Eradicating English Ivy

Many people plant English ivy (Hedera helix) in their yard thinking that it's a nice, easy-to-maintain, evergreen ground cover, or will help stabilize steep slopes (it won't). They're correct that it's low maintenance and green year round, and that's part of the problem. The plant, which is native to western Asia, north Africa, and parts of Europe has found a very comfortable home in the eastern US, and spreads aggressively, shading out native seedlings and strangling mature trees, as in the picture below:


This is the perfect time of year to begin an eradication plan. English ivy can be removed mechanically (i.e. by hand) fairly easily as the tendrils are shallow-rooted and will come up in clumps if yanked. If you have ivy climbing trees, as in the photo above, girdle each of the vines around the circumference of the tree. By the spring or summer, the vines should be dead and will be much easier to remove.

Like any invasive control effort, if the plant is established in your yard, it may take two or three rounds to get it removed completely, but once you do, you will have made a much more hospitable environment for native plants and done an important part in cleaning up our region.

Recycling Your Tree

Wondering what to do with your pine tree now that Christmas has passed. If you didn't buy a live tree, which can be planted in the yard (and shouldn't spend more than a week indoors), strip the ornaments and tinsel and consider one of these options.

• Sinking it in a local waterway, or off your pier, if you have one, to serve as a habitat for subaquatic life. Fish love to gather in the branches, and use the structure of the tree for protection from predators, and the tree breaks down fairly quickly. [A reader makes a good point about this option, take special care that any submerged trees are not a hazard to navigation. And, actually, the choices below are probably far superior environmental options, for a variety of reasons.]
  
  
• Place it in your yard, near a treeline or wooded area, if you have one. It can serve roughly the same purpose for birds and small mammals that the submerged tree does for fish. It can provide protection, and a place for creatures to make nests for the winter.
  
  
• Chip or shred the tree and use it for mulch or in the compost pile in your own yard. Certain plants, such as azaleas, magnolias, and laurel like the acidity of soil created by amending it with pine needles.
  
  
• Leave it out for the County to compost. Trees must be free of all ornamentation and tree bags. Only natural trees will be collected and trees over 4 feet tall must be cut in half.
  

The Natives are Resting (but not for long)

A glance at the surrounding landscape can still be pretty bleak this time of year. Except for the evergreens, most of the trees and plants are stripped down to their bark, and are various shades of brown and gray. Not for long though. Spring is less than a week away, and in a few particularly sunny areas, bulbs have already begun peeking up through the ground.

If you have an expansive garden or planting containers or even just some greenery on your windowsill, you might be contemplating what you're going to add to them this spring, summer, and fall.

Let me make the case for native plants. Native plants are plants that are indigenous to this region, and that have evolved here over thousands of years. As such, they are particularly well suited to the climate. They tend to be more drought resistant, so they can be watered less (good for your aquifer and reducing your water bill). They tend to be more resistent to pests, since they've evolved alongside the insects, fungi, and bacteria of the area, so you can use little (or no) pesticides on them. Good for the Bay, and good for native beneficial insects, like ladybugs. Natives also provide much needed habitat for local insects, birds, and wildlife. Take for example one extreme case. Did you realize that white turtlehead (Chelone glabra) is the only host for the Baltimore checkerspot butterfly (the Maryland State Insect)?

Great resources for native plants include the Maryland Native Plant Society and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services' "Native Plants for Wildlife Habitat and Conservation Landscaping [pdf].

Plants to stay away from include invasives such as: tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima), multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora), bush honeysuckles (Lonicera spp.), kudzu (Pueraria lobata), Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), English ivy (Hedera helix), and vinca, periwinkle (Vinca minor). A full listing is available at the link.

Returning the Rain

One of the foremost goals of this site, in addition to providing commentary on local goings on, is to try to educate people, particularly those living in Anne Arundel County and the Chesapeake region, in ways that we can act individually (and collectively) to help preserve our natural environment. As most of us know, one of the most persistent sources of pollution and sedimentation in the Bay and its estuaries is runoff from residential, commercial, and agricultural properties. It is said that, during the period prior to European colonization, when the Bay watershed was largely forested, there was almost no "runoff". Significant amounts of rainwater were absorbed by the forest canopy, and the rain that wasn't, soaked into the humus-rich forest floor, and eventually into the groundwater.

Any casual glance around Chesapeake country makes it clear that we won't be going back to the days of full forest cover any time soon, but there are steps we can take to try, at least partially, to mimic that hydrological flow once again. The first step is to reject the conventional wisdom of subdivision engineering, which was, effectively: "Convey rainwater off a site as quickly as possible, through either pipes or swales into the nearest body of water." Evidence of this dumb design is all around. Only very recently has engineering practice begun to change what was so obviously an unsustainable method of dealing with stormwater.

Now, homeowners, businesses, and farmers, are being asked to try to deal with their stormwater on site, which makes sense both environmentally and philosophically. Why should we let individual stormwater mis-management create a tragedy of the commons? As has been mentioned in previous columns, rain gardens at the bottom of downspouts are a great way both to keep a bed of native plants well watered and to help infiltrate water into the ground. Rain barrels, each of which can hold 50 gallons or more are often a good addition as well. And, if you have a driveway which needs to be replaced, consider permeable paving, which can include: Reinforced gravel paving, reinforced grass paving, interlocking concrete blocks or plastic cell networks filled with gravel or soil and grass, pervious asphalt, or pervious concrete.

Take Out the Paper and the Trash

According to the Baltimore Sun, residents of Anne Arundel County are due for approximately a $110 per year increase in services (i.e., water, sewer, and trash (and recycling)). The increase is required because rates haven't been raised for some time (the trash fees were last raised 9 years ago), which seems reasonable enough. But, perhaps we could use this as an opportunity to reflect on the services that the County provides and how they might be improved.

Some jurisdictions, offer twice weekly recycling, with once a week garbage pick-up to further incentivize residents to recycle . Other areas have a "pay-as-you-throw" garbage system, where those who produce more waste are charged for the additional refuse, encouraging recycling, composting, and generally reducing the amount of material going into the waste stream.

Concerned about your water bill? One easy way to cut down on watering costs during the warmer months is to install rain barrels. Rain barrels help reduce stormwater runoff, and can store up to 55 gallons per barrel for use on your garden, houseplants, or even for washing your car.

Believe it or not, there's even a way to cut down on your sewer costs. Install a composting toilet, like the Chesapeake Bay Foundation has. You'll not only stop flushing potable water down the drain, you'll be dramatically reducing the amount of nitrogen your home is putting into the Bay.