Lowcountry Land Trust is excited to welcome the SC Native Plant Society Lowcountry Chapter and its guest volunteers for a field trip and workday at its new headquarters, the Lowcountry Center for Conservation, on Saturday, November 22.
The Native Plant Society will tour the Center for Conservation’s native landscaping, thoughtfully designed by Erin Stevens, landscape architect and President/Founder of Surculus. In creating this new home base and conservation gathering space, Lowcountry Land Trust aimed to honor the land donated by Ms. Emily Ravenel Farrow with intentional, native landscaping that stewards the ecosystem of the Center for Conservation and its surrounding acres of the former Ashem Farm.
Erin Stevens considered the hydrology and ecology of the site when executing the design, which now features nearly thirty native species around the property, including magnolias, bald cypress, Eastern red cedar, sabal palmetto, Yaopon holly, American beautyberry, river oats, Southern shield fern, creeping phlox, and blue-eyed grass. On rainy days, the native plants, in addition to the pervious driveway and parking area, help mitigate flooding. On sunny days, Lowcountry Land Trust and its guests enjoy visits from a plethora of birds, butterflies, and other essential pollinators.
However, the perimeter of the intentionally-designed property suffers from common invasive species found throughout our region, including kudzu, mimosa trees, and privet—a dense shrub that crowds out all native plants and blocks the ground from sunlight. Unfortunately, privet produces a berry that birds love, fueling the rapid growth of this invasive species, which is thought to have been introduced to our region by English settlers. After their November 22 tour of the Center for Conservation’s native landscaping, the Native Plant Society and its guest volunteers will target the removal of privet around the property’s perimeter.
If you’d like to tour the native landscaping installed by Surculus at the Lowcountry Center for Conservation and join the Native Plant Society’s ongoing efforts to combat privet, click here to learn more about the workday on Saturday, November 22, and register to participate.
Lowcountry Land Trust is grateful for the expertise and efforts of the Charleston Chapter of the SC Native Plant Society in showcasing the Center for Conservation’s thoughtfully designed native landscaping while simultaneously managing the property’s invasive species!
