In Fall 2022, Unity Gardens funded 14 projects in amounts from $300 to $1000, totaling over $9,000 in trees, shrubs, grasses, and perennials planted by volunteers exclusively in Anne Arundel County.
Explore our Fall 2022 grantee projects below!
Briarcliff on the Severn
This fall, community members of Briarcliff on the Severn pitched in to plant a native rain garden! The garden consists of Black-Eyed Susans, Prairie DropSeed and Blue Joint Reedgrass. All of these plants added an element of erosion control to prevent excess water runoff, feed for the native birds and butterflies as well as an aesthetic improvement.
Bywater Community Garden
Members of the Bywater Mutual Homes Community came together to plant native pollinators along the perimeter of their community garden. With the interior of the garden filled with fruit and vegetable plants, these native pollinators added a much needed component to the community garden. Not only do they attract the bees and butterflies, but since they easily adapt to native soil, we would not need to use any harmful fertilizers or pesticides to maintain these beautiful perennials!
Deep Creek Native Garden
Dozens of community volunteers came together to expand upon a conservation landscape project at the Cape community boat ramp, on the bank of Deep Creek. The robust team managed to remove 800 square feet of invasive species and replace them with over 300 native plants in just one day!
Dividing Road Beach Erosion Mitigation Project
The community has been plagued with beach erosion for many years and has spent thousands trying to mitigate erosion with turf grass and sand replenishment. As a whole, they loved the plan devised to help prevent further erosion and degradation to our most popular community property. Not only will this project prevent further erosion but also beautify the space with plants adapted to live in conditions of shade, sandy soil, and dry spells. In late October, the community planted plenty of moss phlox and Pennsylvannia sedges in addition to several other native plants. With the help of so many hands, they were able to install 188 native plants in under 3 hours.
Earleigh Heights Pollinator Station
The Chartwell Garden club has been planting and maintaining two of the B&A Trail Gardens at the Ranger Station on Earleigh Heights Road in Severna Park since 1991. On September 19, volunteers planted St. John’s Wort, Wild Blue Indigo, Tickseed, Hyssop, Butterflyweed, and Liatrus according to the initial garden design. The second planting day was on October 25 for the placement of the Purple Coneflowers The original native plants remaining in the gardens include Common Milkweed, Goldenrod, Joe-Pye Weed, Boneset, and Golden Ragwort.
Echo Drive Triangle Pollinator Garden
Pasadena’s Riviera Beach Community, ‘Where Bay, River and Creek Meet’, recently hosted “The Big Dig: One Native Garden at a Time”, planting a pollinator garden on 400 square feet of community property known as the Echo Drive Triangle. Using a Unity Gardens grant, more than 20 volunteers spent a beautiful fall day planting 230 native perennials that support our local pollinators in an area that was previously turf grass. With the guidance of Anne Arundel County Watershed Stewards Academy and the Patapsco River Alliance, the Riviera Beach Council designed the garden to support native pollinators and to protect the Stony Creek watershed by absorbing stormwater. County politicians were on hand to award citations for the community’s work, and local businesses and churches offered material support as well as snacks and drinks. The community spirit in the volunteers, who ranged in age from 10 to 83, helped to make “The Big Dig” a great success!
Holly Point Native Pollinator Island Garden
Holly Point is a small community of 10 homes, where several volunteers removed some of the non native plants and shrubs and added more native plants to entice bees and other pollinators. They weeded and cleaned the areas to be planted and removed several large bushes that are invasive. Some of the native plants already in the garden were divided and children took a few plants home to plant in their own yard.
Mayo United Methodist Church Gardens
In a small bare spot on the grounds of the Mayo United Methodist Church, a master garderner and several congregants came together to plant a native pollinator garden. The area previously held a large tree that was removed, and mulch build up became an issue whenever it rained. All mulch was removed before the garden was installed, and this helped to prevent any further build up on the sidewalk, prevent flooding in the area, and add beautiful pollinator right in front of the church.Church members other than those that helped plant the garden were very excited about the pollinator garden!
Montessori International Children’s House Project
Staff and families from the Montessori International Children’s House School wanted to expand and enhance their current efforts to provide native, wildlife-friendly habitats on the school property. They were able to successfully plant a native garden in the Upper Elementary section of the school. 21 students participated in the planting, and one enthusiastically pointed out that “natives help the environment by providing food and shelter for animals like monarch butterflies. I think planting the garden was a great idea and really fun, too.“
Severna Park Library Native Garden
The Hollyberry Garden Club embarked on a project to transform the grounds surrounding the Severna Park Library into a native landscape. There are two goals for this project- the first goal is to establish the library grounds as a place for library patrons to learn about the importance of native plants and native gardening; the second goal is to involve the community in helping to maintain and beautify the garden. Members of the Hollyberry Garden Club came together prior to the event to clean-up the garden. On the morning of the event, they placed native plants on the library grounds where we wanted them planted, and ended up with over 100 native plants installed by the end of the day.
Shade Garden @ Kinder Farm Park
Thanks to the effort of Kinder Farm Park rangers, Watershed Stewards, and community volunteers, an overgrown area along the park’s perimeter trail has been converted into a sustainable landscape filled with native trees, shrubs, and plants. Volunteers spent over 40 hours during a multitude of service days clearing invasive species, cutting down dead and non-beneficial trees, spreading mulch, and replacing weeds with native plants that will thrive and benefit wildlife. In all, a Sycamore, two River birch, a Black gum, and a Serviceberry were planted along with 34 shrubs.
South River Landing Conservation Landscape
Twenty-nine community members and volunteers gathered on planting day at the South River Landing event- it was a great success! Volunteers were eager to learn and educational materials about native plants were distributed to everyone. A variety of native shrubs, perennials, and sedges were planted to absorb run-off from entering Almshouse Creek.
Tawes Garden Plant Mural Transition Design
On October 7, 12 volunteers from a variety of organizations (Master Gardeners, Friends of Tawes Garden Board members, and a Park Ranger) came together to plant over 150 native plants. They removed lots of non-native nandinas, grasses and liriope in an effort to further transition the Plant Mural in Tawes Garden.
Watergate Community Conservation Garden
A 144 square foot garden was planted in the southwestern portion of the Watergate Community Recreation Area to reduce water runoff into the Chesapeake Bay. This conservation landscape garden was installed using native plants, shrubs, and one tree. Specifically, the native plants installed in the garden were 19 perennials – 5 chelone glabra, 5 Iris versicolor, 3 Lobelia cardinalis, 6 Carex stricta; 12 shrubs – 6 Ilex verticillate, 5 Itea virginica; and 1 tree – Amelanchier canadensis.