1

THE DIRT
The VNLA Quarterly Newsletter
Volume 38, Issue 4
Winter Issue, 2012-2013
Landshapes - Caroline Dudek
Large Scale Residential Design
Honor Award
Jack Rossi
Jack Rossi Landscape Architecture
Large Scale Residential Design
Honor Award
Ashley Robinson
Ashley Robinson, Landscape Designer
Small Scale Residential Design
Merit Award
2012
Industry Award
Winners
Distinctive Landscaping - Tricia King
Small Scale Residential Design
Merit Award
Landshapes - Marie Limoge
Commercial Design
Merit Award
Distinctive Landscaping - Sarah Stradtner
Special Projects
Merit Award
Tree Works, Ltd.
Bill deVos
Special Projects
Merit Award
2012
Industry Award Winners
3
Inside this
Issue
presidents letter
Board of Directors 5
Green Works
Welcomes New
Members and
VCHers
6
Green Works
Industry Award
Winners 2012
8
New Member
Profile -
Northeast
Nursery, Inc.
10
News from the U 12
Pussy Willows - A
True Sign of
Spring?
15
Recommended
Plantings for
Migratory
Songbird Habitat
Management
16
Industry Calendar 18
Looking out my window I would guess that it
was late March as the temperature hovers
around 50 degrees with an almost tropical
south wind. But, as I glance up at the
calendar Im reminded that its only mid-
winter and Im hopeful that there will be
more snow to enjoy before we all dive into the
busy spring season.

Working in a seasonal industry allows time to
reflect on the past seasons successes and
failures as well as plan for the future. In our
January meeting, the Green Works board of
directors did just that. Half of the day was
spent reviewing the budget for 2013 line by
line and discussing our goals for the
upcoming year.

Having served on this board for more than
ten years through the past few decades I have
found that the discussions revolving around
the budget havent changed a whole lot. There
are always plenty of excellent ideas on how to
market the Association and provide
meaningful benefits to our membership but
we are constantly faced with the reality of our
limited finances.
While the recent dues increase has narrowed
the gap between our yearly operating
expenses and our fixed income, we still rely
almost exclusively on profits from the Flower
Show to fund all other initiatives. Our winter
and summer meetings have never been
profitable and the current board, as well as
past boards, have been committed to keeping
the cost of these meetings as low as possible
to make them affordable to all our members.

During the budget process, the board was
very conservative and formulated a budget for
the coming year that is somewhat of a worst
case scenario. It was the consensus of the
board that we would rather underestimate
our income and find ourselves in a better
place than we projected financially as the
year progresses.
We are cautiously optimistic that the Flower
Show will far exceed our expectations thus
allowing us to move forward on some new
projects as well as begin rebuilding our nest
egg.

A close review of the VNLA budget has made
it crystal clear that the key to the long-term
future and financial stability of the
Association rests significantly on growing our
membership in the coming years. The number
of members in the VNLA has remained
relatively the same over the past few years
despite significant improvements in
membership benefits.
Efforts to attract new members with
extensive mailings of letters and brochures
have not worked. It has been my experience
that the best way to attract new members is
by a personal contact by one of our existing
members.

I urge each and every one of you to make it a
priority in 2013 to invite at least one new
member to join the VNLA. If we can continue
to increase our membership we will not only
have more resources to spend on marketing
our industry, but we will cultivate new ideas
and future leaders that will continue to move
this Association in a positive direction. Sooner
or later you will get tired of hearing from me
if youre not already!

Looking forward to seeing you all at upcoming
Green Works events and at the Vermont
Flower Show. Remember to bring a friend!
VJ Comai, Green Works/VNLA/President
4
5
PRESIDENT
VJ Comai
South Forty Nursery
184 Tamarack Rd * Charlotte, VT 05445
802.425.6222 * vjcomai@gmavt.net
VICE-PRESIDENT
Ed Burke
Rocky Dale Gardens
806 Rocky Dale Road * Bristol, VT 05443
802-453-2782 * ed@rockydalegardens.com
SECRETARY/TREASURER
Claybrook Griffith
Long Leaf Landscaping, LLC
4379 Ethan Allen Hwy.
New Haven, VT 05472
802-999-4558 * claybrook.griffith@gmail.com

