Pat Pember was awarded a Gold Certification for her residential property in Cumberland Harbor in Saint Mary’s. She has planted over a hundred native plants of substantial size for the past two years. Large deep green mounds of Tripsacum dactyloides (eastern gamagrass or Fakahatchee grass) provided structure to the front landscape under the preexisting large trees and palms. There are some non-natives remaining from the original landscaping and a few non-natives she had planted with pollinators in mind. She had a nice brush pile on the side of the yard. In addition to the plants listed in her application, we saw Centrosema virginianum (spurred butterfly pea), Helianthus debilis (dune sunflower), Viburnum obovatum (Walter’s viburnum) and a species of Smilax vine. After discussion, Pat decided to remove her cultivated bed of invasive Mexican petunias and replace with native Ruellia caroliniensis (Carolina wild petunia). She’s also going to cut back her cultivated bed of non-native Asclepias curassavica (Mexican butterfly weed) and add Asclepias incarnata (swamp milkweed). The most striking part of her yard was a swath of Muhlenbergia capillaris (Muhly grass) securing the riverbank across the back of the property. Her yard is a beautiful example of working with a Homeowners Association and still having large numbers of native plants.
