Happy Reading!
Like all of our newsletters, this one is long and chock full of links and resources to help you on your garden journey. It is best viewed when opened in a browser to ensure the whole message downloads. You don't have to read it all in one sitting - come back often and dig in. And, if you are new to our mailing list or are searching for a resource we shared previously, you can look back at past editions on our website by following the link below.
Click Here to Read Prior Editions of Our Newsletter
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Tales of Groundhogs and Hungry Herbivores in Suburbia with insights from the Loudon Wildlife Conservancy, Humane Gardner and Chunk the Groundhog
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The verdict is in, Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow, an early spring it is! Though to be transparent with this prediction, records show that Phil has only gotten it right 39% of the time. Still, a better record than most weather reporters these days. The first official Groundhog Day Celebration took place on February 2, 1887, in Punxsutawney, PA. The ritual has roots in pre-Christian traditions tied to the changing of seasons and was brought to the U.S. by German immigrants. February 2nd falls nearly at the mid-point between the Winter and Spring Solstices and signals that we have officially made it through the darkest weeks of the year. Reason to celebrate with, or without groundhogs!
Despite their fame on Groundhog Day, these large rodents (Marmota monax), also known as woodchucks or ground squirrels are remarkably unpopular with many gardeners on other days of the year. Conflicts with groundhogs usually occur over who gets to eat the vegetables or whether the newly planted pollinator garden was intended for butterflies or as a buffet. In spite of their attraction to what grows in your garden, it is possible to live in harmony with groundhogs with a bit of tolerance and some preventative measures.
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Valentine's Day is Right Around the Corner!
Spigiela are Red
Hoary Skullcap are Blue
Your love is alive
And your gift can be too
This Valentine's Day give your sweetheart a gift that will live on long past the romantic gesture. With a gift certificate to Prickly Ed's you give the gift of plants that will bring life to your garden and joy to the recipient, and that's something to celebrate!
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Garden Planning - We've Got Your Habitat Building Back | |
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We have officially made it to the half way point between the Winter and Spring Solstice and the darkest days of the year are behind us. In a blink the Roadside Stand Native Plant Emporium will be open and another year of garden revelry will have begun! We are elbow deep in plant orders and are excited about the wide array of fantastic things we have in store for you this year. When our next newsletter hits your inboxes in March our preliminary plant lists will be posted and all the details on spring opening will be available. Eagerly stay tuned. Until then, happy planning!
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Special Orders Don't Upset Us
We have amazing things planned for the season ahead. In order to best maximize space and meet growing demand we will be offering many more varieties of native shrubs and small trees and a huge assortment of large native perennials. We do want to let you know that we will not have individual plant plugs (seedlings) stocked on the shelf, but flats of plugs are always available by special order. Speaking of orders, 2024 garden plans have you needing large quantities of any one plant variety? Planning a big spring redo of foundation plantings and need several shrubs? Letting us know that as early as possible will help ensure best availability of just what you are looking for. Contact us to discuss your plant needs and ordering options.
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Garden Planning Resources
Our website is filled with tools you can use including searchable plant sites, our favorite plant lists, inspirational articles and even videos to keep you entertained. Dig in to the tools and materials as you think through the steps you want to take to turn your yard into a buzzing habitat. Your best pathway to long term garden success is to research and plan and create plant lists with varieties that are well suited to your space and your goals. We can then work with you to find those perfect plants! Be sure to tune in to our social media channels where you will get daily tips and inspirations to help guide you on your planning pathway. And be sure to check out some of the coming events listed below.
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Make Your Yard a Sponge!
2023 was the sixth wettest year documented here in Southern New England and eight daily precipitation records were broken with wild storms bringing 12 inches of rain at a time to some locations. As we cycled into 2024, gray days and pop-up showers drug on. Every time it rains, water runs off hard surfaces like roofs, driveways, roads, and parking lots collecting contaminants along the way and traveling into storm drains until it eventually lands untreated in waterways. The water contains a host of pollutants including lawn chemicals, agricultural fertilizers and pesticides, animal waste, residue from oil spills and residuals from trash tossed indiscriminately on the side of roads. Stormwater pollution is a major issue for Rhode Island resulting in shellfishing bans, beach closures, and the destruction of wildlife habitat. It even threatens our drinking water supplies.

And that’s not the only challenge with stormwater. Photos of flooded streets, yards and basements told the tale of what happens when too much rain falls too fast, runs off and has nowhere to go. This same run-off contributes to erosion of the coastline. The state and the town bolstered by federal resources are planning for ways to address these issues. In the meantime, we can all be partners in mitigation right at home. Our yards and gardens present a remarkably clever solution and can become actual sponges! Instead of water running right off our properties and into the streets, it can be absorbed on site, thus returning water to our aquifer. Sponging up more water in your yard can also help control community costs connected to stormwater management; seems like a pretty neighborly thing to do.