DIRECTORS
Nate Carr
Church Hill Landscapes, Inc.
287 Church Hill Road * Charlotte, VT 05445
802.425.5222
nate@churchhilllandscapes.com
Carrie Chalmers
Quoyburray Farm
239 Lawrence Hill Road * Weston, VT 05161
802.375.5930
carriechalmers6694@gmail.com
Ron Paquette
Paquette Full of Posies Nursery
10236 Williston Road * Williston, VT 05495
802.434.2794
ron@vermontnursery.com
Dan Redondo
Vermont Wetland Plant Supply, LLC
PO Box 153 * Orwell, VT 05760
802.948.2553
dredondo@vermontwetlandplants.com
Chris Thompson
White River Valley Gardens
PO Box 297 * Stockbridge, VT 05772
802.234.5125
chrisgrdns@aol.com
Brian Vaughan
Vaughan Landscaping
40 Mt. Pritchard Lane
St. George, VT 05495
802.482.4228
vaughanlandscaping@gmail.com

ADMINISTRATIVE SECRETARY
Kristina MacKulin
Green Works-VNLA
P.O. Box 92 * N. Ferrisburgh, VT 05473
Toll Free: 888.518.6484; 802.425.5117
Fax 802.425.5122
Kristina@greenworksvermont.org
www.greenworksvermont.org
BUDGET AND FINANCE
COMMITTEE CHAIR
Claybrook Griffith
Long Leaf Landscaping, LLC
802.999.4558
EVALUATION & PLANNING
COMMITTEE CHAIR
Brian Vaughan
Vaughan Landscaping
802.425.6222
INDUSTRY AWARDS COMMITTEE CHAIR
Ed Burke
Rocky Dale Gardens
802.453.2782
LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE CHAIR
Dan Redondo
Vermont Wetland Plant Supply, LLC
802.948.2553
MARKETING & EDUCATION
COMMITTEE CHAIR
Ed Burke
Rocky Dale Gardens
802.453.2782
MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE CHAIR
VJ Comai
South Forty Nursery
802.425.6222
NEWSLETTER COMMITTEE CHAIR
Brian Vaughan
Vaughan Landscaping
802.482.4228
PROGRAM COMMITTEE CHAIR
VJ Comai
South Forty Nursery
802.425.6222
RESEARCH & AWARDS
COMMITTEE CHAIR
VJ Comai
South Forty Nursery
802.425.6222
VERMONT CERTIFIED HORTICULTURIST
COMMITTEE CHAIR
Claybrook Griffith
Long Leaf Landscaping, LLC
802.999.4558
board of directors

For information on
Advertising
in The Dirt
contact
Kristina at the
Green Works Ofce
888.518.6484
6
Arboreal Habitats, Ltd.
Adam Buursma
PO Box 605
Jacksonville, VT 05342
802-368-2890
habitat8@myfairpoint.net
Category: LDB, NW
Active Member
Barre Tile, Inc.
Justin Parry
PO Box 601
S. Barre, VT 05670
802-476-0912; F: 802-479-1277
accounting@barretile.com
www.barretile.com
Category: LDB, LIM
Active Member
Jack Rossi Landscape Architecture
Jack Rossi
3 Bond Street
Woodstock, VT 05091
802-457-2686
jack@jackrossi.com
www.jackrossi.com
Category: LA
Active Member
Northeast Nursery, Inc.
Tim Madden
55 Carlen Street
Manchester Ctr, VT 05255
802-222-7341; F: 978-854-4514
tmadden@northeastnursery.com
www.northeastnursery.com
Category: NW, NR, TC, S
Associate Member
Schneible Fine Arts
Douglas Schneible
837 Bay Road
Shelburne, VT 05482
802-279-7601
acgdoug@aol.com
www.schneiblefinearts.com
Category: Stone Garden Ornaments; Retail & Wholesale
Active Member
Thanks for joining and welcome!
New Green Works Members
2013
Greenhaven Gardens & Nursery
Michelle Blow
2638 Ethan Allen Highway
New Haven, VT 05443
802-453-5382
michelleblow84@yahoo.com
GC, GR, LDB, NR, NW
Greenhaven Gardens & Nursery
Sheila Collette
2638 Ethan Allen Highway
New Haven, VT 05443
802-453-5382
sc7463@gmail.com
GC, GR, LDB, NR, NW
Landshapes
Hunter Gomez
88 Rogers Lane
Richmond, VT 05477
802-434-3500/802-730-3534
F: 802-434-3002
LD, LDB, LIM
Congratulations to
our new VCHers!
We hope to see you at
the upcoming show!
New Vermont Certified
Horticulturists
2013
7
PAGE 9
THE DI RT VOLUME 35, I SSUE 2
Pleasant View Gardens receives record-setting
grant -- Pleasant View Gardens in Loudon, NH has
earned a half-million dollar renewable energy grant to
power its biomass burner efforts, which has drastically
diminished its dependency on oil. This new system has a
potential 85 percent cut in heating costs. The biomass
burner, which is fueled by wood chips, will cut oil use to
zero. For more information, visit www.pwpvg.com.
Educational Resource -- UMass Extension has released
its Massachusetts Nursery Best Management Practices
(BMP) Handbook. To access this, and other helpful
industry information you can visit http://
www.umassgreeninfo.org/fact_sheets/plantculture.html.
Emanuel "Manny" Shemin passed away on January 28,
2009. He was 78 years old and suffered from
leukemia. Mr. Shemin is the founder of Shemin
Nurseries, Inc. and was credited with pioneering the
landscape distribution model. Shemin Nurseries now has
30 distribution centers across the United States. Mr.
Shemin also founded an organic seed company in Israel
Genesis Seeds, Ltd. Donations in Mr. Shemins name can
be made to the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer
Center Leukemia Program at Johns Hopkins.

