by Rebecca Marquardt, Revery
June 26, 2025 — Successful planting party at Marywood! Despite heat and humidity a group of motivated gardeners installed some beautiful and healthy native plants.
Sisters, neighbors, my own personal gardening buddies, and new friends of Mary’s Woods, Prairie & Gardens got to know one another and learn about which native plants are getting incorporated in this habitat garden beneath a beautiful Swamp White Oak.
“Soft Landing(s)” #heatherholm#softlandings is a clever name that author and educator Heather Holms coined to describe this kind of planting.
The oak attracts hundreds of different moths and butterflies who lay eggs on the leathery oak leaves so their babies (caterpillars) can eat to their hearts content. While some of those caterpillars (cats! @growwise) get eaten by birds who need to feed their young ones– hundreds/thousands of them — many caterpillars remain and must seek shelter beneath the canopy of the oak as part of their lifecycle.
Having a dense planting at the base of the tree, using a variety of groundcovers like sedges and wildflowers, which create a refuge for the caterpillars to begin their journey towards becoming a moth or butterfly in the safety of the foliage. Oftentimes that means overwintering there, this is crux of why we advocate for keeping last years planting up until night time temperatures in spring reach 50 degrees consistently. Too soon, and we jeopardize these (and many other) important creatures.
Rebecca Marquardt is the owner of Revery, a landscape architecture studio specialized in designing regenerative landscapes that are based on natural ecologies and green infrastructure. She is manager of master planning and implementation for the Mary’s Woods, Prairie, & Gardens at Marywood initiative.
Coming Soon
BioBlitz Event July 24 at Marywood in Grand Rapids, Michigan
Calling nature curious plant, bug, and bird watchers! We are seeking volunteers to help document plants and continue monitoring the effects of this growing ecological habitat on invertebrates, birds, and fungi. Join us at Marywood Prairie and explore the many species living in and visiting the prairie. In addition to documenting plants, we’d like to see the effects of this growing habitat on invertebrates, birds, and fungi. Participants will log observations using the iNaturalist app and join the Marywood Prairie July 2025 BioBlitz Project. Register to participate.
The story of regenerating soil health in this location is so worth telling. I’ll try and do soon, but one aspect of it is this: the bindweed that took 4-5 hrs to “properly” remove so we could plant here yesterday, actually contributed to loosening a once extraordinarily compacted and lifeless soil. Weeds and pioneer plant species like clover have purpose, and can add value to the soil…observe nature first, then try to ride the wave it presents us.
#nativeplants provided by: @bendystemfarm and @_designs.by.nature_
