NCBG natural areas steward Ben Heuser uses a power auger to create holes in the soil at Penny’s Bend as plant conservation technician Aria Searles plants seedlings.
Last month, our conservation department, joined by staff from the NC Plant Conservation Program and volunteers, planted 700 native seedlings as part of ongoing restoration efforts at Penny’s Bend Nature Preserve.
The Garden manages Penny’s Bend with a directive to protect rare plants and practice in situ conservation — conserving plants in their natural habitat. Historically, the slope had been a Piedmont savanna, home to a wide variety of native plants, kept open by natural wildfires, grazing mammals, and, later, mowing. But in the last 50 years, loblolly pines had taken over. After clearing out a wide swath of those loblollies, we’re now working to restore some of the native plants that would’ve been found there historically.
Thanks to funding from the Burt’s Bees Greater Good Foundation, we were able to grow these and over 5,000 other plants for Penny’s Bend at our Native Plant Materials Development Program.
Some of the species in this planting:
- Anise-scented goldenrod (Solidago odora)
- Obedient plant (Physostegia virginiana)
- Piedmont Barbara’s buttons (Marshallia obovata var. obovata)
- Carolina elephant’s-foot (Elephantopus carolinianus)
- False boneset (Brickellia eupatorioides)
- Southern blazing-star (Liatris squarrulosa)
- Hairy lespedeza (Lespedeza hirta)
- Trailing lespedeza (Lespedeza procumbens)
Learn more about Penny’s Bend and our restoration efforts >
