Meadow design details and considerations

Throughout the space, local craftsmen have made their mark using natural and local materials, with the idea of using art to recall a sense of place. An example of this is the stone wall which marks an original boundary between Quaker lands. The original local stone has been expertly dry laid with cement hidden only in the top coarse to secure it from visitors. Adjacent to the wall are some of the oldest trees on the property, and the path allows close proximity to these without compromising compaction of the root plates. The branches span overhead to provide a tunnel like effect flanking the meadow edge.

The entrance from the gardens had to be carefully considered to provide a seamless transition from the enclosed feeling of the woodland into the open space of the meadow. A boardwalk leads through the woodland, as gradually reduced heights of smaller form forest edge trees such as Cornus florida and Prunus sp. gently instil a feeling of openness. The trees then reduce in density to where smaller shrubs such as Fothergilla major and forest edge trees such as Cercis canandensis lead the eye into the expanse of the meadow. Along route are a number of native perennials to provide ground cover and year round interest, such as Asters, Geranium, Arisema, Erigeron and Matteuccia struthiopteris. A big part of the management here is maintaining this delicate plant balance within a transitional zone, which naturally strives to follow a succession pathway.

The boardwalks are all ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessible, and stylishly made from cedar. A further path made from DG (decomposed granite) allows a continuation of ADA access right down towards hour glass lake, which allows those with disabilities or mobility vehicles to appreciate the full vista of the meadow. For those wanting to walk further, there are 3.5 miles of marked trails around the meadow, and at the far end is Webb’s barn, which has a fantastic interpretative display covering history and ecology over the 4 seasons, as well as comfort facilities. 

The routes are punctuated with points on interest, pavilion’s and benches. The pavilion’s are consistent in style to the joinery work of the boardwalk and bridges. The curves of the supporting beams are echoed in the bridge and pavilion’s which was a particularly pleasing detail. Even the curve of the bridge rails was fine tuned by planning and routing adjoining timbers to remove any angular joints.  The boardwalk itself leading into the meadow is also raised up which gives an excellent perspective to look into the space.

Different interpretive themes are found in each of the pavilions, and at spaced out points along the trails. These include birds at hawk point, pollinators at pollinator pavilion, meadow and forest edge ecology.

The interpretation was put together using 6 sub themes:

·      History- describing the history of the landscape

·      Heritage- the heritage of Longwood keeping spaces open to the public

·      Stewardship- how the land is managed

·      Beauty- native ecosystem aesthetics, and how a greater understanding provides more beauty to the viewer, and consequently more protection.

·      Variety- constant changes throughout the day and seasons, the landscape being transitional

·      Inspirational- catering for artists, botanists, ecologists, writers, photographers etc.

Another interesting point is the use of ‘heads up’ mapping on the maps- this method orientates the viewer with the direction they are looking rather than pointing north, as on traditional maps, which is in line with the increased use of satellite navigation and handheld devices. The maps also sit on attractive corten steel plinths, which can be pulled up from a sleeve and moved when burning is carried out.

Meadow planting and composition

There are 400 or so species of plants present in the meadow, and the differing topography, aspect and underlying strata allows for a variety of plant communities throughout.  The northern facing areas are generally colder and retain more moisture, the south facing drier, with an area of thin soil and rock and the valley bottom is much wetter.

Prior to the meadow opening around 150,000 plug plants were planted to establish a good diversity of flora.

A technique also used here for establishment of new plugs is to plant a cover crop of annual oats, which outcompetes with the weeds. The seed heads are then strimmed back around May to stop self-seeding and the perennials then flourish.

Lonicera sempervirens ‘Major wheeler’, climbing up the pavilion is excellent food for hummingbirds.

I spent the day with a group of volunteers who survey the flora of the meadow every week, to record what is in flower at that time. It was fun to help with identifying the small obscure weeds, to the larger more obvious perennials. The list of plants is found in my journal.  There will be many more to observe and learn as the growing season marches on.

I have already been told a vast amount from Colin about the species specific plant and insect interactions which are vital to the meadows ecology. Some of these have been displayed in the interpretation…there are far too many to cover briefly here!

Some of the notable plants I have learned about so far are listed below.

Plants both new and familiar

Aster oblongifolia  ‘october skies’

Amsonia hubrichtii- a popular long season grass with feathered yellow foliage, rare in the wild but also a possible problem

Baptisia australis- native

Dicentra cucullaria- ‘Dutch man’s breeches’- pollinated by the first emerging solitary queen bees, seeds are dispersed by ants.

Thermopsis villosa ‘Carolina lupin’ durable and stationary

Solidago canadensis, invasive

Lonicera sempervirens- native honeysuckle, semi evergreen

Trees

Liquidambar styriciflua- American sweet gum

Nyssa sylvatica- Black gum-blood red leaves

Pests and diseases

Deer are a huge problem here, estimated at 80 per square male throughout Longwood natural lands. An interesting method is used with deer fences- rather than having large areas enclosed off, smaller area with a maximum width of 10ft, and a height of 5ft are used, with dense planting inside. The small width  discourages the deer from jumping in and has been highly effective at excluding them. This method also results in a number small islands of vegetation and clearings, a good diversity of habitats. It would be interesting to see how well this would work back in Scotland.