Lindens and Tiarella and Bearberry, Oh My!
Sermon by Jo Ann Pierce
February 16, 2020
I speak for the native plants. Now there are folks speaking for the Native Peoples, though not enough folks are speaking. And there are many people speaking for the native animals. Look at this catalog and see all the native animals you can sponsor and get a plush toy for doing so too. There are 18 animals in this catalog. If you go to this organization's website you will find 80 animals. 80 animals! That means 80 plush toy animals. When did you ever see an opportunity to get a plush plant toy for sponsoring a native plant? How often do you see plush plant toys? Practically never! I found this plush carrot, well actually my cat let me borrow it. But carrots are originally from Iran and Afghanistan so it is not a native plant! Pfft. (throws carrot over shoulder). So I speak for the native plants.
I wasn't much interested in plants and gardening at all when I was young. My mother was an avid flower gardener. She grew geraniums, coleus, lilacs, and tulips, just to name a few. I mean they were sort of pretty, but not very interesting. I was more interested in running around in the woods, climbing trees, making forts, and swinging on grape vines. Gardening?? Boring!! But I did love to see the False Lily of the Valley, and the pink Lady Slippers blooming in the spring in the woods along the path I walked to school. I loved to see the cattails waving in the breeze as I tried to catch polliwogs in the pond up the street from my house. I loved to see the masses of jewelweed in the summer in wet areas around the brook at my grandmother's house. I loved to write messages of the bark of paper birches. And I loved the smell of wild grapes ripening on the vines in late summer and early fall. Guess what, all those plants are native plants!
So what is a native plant? Mark Richardson and Dan Jaffe, in their book, Native Plants for New England Gardens write, "For simplicity's sake, we define native as dating back to European settlement. In other words, if a plant was in an area at the time the first European settlers arrived, it is considered native." Doug Tallamy and Rick Darke in their Book The Living Landscape add to this definition the concepts of evolution and interdependence. They say that what is native in any given place today wasn't native if we look back far enough in time, and it is certain that what will be native in that same place in the future will be different from what is native now. In other words, plants evolve and their relationships within their environment change.
So why is all this important? Why are native plants important? Remember what Kathryn Hanratty said in our second reading, "Native organisms including plants, mammals, birds, amphibians, and insects create an intricate web of life. This is a wonderful natural orchestration with each species’ life cycle highly dependent on the others." Did you hear that? Each species’ life cycle is highly dependent on the others. Not merely dependent but highly dependent! EcoAddendum, an ecology organization based in the Southeast U.S. puts it this way, "Trees depend on fungi for sustenance. Plants depend on insects and other animals to pollinate their flowers and spread seeds. Insects depend on plants for food and reproduction. Birds depend on the insects for food. And mammals, birds, reptiles and other animals depend on trees and plants for shelter and food. Some of these relationships have been refined for such a long time that they are very specific–and fragile. For instance, many insects can only eat one particular species of plant or tree." Imagine if we could only eat one particular plant! The caterpillars of the Monarch Butterfly live that way. They can only eat milkweed plants. It is certainly good to raise Monarch butterflies in schools, but once they are released and lay their eggs in the wild, if there are no milkweed plants for the caterpillars to eat, they will die. By now I hope all of you understand why native plants are important in nature. But some of you may be wondering if any of this is important specifically to you. The Native Plant Trust, formerly know as the New England Wildflower Society, puts it simply in three words. "Oxygen. Food. Habitat." They go on to say, "These three words compose a short list of the essential conditions for life that plants provide to all organisms on Earth, including humans. Plants also regulate the climate and clean the water. But nothing on the planet can live without these three. Oxygen. Food. Habitat. Native plants are the cornerstone of Earth’s ecosystems and the base of the food chain that leads to our dinner tables." We are part of nature. There is no us on one side and nature on the other. We are all part of a whole. There is no "the planet" on one side and us on the other. We are all part of the whole. We are plants and animals and rocks and minerals and water and air and humans. We are the planet. Instead of saying, "Save the Planet!" we might say, Save Us! And it all starts with the native plants.
But native plants are in peril. They are besieged by human expansion, invasive species, and climate change to name just a few.