Gary Vermeer, founder of Vermeer Corporation,
passed away at age 90 February 2, 2009. Gary and a
cousin started the business in 1948 after inventing a
wagon hoist five years earlier, which made it easier to
unload corn. Demand for the labor-saving device led to
opening Vermeer Manufacturing Company. Vermeer
Manufacturing Company has grown into an international
organization that manufactures agricultural, construction,
environmental and industrial equipment.
Ken Lagerquist -- Rhode Island Nursery & Landscape
Association (RINLA) Executive Director, NENA Past
President, and great green industry friend -- passed away
on March 25, 2009 surrounded by his family. Many of the
VNLA board members and myself got to know Ken over
these last few years at NENA leadership meetings. He
was always quick to say hello, shake your hand, and talk
about the green industry.

Ken founded Evergreen Tree & Landscape, a business he
ran for many years before retiring. Ken was very active in
his town and his church, and was past-president of both
RINLA and NENA. Ken was the beloved Executive
Director of RINLA from 1991 until 2009 and was
(Continued on page 12)
News from Around New England
8
Green Works - Industry Award Winners - 2012
This years Industry Award winners will be presented at
Green Works annual winter meeting on February 13, 2013.
This program is in its fourth year. Two things we changed
this year were extending the deadline for submissions to
December 31, 2012 and simplifying the award categories.
Award winning projects from 2012 and 2011 will be on
display at the 2013 Vermont Flower Show. This years
selected winners are as follows:
Landshapes - Caroline Dudek
Large Scale Residential Design
Hillside Sanctuary
Honor Award
Jack Rossi
Jack Rossi Landscape Architecture
Large Scale Residential Design
Kenary Residence
Honor Award
Ashley Robinson
Ashley Robinson, Landscape Designer
Small Scale Residential Design
Mt. Philo Residence
Merit Award
Distinctive Landscaping - Tricia King
Small Scale Residential Design
An Artful Retreat
Merit Award
Landshapes - Marie Limoge
Commercial Design
Harpoon Brewery
Merit Award
Distinctive Landscaping - Sarah Stradtner
Special Projects
Burial Garden
Merit Award
Tree Works, Ltd. - Bill deVos
Special Projects
Bounds Live Oak
Merit Award
We received 8 submissions and awarded 7 of them. Green
Works assembled a panel of 7 professionals to review and
judge the entries. In early January they spent a full day
together, looking at slides and reviewing the information
submitted with each project. Any identifying information
on the entries was omitted so the judging could be blind
and objective. If one of the judges recognized a project and
felt they couldnt be objective, they were asked to recuse
themselves. The judges included 1 landscape architect, 4
continued on page 9
Ashley Robinson, Landscape Designer
Small Scale Residential Design
Jack Rossi Landscape Architecture
Large Scale Residential Design
Landshapes - Caroline Dudek
Large Scale Residential Design
9
professional horticulturists/garden designers and 2
educators. We do not reveal the names of our judges.
A big thank you to all who submitted and please, keep
on submitting! Wed like to receive many more entries
and know there is a lot of great work being done by our
members. Each year we get a few more first-time
entries. You cant be awarded if you dont enter, but
entering isnt a guarantee of an award either.
Submitting entries for an industry award is always a
good learning experience and it helps build your
portfolio.
A big thank-you to our judges and to all the
participants! Keep track of your projects this year, take
lots of photos, visit older projects and submit for next
years awards!
Please view the winning project photos on the cover and
inside cover of this issue. You can also view a slide
show of the winning projects on our website
atwww.greenworksvermont.org.
Ed Burke, Industry Awards Committee Chair
continued from page 8
Landshapes - Marie Limoge
Commercial Design
Distinctive Landscaping - Tricia King
Small Scale Residential Design
Distinctive Landscaping - Sarah Stradtner
Special Projects
Tree Works, Ltd. - Bill deVos
Special Projects
10
After thirty years of successfully serving the Landscape
Contractor, and Turf and Ornamental markets in eastern
New England, Northeast Nursery has expanded its' range
to serve the markets in western New England and
eastern New York state. Additionally, this summer saw
an expansion into the Greenhouse market offering
professional and retail soils, plastics, and a wide range of
fertilizers and control products. Northeast Nursery is
incorporated in Massachusetts and is still operated and
managed by the founder, Andrew Cotreau. Customer
satisfaction has been, and continues to be the number one
goal of the entire staff.
I am a two time graduate of the Stockbridge School of
Agriculture at UMass, Amherst, A.S. Landscape
Operations and A.S. Turfgrass Management. I have spent
most of my career as a Golf Course Superintendent, and
have been a Certified GCS for nearly 25 years. I have
always enjoyed the people involved in the Green Industry
