 400 a day – to raise a brood of chicks. Native plants are also more adapted to the local climate and soil conditions, requiring less maintenance, fertilizer, and pesticides. Non-natives have no local natural controls, such as insects and animals that feed on them, which can enable them to be too successful and become invasive.
More than 100 people showed up to hear Doshas speak. The Native Plant Trust was formerly known as the New England Wildflower Society prior to 2019. The Nasami Farm in Whately, Mass., mainly focuses on “propagation and research to bring different and hard-to-grow native plants into production.” It has two garden shops where those native plants are sold to the public. They also offer year-round classes in botany and native plant horticulture. More information is available at their website, www.nativeplanttrust.org.
The talk was part of UVM’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) spring program, and was cosponsored by the Springfield Garden Club (SGC). It has been a long tradition for the SGC to cosponsor a talk with OLLI once a year as part of its public education mission. More than a dozen SGC members also attended, including Marita Johnson, who is also the Springfield facilitator for OLLI. Marita’s husband, Bruce Johnson, recorded the talk for SAPA TV, and you can view it soon on the SAPA TV channel, or at their website, www.sapatv.org. More information about the garden club can be found at their website, www.springfieldgardenclub.org, or on their Facebook page, Springfield Garden Club of Vermont.