ORTONVILLE’S
NATIVE
LANDSCAPES
CONTENTS
Introduction 3
History 3
Ortonville’s Native Landscapes: Summary 3
ONPI Partners 4
Community Support 5
In-Kind Contributions 5
Volunteers 5
Ortonville’s Native Landscapes in Detail 6
2001 Gardem near back steps at the Old Mill 6
2006 Stream Buffer at
the Old Mill by Kearsley Creek 7
Description 7
Leopold Bench 8
Design &
Plant List 9
& 9.1
2006 VFW Park 10
Description 10
Design &
Plant List 11
& 11.1
Description 12
Historical
Component 13
Appearance 13
Wildlife
Component 13
Design &
Plant List 14
& 14.1
Benefits of Native Landscapes 15
Maintenance 15
Water Protection 15
Root Picture 16
Benefits to Wildlife 16
Benefits to the Gardener 16
Maintenance and Stewardship 16
Cues To Care 18
At Planting 18
Once Established
(Stewardship) 18
Fall-Winter Care 18
Early Spring 17
Summer 17
Ortonville’s Native Landscape Team 18
Resources 19
Springfield Township Native Vegetation
Enhancement Project 19
Websites on Native
Plants 19
Michigan
Native Plant Producers Association:
Member List 20
A copy of this publication can be
downloaded at www.ortonvilledda.com
INTRODUCTION
History
When Amos Orton arrived here with his team of
oxen in 1848, he found a beautiful creek and an abundance of wildlife. The wildlife was here because of the plant
communities that had evolved with them here over many centuries. The ancestors of these plants, native to this
area, were here before Europeans settled the North American Continent. They not only help sustain wildlife, native
landscapes also play an important role in maintaining water quality by
filtering pollutants, stabilizing the soil, and helping to recharge groundwater
and aquifers. (See “Benefits”, p. 15.)
While Brandon Township still has some
fragmented wildlife habitat, a great deal of it has been lost to development
since Amos Orton’s day, in most years averaging around 100 new housing starts a
year. Many native plants once common to
our area have disappeared entirely, weakening the ecological web of
interdepen-dence. As more and more of
Brandon Township is developed, the plant com-munities required by our birds,
frogs, salamanders, mammals, fish, insects, snakes, turtles, and other invertebrates
are slowly disappearing. To help offset this trend, many property owners are
incorporating native plant communities in their home and business landscapes.
The Native Landscape Demonstrations in Downtown Ortonville are intended to show
property owners how they can do this on their own property.
Ortonville’s
Native Landscapes: Summary
Ortonville has four native landscapes. The first one, established by Becky Gilpin
and Bonnie Kerin in 2001 near the steps in the back of the Old Mill, is composed
mostly of native plants, graced by an antique whet-grinder and scoop-loader.
In 2006, the Village of Ortonville, through the Ortonville
Downtown Development Authority’s Main Street Program, received a grant from the
Oakland Native Partnership Initiative (ONPI*), with matching funds from the
Oakland County Farm Bureau, to establish two native landscape demonstrations in
Downtown Ortonville.
Augmented by in-kind donations and the efforts of
volunteers, two Native Landscape demonstrations were installed: One, a large stream buffer on Kearsley Creek,
behind the Old Mill; the other, a small planting to frame the marker in the VFW
Park on Mill
Street, near South Street,
described in detail on Pages 10 and 11.
In 2007, another grant was received from ONPI, with matching
funds from the Oakland County Farm Bureau and the Clarkston/Brandon Community
Credit Union, to install Heritage Garden, a third native landscape
demonstration, at the corner of Mill and Church Streets, next to the Old
Township Hall. (See pp. 12-14.)
*ONPI
Partners: North Oakland Headwaters Land Conservancy, Oakland County
Planning and Economic Development Services, Clinton River Watershed Council,
Friends of the Rouge, Oakland Wild Ones, Oakland Land Conservancy, Oakland
County Drain Commission
Ortonville’s
Native Landscapes in Detail
2001
Garden Near Steps at Back of Old Mill
Description
This garden established in 2001 by members of the Historical
Society, is dominated by a fine specimen of Joe-Pye Weed, (Eupatorium
maculatum). Other natives in this
planting are dogwood, purple coneflowers, bee balm, wild columbine, and wild
strawberry. The garden also has some
non-native iris, hostas and phlox, and stands as an example of how natives can
be combined with cultivars in a home landscape.
A small, hand-painted rock announces the native plants found in this
planting, and an antique whet-grinder and scoop loader complete the picture.