and have been having fun meeting many of you in the
non-turf markets. I have also spent many years as an
active member and director in the VT GCSA, NYSTA,
NEGCSA and look forward to making some contribution
to Green Works.
I live in Manchester Center and cover all of Vermont,
western MA, and western NH. I look forward to meeting
Green Works members over the coming year! Please feel
free to contact me if I could be of any service. You can
reach me at 802.222.7341 or email me at
tmadden@northeastnursery.com.
new member profile - Northeast Nursery, Inc.
by Tim Madden
Fairfax Perennial Farm Inc.
WHOLESALE PERENNIAL GROWERS
Growing a large variety of quality,
Vermont grown plants.
7 Blackberry Hill Road ~ Fairfax, VT 05454
perennialfarm@surfglobal.net
802-849-2775 ~ 849-2630 FAX
11
12
When the students are gone and winter break happens it
is a time of catching up and getting ahead with projects at
a much more relaxed pace. It is one of my favorite times
of year, together with the holiday season, spending time
with family and enjoying good food. I hope your winter
season has been filled with the same.
Actually 2013 has been on my agenda for some time,
writing monthly articles (check them out online on my
website if you need material for customers or a newsletter:
perrysperennials.info/articleS.htm), planning and taping
shows for Across the Fence (with some including your
industry colleagues), and planning meetings among the
main commitments. As you read this the Flower Show
program has been completed--thanks to all from our
industry who will be presenting and helping make our
educational program at the Show such high caliber.
The New England Grows program also has great speakers
you will not want to miss. (I'm now serving on the
education committee, so if you have any ideas for speakers
for next year let me know.) And we'll be having a
Northern New England nursery meeting again early
March in southern New Hampshire-- watch your
Association email and my website for full details. One
highlight from this nursery meeting will be a new faculty
member at the University of Connecticut, Ben Campbell,
who is a marketing specialist. He'll be discussing and
demonstrating how new eye-tracking technology (as used
in other industries such as food sales) has begun to be
used in our industry to better meet customer needs. Also
watch my website and your Association emails where we'll
post tours as they are planned. Two upcoming tours will
be sponsored by Green Works this coming year to
Montreal, one in July and one in September. The former
will feature the summer perennials, AND the special
international mosaic culture exhibit this year at the
botanic gardens; the latter tour will, of course, feature the
yearly-changing Chinese lantern display.
As for campus, all is moving smoothly (thankfully and let's
hope it continues). In our department for Spring courses,
the big one (125 so far) is A Bug's Life (Scott Lewins).
Others include Agroecology of Vegetable Crops (Chen),
Organic Farm Planning (Chen), Ecological Landscape
Design (Hurley), Chemistry of Soil and Water (Ross), Soil
Ecology (Weicht), Commercial Plant Propagation
(Starrett), and several other special topics. Then there are
quite a few offered through Continuing Education,
including Drawing and Painting Botanicals (Neroni),
Gardens for Human and Environmental Health (Raab),
and one by our own association member Sinclair Adam--
History of Agriculture. Of course I continue to offer my
CE online courses (for 129 students so far total--the most
of any faculty in our department this semester, and 30
more than last spring) including
Garden Flowers, Flowers and
Foliage, Indoor Plants, and
Home Vegetable Growing (two
sections).
My grad student Grace Matiru
collected her second year of
survey data from Master
Gardeners (one more to go for
her thesis), along with a couple
other surveys, on home fruit and vegetable growing. Some
of the brand new highlights from this representative
group of Vermont gardeners begins with the fact that
virtually all (71 of the 72 responding) grew either fruits
and/or vegetables this past year, as well as the year prior.
On spending on plants and supplies for growing these,
37% spent less than $100 and almost half spent between
this and $250. For sources, 76% of this group rated local
garden store as high or very high in importance, with
about the same percent rating chain stores and other
retail outlets of very low importance. Most important in
making a decision where to buy was past experience
(rated 4.4/5), with ads and promotions rated lowest (2.1)
and other reasons intermediate.
On the details from Grace's survey in 2012 on garden
specifics, average vegetable garden size was 700 square
feet. The top 5 vegetables grown were tomatoes (97% of
respondents), herbs (87%), salad greens (82%), cucumber
(74%), and beans (74%). If they grew fruits (48
respondents did), the average for fruit trees was 6, 17 for
fruit bushes, and 24 feet of rows. For those growing fruits,
most popular in order were blueberries (63%), apples