In the State of New England's Native Plants, published in 2015, Elizabeth Farnsworth writes, "The coast, bays, and major rivers are highly developed, and all but the most remote areas are crisscrossed with roads, fragmented by clearings, and dotted with structures. For the first time in 200 years, every state in New England is losing forest. . . " Let me repeat that. For the first time in 200 years, every state in New England is losing forest. And what is replacing the native forests? In addition to the obvious asphalt, concrete and buildings; our native plants are being replaced by non-native lawn grasses and other non-native plants. "But what about Kentucky Blue Grass?" you may ask. Sorry, it is not native anywhere on this whole continent. It is native to Europe. But what about the dandelion? It is everywhere, it must be native. Nope. It is native to Eurasia. I fact, over 70% of the plants in our urban and suburban yards and parks are nonnative species according to EcoAddendum. What do you typically see in yards around here? Forsythias, lilacs and common yews planted around lawns. None of that is native. My husband Norm and I visited Alaska several years ago. On a drive around Anchorage we saw forsythias, lilacs and common yews planted around lawns, none of which is native there either. The problem is all over.
On top of human expansion, native plants are besieged by invasive plant expansion. According to the Native Plant Trust, "In New England, non-native plant species make up more than a third of our flora, and 10 percent of these qualify as invasive." How do invasive species do so much harm? Invasive plants grow and reproduce faster than native species in the same growing conditions. In addition, there are not the predators, diseases, and other plants here to keep them in check like in their native environments. So they can monopolize the light, water, and other nutrients that our native plants need. I might add that they are hard to get rid of once they get a stronghold. Many years ago Norm's grandmother planted Japanese Knot weed in a couple of places at her cottage in Wales, MA. No one knew then that it could become invasive. Norm and I have been trying to get rid of it for over 10 years now and it is still thriving.
Added to all these threats is climate change, which is already affecting plant communities. According to the Native Plant Trust, early flowering, increases in pathogens and pests, and up-slope movement of trees and shrubs in the mountains are all evidence of a warming climate. The 2014 National Climate Assessment estimates that if trends continue, Vermont may have the climate of Connecticut by 2039 and of North Carolina by 2070. Most native plants that do well in our current climate cannot evolve or move further north fast enough to survive. They will die unless we act.
These threats of human expansion, invasive species, and climate change are why I speak for the native plants.
At this point you may be wondering what you can do to help the native plants. Or you may have fallen asleep. If so, WAKE UP! This part is important. Here are five suggestions of what you can do, adapted from those that the Native Plant Trust lists . There are more on their website, nativeplanttrust.org.
1. Plant native species in your garden, to replace part of your lawn, and even on the roof of your shed
2. Advocate for native plants in your town’s public spaces, and for protection on the state and federal level
3. Join a local group working to control invasive plants
4. Learn more by taking classes with the Native Plant Trust, some of which are online, or at Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary in Wales, MA
5. Volunteer with your local land trust or conservation group
Simplified, the suggestions are: plant, advocate, join, learn, and/or volunteer. What do I do? I am a horticulture volunteer at Garden in the Woods in Framingham, which is a large native plant garden, I take classes and read about native plants, I pull out the invasive plants in my yard and I plant native plants. Do I have non-native plants in my yard? Definitely. I have forsythias, lilacs and common yews planted around my lawn. For me it is a matter of proportion. I'm trying to have more native plants than non-native ones. There are many beautiful native trees, shrubs, flowers, grasses and ferns that work in gardens or to replace part of a lawn. For example, Lindens and Tiarellas and Bearberries. The American Linden or Basswood is a tall shade tree. It has wonderfully fragrant flowers in the spring that bees love. There are some people who say that honey that bees make from American Linden trees is the best in the world. The kind of Tiarella that is called Running Foamflower is a great groundcover for shady areas. It has white spiky flowers in the spring and interesting leaves. Bearberry is a great groundcover for sunny areas. It has evergreen leaves and red berries in the fall and winter that feed the wildlife. It must be planted in well drained soil. There are many books and websites with great photos and information about native plants out there. Check them out!
One of the things I do for our planet is to plant seeds of hope for native plants. But what if plants just aren't your thing? Or what if any plant you come near dies within hours? What if no seed you plant ever comes up? There is more than one way to plant a seed. You can plant seeds of community by putting on community dinners. You can plant seeds of acceptance by hosting LGBTQ coffeehouses. You can plant seeds of change by advocating for marginalized peoples. You can plant seeds of exaltation by making music or art or dance. You can plant seeds of joy by making people laugh. You can plant seeds of honor by listening, really listening to people. You can plant seeds of conscience by doing what you feel is right, even if you are alone in your actions. You can plant seeds of . . . well, you fill in the blank. And we need to keep planting. Not all of our seeds will come up. We will see some results of our actions after a short while. We will see some results later. Some results will finally happen long after we are gone. I hope some of you will plant native plants or seeds. But whatever you do, trust the seeds of your actions. Trust the seeds. Trust the seeds. Trust the seeds.