2006
Stream Buffer on Kearsley
Creek Behind the Old Mill
Description
The buffer is designed to be both pleasing to
the eye and functional. Streamside
buffers such as this are essential to the health of the Creek, a designated
trout stream and headwaters to the Flint River. They help prevent soil erosion,
filter pollutants, and capture sediments before they enter the stream. The demonstration buffer is large: 25’
X 140’, following the principle that the larger a
stream-buffer, the better. The rule of
thumb, that a stream buffer should be as wide as the tallest tree is tall works
well in most cases.
In this case, other community concerns were
taken into consideration. Because the
open area behind the Old Mill is often used for community events such as CreekFest, the buffer is designed to leave as much open space as possible and
still be wide enough to function well as a buffer. In response to concerns from some Historical
Society members that they might no longer have access to the Creek, or that
their visual view of the Creek might be blocked, the buffer was redesigned in
incorporate a pathway down to the Creek, with a smaller garden with low-growing
plants at the top of the path. A sandbar
that has mostly grown over was replanted with water-loving plants, while the
remainder of the buffer was planted with a diverse selection of forbs (wildflowers),
sedges. ferns, and low shrubs. (See buffer design, pp. 14 & 14.1.)
The diversity of native plant communities
found in the buffer will, over time, offer food, nesting places, and cover for
many kinds of wildlife.
Homeowners who have lakefront or a stream on
their property can create a pretty effective buffer by simply leaving an area
next to the lakefront or stream unmowed.
Those who wish to create a native landscape buffer such as this one will
want to attend workshops on the subject and study the many resources that are
available (See Resources, pp. 21
& 22.)
Throughout the summer, fresh flower
arrangements are made from cuttings from the buffer, for the Grist Mill Coffee
House. The buffer is maintained by the
Ortonville Native Landscape Team, (see p. 20).
Four rustic benches built by the Ortonville
Woodworkers complete the project. The
design for these benches was created in the 1920’s by Aldo Leopold, the
grandfather of America’s conservation movement, so that people would be invited to sit and
enjoy the wonders of nature. The seating
comfort of these benches belies their simple construction. A Leopold Bench is the hallmark of a native
landscape. Three additional Leopold
benches can be found in Heritage Garden, next to the Old Township Hall,
at the east end of the Village of Ortonville.
ALDO LEOPOLD BENCH
To
spy a Leopold bench in someone's yard is to know something about the family who
there resides. Even if you haven't read Leopold's opening lines, "There
are some who can live without wild things, and some who cannot. These essays are the
delights and dilemmas of one who cannot," from A Sand County Almanac,
you will appreciate this easy-to-build bench. If left untreated, this stable
bench develops a characteristic gray patina, however, putting some preservative
where bench meets ground will prolong its life. Its form, resting alone under a
tree or in congregation around a firepot, reminds us of Leopold's
thoughtfulness: (From Wild Ones website: www.for-wild.org)
Plants
installed at buffer site 2006
|
Buffer
|
Common
name
|
|
|
Upland
|
|
|
|
Adiantum
pedatum
|
Maidenhair
fern
|
|
|
Allium
cernuum
|
Nodding
Wild Onion
|
|
|
Aquilegia
canadensis
|
columbine
|
|
|
Aralia
racemosa
|
Spikenard
|
|
|
Asclepius
tuberosa
|
Butterfly
weed
|
|
|
Carex
pennsylvanica
|
Pennsylvania sedge
|
|
|
Cimicifuga
racemosa
|
Black
Snakeroot or black cohosh
|
|
Echinacea
purpurea
|
purple
coneflower
|
|
|
Fragaria
|
Wild
Strawberry
|
|
|
Geranium
maculatum
|
Wild
geranium
|
|
|
Heuchera
americana
|
Alum
root
|
|
|
Liatris
aspera
|
Rough
blazingstar
|
|
|
Matteuccia
struthiopteris
|
Ostrich
Fern
|
|
|
Monarda
fistulosa
|
Bee
balm
|
|
|
Penstemon
digitalis
|
Foxglove
penstemon
|
|
|
Rudbeckia
hirta
|
Black-eyed
susan
|
|
|
Schizachyrium
scoparius
|
Little
Blue Stem
|
|
|
Solidago
rigida`
|
Stiff
Goldenrod
|
|
|
Sporbolus
heterolepis
|
Prairie
Drop Seed
|
|
|
Tradescantia
ohiensis
|
Ohio Spiderwort
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wetland
|
Common
name
|
|
|
Asclepias
incarnata
|
Swamp
milkweed
|
|
|
Carex
muskingumensis
|
Palm
sedge
|
|
|
Carex
stricta.