(50%), strawberries (48%), and raspberries (40%). About
half the respondents had the same size gardens as the
year prior, with about a quarter increasing in size a little
(less than 25%).
On reasons they had such gardens, most important were
for taste (rated 4.7/5), fun (4.6), food safety and
environmental concerns (both tied at 4/5). For this master
gardener group, most gardening decisions were made by
those over 50 years old (69%) and women (69%), although
a higher percentage of men shared in the garden work.
Most had completed an associate or vocation degree, or
above. Hopefully these and future results from Grace's
surveys will help you in better targeting sales to
customers this spring, or at least to better know who they
are. You can contact Leonard at 802-656-2630, FAX
802-656-4656 and visit Perry's Perennial Pages at
perrysperennials.info.
news from the U
by Dr. Leonard Perry - UVM Extension Horticulturist
News from the UDr. Leonard Perry
PAGE 12 THE DI RT VOLUME 35, I SSUE 2
Summer is a great time at universities if you like it quiet
with no meetings, and ability to park even with the much
reduced spaces due to construction! I'm spending much
time outside with perennials, building stock for next year's
freezing studies, working on field trials (currently 190
different plants), and accumulating coralbells (Heuchera)
for both field and freezing studies funded this past year by
the NH Plant Growers Endowment. I"m currently up to
about 60 cultivars of coralbells, including very new
introductions and new villosa hybrids which some growers
question their hardiness (as they are from France), hence
this study. I'll keep you posted here and on my website
(perrysperennials.info) of this and other research your
association has helped fund. Data is collected, I'm just
waiting for some rainy days to get it written up.
We once again planted about 100 varieties of annuals at the
All-America Selections Display Garden at Burlington's
Waterfront Park the first week of June, thanks again to
help and collaboration with Burlington Parks and
Recreation. This is the garden that we won a national AAS
award for this past year. As in previous years, I'll be
posting the plant listing and ratings at the end of the
summer on my website. Here also you can find lists and
results from the past several years. This year my assistant
Sarah Kingsley Richards and I think we have some great
combinations put together, with a focus on about 20
different petunias (near the boathouse), several new coleus
and several new sweet potato vines. One of my favorites
and perhaps most unusual is the new Pretty Much Picasso
petunia, violet purple with a lime green rim. Another
outstanding new and unusual selection is the mealycup
sage Salvia Sallyfun Blue Emotion, tall, blue florets with
white eyes.
This year's AAS garden features about 50% plants from
Pleasant View Gardens (Proven Winners and Selections
and trials), about 40% from DS Cole Growers, and about
10% from seed (All-America Selections and others). I hope
you get to see these gardens if in Burlington (at the foot of
College St. by the ECHO center and boathouse), not only for
the plants, but as the beds are planned to be different next
year. Due to planned construction and road reconfiguration
beginning after Labor Day this year, the main two front
beds will disappear forever, with a new front bed planned
closer to the boathouse in the grassy area.
On campus, the good news is that thanks to federal
stimulus money, the state greatly reduced cuts to UVM and
Extension. Coupled with support from the college, no
on-campus Extension faculty member (to my
knowledge) was cut this coming fiscal year. However once
this money runs out in a couple years, we may be back to
round two of big budget cuts.
So if opportunities arise in your future to support Extension
with your legislators or even UVM administration, it can
surely help. Our new plant science building (Jeffords Hall)
is now enclosed, with connection underway to the UVM
greenhouse. We are still scheduled to move in next
summer. In our department, our fairly recent faculty
member Sarah Lovell will be returning home to take a
similar position in landscape architecture at the University
of Illinois, so her design courses will be taught by yet un-
known person this next year, with a new search hopefully
in our future. Main research at the Hort Farm now
includes two projects of Dr. Lorraine Berkett-- a USDA
funded large project (recently refunded and highly rated) on
organic apple production (the reason many of the crabap-
ples were cut down in order to reduce scab and other
diseases) with full details online
(http://www.uvm.edu/~organica/), and the third year of
trials on hardy grape varieties (http://pss.uvm.edu/grape/).
Submitted by Leonard Perry
instrumental in the development of the Learning Landscape
Project at URI. In 2008, he was recognized for his many
contributions to the green industry and received the
prestigious honor of being one of the first to be inducted into
the RINLA Hall of Fame. He was also inducted into the
Rhode Island Agricultural Hall of Fame.

