By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Rows and rows of plants are peeking out of their starter pots in the greenhouses at Wood County Park District’s Reuthinger Preserve.
There are the popular prairie coneflowers, giant sunflowers, lupines and wild columbine. There are the less known “sneezeweed,” ironweed and cardinal flowers. And of course, the common milkweed and butterfly weed.
“They all have ‘weed’ in their name, which is unfortunate since people don’t like weeds,” said Justin Siler, woodland specialist with the park district. “They are critical flowers.”
To help stock the garden at the park district’s Historic Carter Farm, rows of tomatoes, onions and cabbages are also taking root.
That means plenty of sauerkraut for canning this fall, said Corinne Gordon, historic farm specialist at Carter Farm.
But what makes the greenhouses special is that they only grow plants native to this area, according to Sanja Jennings, who recently gave the Wood County Park District Board a tour of the native seed nursery.
Seeds are collected from the park district’s 20 parks in order to protect the plant species dispersed throughout the county. The seeds are cleaned and then refrigerated to mimic winter conditions.
The greenhouse accommodations were all built in-house, Jennings said, crediting Wood County Park District Director Chris Smalley for the focus on preservation of rare native plants.
“This is his vision,” she said of Smalley.
Each year, between 30,000 and 35,000 plants take root in the greenhouses. There are raised beds for sandy soil plants, and lower beds for clay soil plants. Volunteers are enlisted to help with the growing seedlings.
“It’s a pretty cool thing that we do,” said Zeb Albert, the park district’s stewardship director.
One greenhouse has 20 woodland species of trees and shrubs – “rare species from our parks,” like sumac and silky dogwood, Siler said. “They take a long time to grow.”
In addition to replenishing parks in the district, the seeds are also shared with other parks and native plant groups, Jennings said.
And they are sold to the public during the park district’s Native Plant Sale, which this year will feature 102 plant species.
The plant sale is scheduled for May 13, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Wood County Fairgrounds Champion Building, 13800 W. Poe Road, Bowling Green. A pre-sale is held for Friends of the Wood County Parks members on May 12, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