Amen and Blessed Be.
Sermon by Jo Ann Pierce
February 16, 2020
I speak for the native plants. Now there are folks speaking for the Native Peoples, though not enough folks are speaking. And there are many people speaking for the native animals. Look at this catalog and see all the native animals you can sponsor and get a plush toy for doing so too. There are 18 animals in this catalog. If you go to this organization's website you will find 80 animals. 80 animals! That means 80 plush toy animals. When did you ever see an opportunity to get a plush plant toy for sponsoring a native plant? How often do you see plush plant toys? Practically never! I found this plush carrot, well actually my cat let me borrow it. But carrots are originally from Iran and Afghanistan so it is not a native plant! Pfft. (throws carrot over shoulder). So I speak for the native plants.
I wasn't much interested in plants and gardening at all when I was young. My mother was an avid flower gardener. She grew geraniums, coleus, lilacs, and tulips, just to name a few. I mean they were sort of pretty, but not very interesting. I was more interested in running around in the woods, climbing trees, making forts, and swinging on grape vines. Gardening?? Boring!! But I did love to see the False Lily of the Valley, and the pink Lady Slippers blooming in the spring in the woods along the path I walked to school. I loved to see the cattails waving in the breeze as I tried to catch polliwogs in the pond up the street from my house. I loved to see the masses of jewelweed in the summer in wet areas around the brook at my grandmother's house. I loved to write messages of the bark of paper birches. And I loved the smell of wild grapes ripening on the vines in late summer and early fall. Guess what, all those plants are native plants!
So what is a native plant? Mark Richardson and Dan Jaffe, in their book, Native Plants for New England Gardens write, "For simplicity's sake, we define native as dating back to European settlement. In other words, if a plant was in an area at the time the first European settlers arrived, it is considered native." Doug Tallamy and Rick Darke in their Book The Living Landscape add to this definition the concepts of evolution and interdependence. They say that what is native in any given place today wasn't native if we look back far enough in time, and it is certain that what will be native in that same place in the future will be different from what is native now. In other words, plants evolve and their relationships within their environment change.
So why is all this important? Why are native plants important? Remember what Kathryn Hanratty said in our second reading, "Native organisms including plants, mammals, birds, amphibians, and insects create an intricate web of life. This is a wonderful natural orchestration with each species’ life cycle highly dependent on the others." Did you hear that? Each species’ life cycle is highly dependent on the others. Not merely dependent but highly dependent! EcoAddendum, an ecology organization based in the Southeast U.S. puts it this way, "Trees depend on fungi for sustenance. Plants depend on insects and other animals to pollinate their flowers and spread seeds. Insects depend on plants for food and reproduction. Birds depend on the insects for food. And mammals, birds, reptiles and other animals depend on trees and plants for shelter and food. Some of these relationships have been refined for such a long time that they are very specific–and fragile. For instance, many insects can only eat one particular species of plant or tree." Imagine if we could only eat one particular plant! The caterpillars of the Monarch Butterfly live that way. They can only eat milkweed plants. It is certainly good to raise Monarch butterflies in schools, but once they are released and lay their eggs in the wild, if there are no milkweed plants for the caterpillars to eat, they will die. By now I hope all of you understand why native plants are important in nature. But some of you may be wondering if any of this is important specifically to you. The Native Plant Trust, formerly know as the New England Wildflower Society, puts it simply in three words. "Oxygen. Food. Habitat." They go on to say, "These three words compose a short list of the essential conditions for life that plants provide to all organisms on Earth, including humans. Plants also regulate the climate and clean the water. But nothing on the planet can live without these three. Oxygen. Food. Habitat. Native plants are the cornerstone of Earth’s ecosystems and the base of the food chain that leads to our dinner tables." We are part of nature. There is no us on one side and nature on the other. We are all part of a whole. There is no "the planet" on one side and us on the other. We are all part of the whole. We are plants and animals and rocks and minerals and water and air and humans. We are the planet. Instead of saying, "Save the Planet!" we might say, Save Us! And it all starts with the native plants.
But native plants are in peril. They are besieged by human expansion, invasive species, and climate change to name just a few.
