Rokeby Meadow Restoration: Then and Now

November 21, 2024OSGF

In December of 2023, the Biodiversity Conservation Team cleared and seeded two acres of land on Rokeby Farm. This was part of an ongoing project to restore portions of the pasturelands of Oak Spring to native grassland meadows. After clearing, a seed mixture of native perennials, annuals and grasses were sown. The typical period of establishment is two to three years but in just one season there’s already been signs of success— from the initial seed mix of 20-25 species, 18 were recorded!

Click through the photos below to see the progress of the meadow over time in its first year of growth.

Starting from scratch

Early Spring

Summer transitioning to Fall

Throughout the season, Biodiversity Conservation intern, Sarah Krementz helped to conduct vegetation surveys to understand what species were present in the meadow.

All photos by our Head of Biodiversity Conservation, Charlotte Lorick.

categories Biodiversity
tags Biodiversity, biodiversityconservationteam, native plants, meadow, plants

Hiding in Plain Sight: Exciting Plants Found at Oak Spring

October 11, 2024OSGF

Cypress-knee sedge (Carex decomposita) and false hop sedge (Carex lupuliformis) are two incredibly rare species in the state, with the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) listing them as at highest risk of being extirpated. This was the product of our Biodiversity Conservation team's ongoing efforts to compile a comprehensive snapshot of the species diversity on the property.

Read on to learn more about the plants and communities previously unknown since the formation of Oak Spring.

tags Biodiversity, Conservation, plants, PlantStories, biodiversityconservationteam, carex, sedge

Inviting in Nature: The Rokeby Habitat Garden

August 28, 2023OSGF

Summer is a time that’s bursting with activity. The landscape is full of soaring butterflies, buzzing bees, and a host of birds and other critters. In this guest blog post, written by our Biodiversity Conservation Manager, learn about the creation of the Rokeby Wildlife Garden, which supports Oak Spring’s flora and fauna, and get a few tips on how to start your own wildlife garden.

categories Garden, Biodiversity
tags native plants, plants, wild, gardens, garden, wildlifegarden, Biodiversity

Nature's Thieves

August 16, 2023OSGF

As we enter into late summer, the landscape and gardens of Oak Spring are lush and green. There are a few exceptions emerging right now however that defy all our assumptions of what a typical plant looks like. These opportunists are dependent on other plants (or in some cases mushrooms) to get their nutrients and thus don’t produce chlorophyll. In our latest blog, read about some weird and fascinating parasitic plants that thwart conventions in order to survive.

categories Biodiversity
tags plants, PlantStories, Nature, native plants, natural history, Biodiversity

Unsung Pollinators

June 15, 2023OSGF

When someone says the word pollinator, what first comes to mind? You may think of a European honeybee, butterfly or hummingbird. To kick off National Pollinator Week, learn about a few of the unsung pollinators of the world and hear from our Ecologist and Collections Specialist, Dr. Rea Manderino on their importance.

categories Biodiversity
tags pollinators, insects, Biodiversity, garden

A Wildlife Garden for all Seasons

February 28, 2023OSGF

Our landscapes and gardens are integral to humans, offering up an immediate opportunity for us to connect with nature. Increasingly, we are incorporating more native, local flora in our designs and plantings at OSGF, which creates better habitats for insects, wildlife and more. Read to learn more about the process of creating the Rokeby Wildlife Garden (which will be the first of many) and a few of the species that were planted.

tags Biodiversity, biodiversityconservationteam, native plants, wintergarden, rokebywildlifegarden, wildlife, wildlifegarden, scarlet beebalm, butterfly milkweed

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