Sometimes referred to as a green filter, the approach is straightforward and includes the key component of adding lots of beautiful and beneficial plant life to your space. Consider for example the installation of a rain garden, a bowl-shaped shallow depression planted with native plants that are tolerant of both flooding and drought. Rain gardens are strategically located where runoff can be diverted right into them, typically at least 10 feet away from the house. They require construction of a simple berm and a special, readily achieved, soil composition. They can be a fun weekend project with the kids or a much more complex undertaking. Internet searches will yield countless how-to guides and instructional videos on the subject. To simplify things, we’ve bundled the best local resources onto our website for you to explore.
Not quite ready for the engineering complexities of rain garden installation? No worries. There are other even simpler spongy solutions for your yard. The mere act of replacing some shallow rooted turf grass with deep rooted native plants will instantly up your yard’s absorbative properties. Adding a native tree or two is another winning boost. Tree canopies slow erosion and the ground cover helps with evaporation. These same trees improve air quality and benefit summertime cooling. If you leave the leaves that fall from those trees on site you’ll further help hold and absorb stormwater, allowing it to slowly seep back into the ground. If homeowners across town all took these steps, we could create one big spongy space and immediately lessen runoff out into streets, storm drains and our bay. That’s the beauty of little steps, when you add lots of little efforts together they become big solutions.
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Mark Your Calendars - Upcoming Local Learning and Engagement Opportunities
Winter is the perfect time to participate in some activities that will have you dreaming of spring. Learn some new things, meet some new people and support the people and organizations who are working to build better resilience in our communities.
Click on the photos below to explore event details!
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Growing Community -
Resilient Garden Meetup
February 20, 2024 6:30-8pm
LEARN MORE
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What's All the Buzz About Native Plants?
March 7, 2024 1:00pm
LEARN MORE
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Grow Native Massachusetts offers fabulous programs in a series of "Evenings with Experts". Explore this year's offerings, and view recordings of last year's programs on their website. LEARN MORE
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FAQ - What Can I Use to Replace My Turf Grass Lawn? | |
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We are often asked about “lawn replacements” - better grass seeds or even clover seeds - but all focused on sticking with the familiar and generally considered conforming green wall to wall carpet approach. So here’s the thing. Our honest answer to a good substitute for lawns is this. Dig up every last scrap you don’t need and replace it with:
— Blooming & buzzing native plant rich pollinator gardens
— Native trees with big “soft landings” (mixes of native groundcovers) underneath
— Hedgerows filled with diverse native shrubs
— Shady wonderlands of native ferns and native woodland treasures
— A rain garden full of deep rooted, water loving native plants
— Some areas to grow your own herbs & veggies
Keep some areas of “lawn” for pathways, raucous games with kids or sitting areas. A little lawn can be good for design too - it creates something called “negative space” that allows the eye to rest. But on those (few) remaining lawn areas:
— Mow high
— Eliminate all the “cides”
— Water infrequently and deeply when you do
— Use slow release organic fertilizer & only sparingly
— Allow diverse plant life to creep in (clover, violets and gasp even a few dandelions)
— Ditch the gas powered equipment! Remember you only have a little lawn left you won’t need a crew with equipment best suited to a football field to care for it!
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Speaking of Replacing Some Lawn... | |
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This coming spring the Town of Barrington will put shovels in the ground and actions behind words when they dig up a big patch of turf grass right at the Town Hall Complex, with notably high visibility to County Road! In its place will go a resilient and resplendent garden filled with native plants! Local folks can learn more about provide input into the design process by attending the session happening on March 7th at the Public Library - details below.
TAKE PART IN A BARRINGTON RESILIENCE GARDEN
PUBLIC DESIGN WORKSHOP!
Thursday, March 7th, 2024 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Collis Family Gallery
Barrington Public Library, 281 County Rd.
Come learn and share your opinions about the design of an educational and pollinator-friendly “resilience garden” that the Town of Barrington and other community partners will create this spring at Barrington Government Center between the library building and County Rd.
The Resilience Garden Demonstration Project is a collaboration between the Town of Barrington, the Barrington Garden Club, the Barrington Community Land Trust, Barrington Public Library, the Peck Center, the Barrington Resilience and Energy Committee, the Barrington Open Space Committee, and Barrington youth.
Light refreshments will be provided. All are welcome to come and stay for part or all of the workshop. For more information, contact Resilience Planner Karlo Berger at the Town of Barrington Dept. of Planning, Building and Resilience at ResiliencePlanner@barrington.ri.gov.
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Other Voices
Two months ago we launched a new feature - "Other Voices" where we highlight your stories of building back habitat at home. One of our goals here at Prickly Ed's is to help connect people working to seed change in their yards and communities. We believe an important part of this is hearing others' stories. This month we are delighted to feature Patricia (Pat) Tavares of Barrington. Her gardening enthusiasm grows more and more each time we see her! What is especially cool about our first three "Other Voices" features is that they all live within about a two mile radius of each other - and of us! They are part of a growing buzz afoot in our very own neighborhood to create vibrant green spaces in yards that connect to the wonderful conservation lands that grace our part of town. If we can just recruit a few more neighborhoods the connections will really begin to thread together in amazing ways.