In the State of New England's Native Plants, published in 2015, Elizabeth Farnsworth writes, "The coast, bays, and major rivers are highly developed, and all but the most remote areas are crisscrossed with roads, fragmented by clearings, and dotted with structures. For the first time in 200 years, every state in New England is losing forest. . . " Let me repeat that. For the first time in 200 years, every state in New England is losing forest. And what is replacing the native forests? In addition to the obvious asphalt, concrete and buildings; our native plants are being replaced by non-native lawn grasses and other non-native plants. "But what about Kentucky Blue Grass?" you may ask. Sorry, it is not native anywhere on this whole continent. It is native to Europe. But what about the dandelion? It is everywhere, it must be native. Nope. It is native to Eurasia. I fact, over 70% of the plants in our urban and suburban yards and parks are nonnative species according to EcoAddendum. What do you typically see in yards around here? Forsythias, lilacs and common yews planted around lawns. None of that is native. My husband Norm and I visited Alaska several years ago. On a drive around Anchorage we saw forsythias, lilacs and common yews planted around lawns, none of which is native there either. The problem is all over.
On top of human expansion, native plants are besieged by invasive plant expansion. According to the Native Plant Trust, "In New England, non-native plant species make up more than a third of our flora, and 10 percent of these qualify as invasive." How do invasive species do so much harm? Invasive plants grow and reproduce faster than native species in the same growing conditions. In addition, there are not the predators, diseases, and other plants here to keep them in check like in their native environments. So they can monopolize the light, water, and other nutrients that our native plants need. I might add that they are hard to get rid of once they get a stronghold. Many years ago Norm's grandmother planted Japanese Knot weed in a couple of places at her cottage in Wales, MA. No one knew then that it could become invasive. Norm and I have been trying to get rid of it for over 10 years now and it is still thriving.
Added to all these threats is climate change, which is already affecting plant communities. According to the Native Plant Trust, early flowering, increases in pathogens and pests, and up-slope movement of trees and shrubs in the mountains are all evidence of a warming climate. The 2014 National Climate Assessment estimates that if trends continue, Vermont may have the climate of Connecticut by 2039 and of North Carolina by 2070. Most native plants that do well in our current climate cannot evolve or move further north fast enough to survive. They will die unless we act.
These threats of human expansion, invasive species, and climate change are why I speak for the native plants.
At this point you may be wondering what you can do to help the native plants. Or you may have fallen asleep. If so, WAKE UP! This part is important. Here are five suggestions of what you can do, adapted from those that the Native Plant Trust lists . There are more on their website, nativeplanttrust.org.
1. Plant native species in your garden, to replace part of your lawn, and even on the roof of your shed
2. Advocate for native plants in your town’s public spaces, and for protection on the state and federal level
3. Join a local group working to control invasive plants
4. Learn more by taking classes with the Native Plant Trust, some of which are online, or at Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary in Wales, MA
5. Volunteer with your local land trust or conservation group
Simplified, the suggestions are: plant, advocate, join, learn, and/or volunteer. What do I do? I am a horticulture volunteer at Garden in the Woods in Framingham, which is a large native plant garden, I take classes and read about native plants, I pull out the invasive plants in my yard and I plant native plants. Do I have non-native plants in my yard? Definitely. I have forsythias, lilacs and common yews planted around my lawn. For me it is a matter of proportion. I'm trying to have more native plants than non-native ones. There are many beautiful native trees, shrubs, flowers, grasses and ferns that work in gardens or to replace part of a lawn. For example, Lindens and Tiarellas and Bearberries. The American Linden or Basswood is a tall shade tree. It has wonderfully fragrant flowers in the spring that bees love. There are some people who say that honey that bees make from American Linden trees is the best in the world. The kind of Tiarella that is called Running Foamflower is a great groundcover for shady areas. It has white spiky flowers in the spring and interesting leaves. Bearberry is a great groundcover for sunny areas. It has evergreen leaves and red berries in the fall and winter that feed the wildlife. It must be planted in well drained soil. There are many books and websites with great photos and information about native plants out there. Check them out!
One of the things I do for our planet is to plant seeds of hope for native plants. But what if plants just aren't your thing? Or what if any plant you come near dies within hours? What if no seed you plant ever comes up? There is more than one way to plant a seed. You can plant seeds of community by putting on community dinners. You can plant seeds of acceptance by hosting LGBTQ coffeehouses. You can plant seeds of change by advocating for marginalized peoples. You can plant seeds of exaltation by making music or art or dance. You can plant seeds of joy by making people laugh. You can plant seeds of honor by listening, really listening to people. You can plant seeds of conscience by doing what you feel is right, even if you are alone in your actions. You can plant seeds of . . . well, you fill in the blank. And we need to keep planting. Not all of our seeds will come up. We will see some results of our actions after a short while. We will see some results later. Some results will finally happen long after we are gone. I hope some of you will plant native plants or seeds. But whatever you do, trust the seeds of your actions. Trust the seeds. Trust the seeds. Trust the seeds.
Amen and Blessed Be.