Donations in Ken's memory may be made to The Kenneth
Lagerquist - RINLA Horticultural Scholarship, URI
Foundation Acct ED99, 79 Upper College Road, Kingston,
RI, 02881.

Scott Pfister, former VT State Pathologist and Green
Works supporter has left his position in June at the
Vermont Forest Protection Department. Scott has taken a
position with USDA-APHIS in Washington, DC and will be
coordinating the USDAs programs for the Asian longhorned
beetle, emerald ash borer, and firewood pest mitigation. We
will miss him and wish him and his family well.
(Continued from page 9)
13

Plants

Greenhouse
Structures
Coverings
Climate Control
Shading
Benching
Ground Cover
Containers
Soilless mixes
Fertilizers
Irrigation
Chemicals
Retail Products
Technical Support
Your complete source for
Greenhouse & Nursery Supplies
1.800.888.0054 ZZZJULIQVFRP
# 4 s ' ! 0 $ 0 % s . * s . 9 s 0 ! s 4 . s 6 !
14
P.O. Box 92
N. Ferrisburgh, VT 05473
15
Pussy Willows - A True Sign of Spring?
by Tim Parsons
Ask 20 gardeners, and you'll get 40 or more answers on
what they consider signs of spring. One of the most
common answers, though, will probably be Pussy Willow.
Salix, the Willow family, claims more than 400 members,
with a range from the tropics all the way up to being the
last woody plant before you are stumbling across the Arctic
Circle. Many kinds are native to western China, including
the magnificent but weak-wooded Weeping Willow, but
North America claims her share as well, about 75
varieties. Pussy Willow is one of these, although there are
several willows with that name.
Go to your local garden center, and you'll probably find,
well, you probably won't find pussy willow at all. Garden
centers have a hard time selling very early or very late
bloomers, like pussy willow or Witch hazel. Both bloom
before most garden centers this far north are even open,
and, during the regular growing season, these wonderful
shrubs probably wouldn't even catch your eye.
Should you happen upon one, though, probably in the sale
bin, odds are it is aSalix caprea, a European Pussy willow
also known as Goat Willow. Native from Europe to
northeast Asia and northern Iran, it is nearly identical to
our native species,Salix discolor. Our native form is more
susceptible to canker, and have deeper brown branches
and a nearly bluish white underside to the leaves, but it is
the canker scaring plant propagators from growing the
native species.
Pussy Willow (both) reach about 15-25 feet high, and about
12-15' in width. Native to wet, moist areas, they are
frequently seen in marshes, wetlands, and on the edges of
rivers and ponds. The 'pussies' we are familiar with in
kindergarten are male catkins, flowers
withinconspicuousor, likeSalix, no petals. While most
catkins are designed for wind pollination, the Willows are
known for insect pollination. Perhaps the non-showiness of
the catkins is forgivable in the wild, as nothing else is in
bloom, competing for the insects to visit them. For you
pollinators among us, they are high-sugar flowers. At any
rate, they are easy enough to force in a vase starting in
February for the spring-desperate.
In the wild, Pussy Willow is an important source of food for
browsing animals, such as deer and moose, although not
the most palatable (who asks?). Duck and other waterfowl
feed on the catkins in the early spring, while mice and
other rodents can be found eating the stems in the winter.
Majorie Harris, inBotanica North America, writes of
the Pussy Willow, and references anow defunct sketchy
web sitefor the legend of how Pussy Willows got their
name. It's a Polish legend, and involves a sad, crying cat
next to a river, whose kittens had fallen into while chasing
Butterflies,as kids and kitts are likely to do. Hearing their
cries, the Willow trees next to the banks swept down,
arching into the river and allowing the kittens to cling to
their branches, when they were safely brought to shore.
Every spring since, the Willow sprouts tiny fur-like buds at
the tips of their branches inremembrance.
16
Seasonal fruits are an important food resource for
migratory songbirds as they migrate south each fall along
the east coast of the U.S. This region is a major migration
corridor for songbirds as they travel from their northern
breeding grounds to their southern wintering areas.
During these annual migrations songbirds require habitats
that contain easily located and nutritionally adequate
foods because these birds must rapidly replenish their