|
Tussock
sedge
|
|
|
Eupatorium
maculatum
|
Joe
Pye Weed
|
|
|
Eupatorium
perfoliatum
|
Boneset
|
|
|
Hystrix
patula
|
Bottle
brush grass
|
|
|
Lobelia
cardinalis
|
Cardinal
flower
|
|
|
Lobelia
siphilitica
|
Great
Blue Lobelia
|
|
|
Senecio
aureus
|
Golden
ragwort
|
|
|
Veronicastrum
virginicum
|
Culver's
root
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Shrubs & Trees
|
Common
name
|
|
|
Ceanothus
americanus
|
New Jersey Tea
|
|
|
Cephalanthus
occidentalis
|
Button
Bush
|
|
|
Cercis
canadensis
|
Red
Bud
|
|
|
Cornus
alternafolia
|
Alternate
leaf dogwood
|
|
Cornus
racemosa
|
Grey
dogwood
|
|
|
Cornus
stolonifera
|
Red-osier
dogwood
|
|
|
Potentilla
fruticosa
|
Shrubby
Cinquefoil
|
|
|
Viburnum
trilobum
|
Highbush
cranberry
|
|
|
Viburnum
lentago
|
Nannyberry
|
|
2006
VFW Park
Description
In 2006, Celia Ryker and Susan Bork installed a small native
planting in the VFW Park
just east of Fountain Park
at the corner of Mill and South Streets. The planting is designed to frame and
feature the VFW markers there.
|
Plants installed at VFW site
2006
|
|
VFW site
|
Common
name
|
|
|
|
Campanula
americana
|
bellflower
|
|
|
|
Carex
stricta
|
Tussock
sedge
|
|
|
|
Chelone
glabra
|
Turtlehead
|
|
|
|
Elymus
canadensis
|
Canada Wild Rye
|
(disappeared)
|
|
|
Verbena
hastata
|
Blue
vervain
|
|
|
|
Veronicastrum
virginicum
|
Culver's
root
|
|
|
|
2007
Heritage Garden
Description
Heritage
Garden is at the Corner
of Church and Mill Street,
just east of and adjacent to the historic Old Township Hall. The site enjoys considerable visibility, both
to pedestrians who come to the Old Township Hall for town meetings and musical
performances, and to car traffic that is routed through this Church/Mill
intersection whenever there is a major event in town. The town’s Christmas tree, a 14’ tall balsam
fir, grows in the middle of the courtyard area.
The tree is decorated and lighted during Christmas In the Village, in
a special ceremony and carol-sing.
Activities relating to other events such as CreekFest and Septemberfest are located
here, and the Ortonville Community Historical Society has occasionally staged a
civil war encampment on the site.
The native landscape demonstration garden occupies the
site’s corners, with larger gardens next to the Old Township Hall and in the
southeast corner, leaving a paved open courtyard surrounding the Christmas tree
for festivals and activities, and setting the fir tree off as a focal point.
Two intersecting brick-paved walkways invite foot-traffic, one connecting a
small parking lot in the rear of the property with Mill
Street, the other, providing Intriguing vistas
into the garden from Church Street. Three Leopold benches clustered at the
walkways’ intersection provide convenient resting and conversation places. The brick-paved courtyard lends itself well
to small gatherings.
Historical Component
The garden is designed to be in keeping with the late
1800’s, when the beautiful historic Old Township Hall was built. It honors both our cultural heritage and our
natural heritage. Its geometric shapes
are typical of what could be found in urban landscapes of the period, as
indicated by historical research.
Instead of the herbs and English cultivars that might have been found in
such a garden, native plants, (see page 14), also indigenous to the period, have been planted
there, to show how native plant communities can be used in a formal
setting.
Appearance
The native forbs, trees, and grasses have been
chosen because they are well mannered, colorful, and pleasing to the eye. The
birds and butterflies that are attracted to these plants add a further, lively
dimension to the look and feel of Heritage Garden. The trees
are chosen for their architectural qualities, to frame special parts of the
design. Low border hedges of 2’ tall
native carex (sedge) define the garden edges.
This serves to contain the gardens and keep people from trampling
them. Sections of wrought iron fencing,
in keeping with the period, outline the corners and protect them from foot
traffic.