Pat's very own unedited words follow, we are just the vehicle for sharing - Enjoy! And be sure to take a gander at some of the wonderful photos she shared as well.
The idea to convert our typical front lawn area into a more diverse, thriving landscape came about after discovering both Doug Tallamy’s Homegrown National Park and the Pollinator Pathway movement. Their principles and concepts really seemed to hit home with me so in 2020 I began removing a small patch of grass in the front yard. I wanted some durable plants that could withstand the wind and the road salt. I started with transplanting some shrubs and flowers from my backyard while incorporating some new pollinator plants. Mistakes were made along the way with my methods of removing the lawn, preparing a new site and choosing the proper plants. I began reading many articles and attending webinars focusing on native plants. From all that information I began to gather a small collection of books about creating native habitats. I often refer back to these books to get inspiration and also to help with designing and planting a native landscape for the pollinators. I found it was important to research your plants and read their labels. Assuming Montauk daisies were native because they were named Montauk was a good example of not doing my homework.
Around this time I also discovered Prickly Ed’s Cactus Patch where I was able to find a nice variety of native flowers, shrubs and grasses that were pesticide free. I began adding to the original front yard garden, expanding its size and variety of plants while also adding several more pollinator gardens in the front and side yard area, leaving grass pathways between the gardens. There have been so many benefits from converting our front lawn into a wildlife habitat. I leave the leaves, do not not trim flower heads and let nature do its thing. One fall I was rewarded with a surprise pumpkin patch.
Birds, bees and local wildlife are frequent visitors to our yard. It’s fun even in the winter to walk around the yard to see what’s going on, although one not so fun game to play has been “who's scat is that”? Planting native shrubs, grasses and flowers has been a great learning experience. The form and structure of natives such as Culver’s Root, Little Blue Stem, Joe-Pye Weed, Yarrow and Winterberry are beautiful to see in the landscape. Many of the native plants provide visual interest during the winter and also provide food and habitat for wildlife that non native plants cannot provide. It’s a win, win situation to go native.
I am now working on removing some non native and invasive plants which will be replaced with native ones from Prickly Ed’s. Our yard transformation has taken several years on a small sized lot. It may seem overwhelming at first when you take on the mission of creating a native, wildlife habitat especially if you have a large area to work with. It’s helpful to do some research as there is plenty of information available online, in books and at local resource centers like Prickly Ed’s where you will find a great selection of native plants. Converting your lawn into a native habitat is fun, well worth the time and effort and you’ll meet a nice bunch of like minded people along the way. One warning though, it can become addictive but in a good, healthy way.
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Mark Your Calendars and Participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count Between February 16-19, 2024.
Each February, for four days, the world comes together for the love of birds. Over these four days people spend time in their favorite places watching and counting as many birds as they can find and reporting them through a Backyard Bird Count template. These observations help scientists better understand global bird populations before one of their annual migrations.
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UNDERGROWN! Can we make a violation notice for that?
We have been fans of Nancy Lawson, the Humane Gardener since her very first writings. But her latest powerful blog post, "Undergrown" might be her finest accomplishment yet. It is full of the fed up raw emotions so many of us who see our way clearly to a greener, brighter future carry around, too often unspoken in neighborhoods and communities not quite ready for the truth! If you read one thing this week make it this. Help change the narrative.
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What's Just a Short 10-12ish Weeks Away?
You guessed it - the return of the amazing, beloved hummingbirds to our region - AND - opening day of the Roadside Stand Native Plant Emporium! But, who's counting...
We will be back this year - better than ever with lots more hours, inventory and variety. More information coming your way as opening day approaches. Be sure to stay tuned in to our Facebook Page for our always popular "Plant of the Day" posts to learn more about all of the cool things you will find at the Stand this season.
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Spring is Stirring, Can you Feel It? | |
Help Us Bring More Life to Our Region | |
We are on a mission to bring life back to area yards and gardens but we can't do it without all of you. You can share this newsletter with others via email or social media by using the links below. Invite friends to follow our Facebook Page. Use our newly updated website to share out helpful resources and information to friends and neighbors who are ready to grow habitat outside their own doors. With your support positive change is within reach. Resolve right now to recruit at least five neighbors and friends to the Backyard Habitat Building Party.
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Prickly Ed's Cactus Patch
6 Barneyville Road,
Barrington, RI 02806-2715
(401) 248-4785
Please note, use the address above for mailing or for GPS but the Roadside Stand/Native Plant Emporium is located in Swansea, MA directly next door to the address listed above. Just look for the sign and for the big red barn.
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We Are Locally Owned - And Operated
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At Prickly Ed's Cactus Patch Native Plant Emporium we are focused on making the area a little bit wilder one yard at a time! We offer great native plants, prickly pear cactus, magic dirt, unusual pollinator friendly annuals, organic herb and vegetable plants, lots of solicited and unsolicited advice & random curiosities designed to get your yard really buzzing. Your favorite wildscaping neighbors live right next door to the Emporium and are directly involved in every part of the business. You can read all about us on our website, including the story of where the name Prickly Ed's Cactus Patch came from.
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