energy and protein stores before continuing migration.
Thus, the availability of high- quality, abundant food
resources, like fruits, in coastal regions of the eastern U.S.
is critical for successful
migration of songbirds.
Most songbirds can utilize
seasonal fruits that ripen in
late summer and are available
throughout the fall season. The
ideal fruit diet for migratory
birds would allow birds to
rapidly replenish their energy
and protein stores in
preparation for their next
migratory flight. However,
fruits differ in their nutritional
and energy content and most
are relatively low in protein.
Therefore we recommend
offering birds a diversity of
fruits so they can satisfy their
nutritional needs (Table 1).
Although a few invasive, non-
native plant species produce
fruits that may satisfy the
nutritional requirements of
wild birds, we restrict our
recommendations to native
plant species. These recommendations are based on
measured nutritional composition of fruits, estimated
nutritional requirements of birds, and bird preference
experiments in which birds choose between several choices
of fruits. Some of the recommended fruits such as
Arrowood are high-energy fruits that allow birds to rapidly
refuel but have inadequate dietary protein (Table 1).
Other recommended fruits such as Pokeweed or Virginia
Recommended Plantings for Migratory
Songbird Habitat Management
by Susan Smith & Scott Mc Williams, Department of Natural Resources Science, URI
Table 1
Recommended native fruiting shrubs that can enhance
habitat for migratory songbirds in southern New England.
Given a diversity of plant species is needed to satisfy the
requirements of migrating songbirds, we suggest planting
at least two species from the Highly recommended list
plus other species from the list when possible. Please
consult your local greenhouse or horticulturist for advice
on which plant species are best for your growing area.
Creeper have more carbohydrate than fat (and so have
less energy than Arrowood) but have adequate dietary
protein. Some waxy fruits, like Northern Bayberry, or
less palatable fruits, like hol- lies, may only be utilized
by a subset of migrants (i.e. Yellow-rumped Warblers,
Cedar Waxwings) but these fruits persist and thus may
also provide a good food resource for overwintering birds.
This is why we recommend planting a variety of bird-
consumed fruiting shrubs to create the best habitat for
Submitted by Dan Redondo and
re-printed with the authors permission.
17
1028 Horseneck Road
Westport, MA 02790
508-636-4573 Fax 508-636-3397
Always well stocked!
Visit www.sylvannursery.com
Catalog & Availability
upon request
Specimens
Perennials
Trees, Shrubs
Grasses, Roses
Heather & Heath
Native Plants
Seashore Plants
Vines
Ground Covers
&
More!
18
March 1-3, 2013
Vermont Flower Show
Champlain Valley Exposition
Essex Junction, VT
802.425.5117
www.greenworksvermont.org
March 12, 2013
Saving Our Trees: A Conference for Arborists,
Foresters, Tree Wardens & Sugar Bush Owners
Stockbridge Hall
UMASS-Amherst
www.umassgreeninfo.org
March 16, 2013
UVM Greenhouse Tour
Friends of the Horticulture Farm
802.864.3073
www.friendsofthehortfarm.org
March 13-17, 2013
Boston Flower and Garden Show
Seaport World Trade Center
Boston, MA
March 28, 2013
Vermont Organics Recycling Summit
Vermont Technical College
Randolph Center, VT
802.277.3360
April 12-14, 2013
Great Gardens & Landscaping Symposium
Kerry Mendez
Equinox Inn
Machester, VT
518.585.2821
Industry Calendar
April 13, 2013
Northern Gardening Symposium
New England Wildflower Society
Vermont Technical College
Randolph, VT
www.newfs.org
April 20, 2013
Lilacs 101 w/Jeff Young
12:30-4pm
Friends of the Horticulture Farm
www.friendsofthehortfarm.org
April 27, 2013
Rustic Cedar Workshop w/Brian Gluck
8am-4pm
Friends of the Horticulture Farm
www.friendsofthehortfarm.org
July 13-16, 2013
OFA Short Course
Greater Columbus Convention Center
Columbus, OH
www.ofa.org
July 21-27, 2013
Perennial Plant Symposium
Vancouver, British Columbia
614.771.8431
www.perennialplant.org/events
This winter and into spring,the VT Urban &
Community Fore stry Program will offer monthly
webinars to keep you updated on the latest research,
opportunities, and threats to the urban forest.
Webinars will run the thirdThursday of each month
and last an hour. You do not have to be a SOUL Tree
Steward to participate; however, these webinars are
designed to support the work of tree stewards in their
community. *CEU's available for ISA, SAF and
pesticides.
Winter Webinar Schedule

Seven Habits of Highly Effective Tree Boards

March 20th. 2013
5-6 pm
Paul Ries, Oregon Urban and Community Forestry
Program
Community Gravel Beds for Bare Root Planting
April 17th, 2013
5-6 pm
Gary Johnson and Chad Giblin, University of
Minnesota

Destructive Invasive Tree Pest's Are Headed our

Way: Is Your Community Ready?
May 15th, 2013
5-6 pm
Mark Whitmore, Cornell University, Dept of Natural
Resources
To sign up visit: www.uvm.edu/extension/
environment/soul
VT Urban and Community Forestry Program
Winter Webinar Schedule
19
Landscape Distribution Center
472 Marshall Avenue, Williston, Vermont
Spring Wholesale Hours:
Weekdays 7:00am6:00pm, Sat. 8:00am6:00pm, Sun. 9:00am5:00pm
Phone: 802-658-2433 - Iax: 802-860-2936 - -maiI: whoIesaIe@gardeners.com
Buy direct through our
Sunny Border
Nurseries perennial
brokerage program.
Buy direct through our
We are
now a
distributor for locally
owned North Country
Organics.
We are now
Vermonts distributor
for A.M. Leonard, the
landscapers choice
for professional tools.
New
delivery
routes
with reduced pricing
to your area.
Gardeners Supply
Your one-stop resource
for landscaping
Chris Remson
Wholesale Lead Brian Mitchell
Wholesale Manager
Tom Shea
Wholesale Sales
Untitled-2 1 4/6/12 7:20 AM
20
PO Box 92
North Ferrisburgh, VT 05473
visit us at www.greenworksvermont.org