Nora Bernhardt says she is a citizen scientist at heart. For years, she has taken photos and journaled her observations about native plants, including bloom times and weather patterns.
This is an excerpt from the Wild Ones Journal
Current members can log in to read the latest issue or check out the Journal Archives.
She now shares those observations with members of the Tennessee Valley (Tennessee) chapter of Wild Ones through bloom time charts for sun and shade native plants, which are available on the chapter website.
“The pandemic and stay-at-home order this spring provided a great opportunity to be in the garden, and to photograph and pay even closer attention to the rich activity that is happening,” says Nora, who is marketing committee chair for her chapter. “I majored in biology in college, and observing things has always been an important way for me to learn.”
Nora not only journals, keeping track of bloom dates by species and year, but she also takes photographs, which correlate to the journal dates. She says she has noticed differences in bloom times based on rain and heat.
Their property on Walden’s Ridge is in the Appalachian Plateau physiographic province. The area is characteristically made up of sandstone, siltstone and shale, and is covered by mostly well-drained, acid soils of low fertility. An average of 57 inches of rain falls each year and contributes to high biodiversity in the region.
Nora moved to Tennessee in 2006 when she and her husband, Bob, married. Since she had enjoyed gardening in the past, in 2009 she took the local Master Gardener course, which focused on “traditional” gardening.
“At the time, there was no formal instruction available about local native plants, but someone in the Master Gardener classes mentioned that native plants often require less water and maintenance,” Nora says. “This seemed like a responsible way to garden in the face of climate change, so I began asking others about native plants.”
The Bernhardts had a great view from their bedroom window of this male pileated woodpecker and its babies.
Oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) and Pennsylvania sedge (Carex pensylvanica) line a pathway on the Bernhardt property.
No one had much information at the time, so Nora emailed the Master Gardener interns, asking if others were interested in starting a group to learn about native plants together.
Two others responded, including Sally Wencel, who is now on the national Wild Ones Board of Directors and serves as the Tennessee Valley chapter vice president. By 2010, the group had formed the Chattanooga Native Plant and Wildflower Group under the Master Gardener umbrella.
That group met, hosted speakers and grew quickly. In 2012, the group voted to become the Tennessee Valley Chapter of Wild Ones, which is now the largest Wild Ones chapter in the U.S.
The Bernhardts’ property on Signal Mountain is characteristic of an oak-hickory forest woodland, and as such, the forest canopy is dominated by white and scarlet oaks and pignut hickories, as well as a number of black cherry, red maple and Virginia pine trees.
As Nora’s involvement in the Wild Ones chapter continued, she planted small clusters of native plants in various locations on their woodland property. But in 2014, she decided to intentionally invest in their garden so that it could be a location to show others how to garden with native plants. She hired a landscape architect to come up with a formal plan.
“We wanted to remove the small area of turf grass that still existed and have a nearly 100% native plant garden that was welcoming to wildlife, but did not look disorganized and weedy,” Nora says. But they also asked the landscaper to include “formal” planting areas, along with “natural” woodland areas and “garden rooms.”
In spring 2015, they began working to implement the landscape plan, initially focusing on the more visible areas of the property in the front and around the house. Invasive plants and many nonnative shrubs, lilies and hostas were removed. Some of the natives already planted in the landscape (Itea virginica, Fothergilla major, Clethra alnifolia) were moved to locations specified on the landscape plan. They installed new stone walkways, a terrace area around the house and a stone meditation labyrinth.
The tree and shrub layer was the first planting priority, Nora says. Since they already had many large and established trees, they decided to add just a few interesting specimen trees, such as fringe tree (Chionanthus virginicus), serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea) and additional redbuds (Cercis canadensis) and dogwoods (Cornus florida).
New shrubs, suitable for the shade garden, included evergreens to create structure, such as rhododendrons (R.catawbiense and R. maximum), mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) and American holly (Ilex opaca), as well as flowering deciduous varieties, such as mountain azalea (Rhododendron cansecens), flame azalea (Rhododendron, calendulaceum), sweetshrub (Calycanthus floridus) and viburnums (V. dendatum, V. nudum, V. rufidulum).
In fall 2015, the Bernhardts began adding perennial plugs for the herbaceous seasonal and groundcover layers. Seasonal plants included celandine poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum), Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica), Eastern columbine (Aquilegia canadensis L.) woodland asters and others. Groundcover plants included several varieties of sedges and ferns, wild ginger (Asarum canadense L.), Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) and Solomon’s plume (Maianthemum racemosum). A pollinator garden was added along the woodland edge, located in front of a fence along the street, providing three seasons of color and a nectar source for birds and insects.
Nora says they paid attention to planting for all seasons, ensuring something would be blooming continuously. She enjoys watching wildlife on her pesticide-free property. Their gardens are home to Eastern box turtles, butterflies and other pollinating insects, toads, frogs and even a spotted salamander.
Pileated, red-bellied, hairy and downy woodpeckers visit regularly, as well as red-shouldered hawks, bluebirds and numerous songbirds.
“This spring, we were lucky to be able to observe from a bedroom window a pair of pileated woodpeckers nesting and raising their chicks in a dead oak tree snag,” she says. “I couldn’t stay away from the window to watch them.”
The process of creating a natural landscape and letting nature happen has been a great learning experience, Bernhardt says.
“We look forward to our plants maturing, multiplying, moving, transitioning and filling in the woodland, and we welcome the evolution and always-changing nature of the landscape,” she says. “Sometimes I feel like our garden has become a native plant ‘nursery’ of sorts, because many of our plants are so plentiful that they are now being adopted and finding good homes with new native plant gardeners in our area.”
Red oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia), left, and yellow threadleaf bluestar (Amsonia hubrichtii), right, provide color into the fall.
A juvenile blue jay calls for its parents on the Bernhardt property.
A pearl crescent butterfly on frost aster (Symphyotrichum pilosum).
Her advice to new gardeners is to start small.
“It can be overwhelming if you don’t,” she says. “Pick a spot that is manageable and view it as an experiment. Try out a few things and you’ll start to learn what works…”
Nora says it’s important for Wild Ones members to be the change that they want to see happen.
“I try to lead by example,” she says. “I invite people to walk around (my gardens). I have labels on most plants so visitors can see plant names, and if they like a plant, they can add it to their own yard. I have always viewed our garden as an opportunity to teach.”
And that includes teaching people about the benefits of natural landscaping, including that it is a low-maintenance, pesticide-free way to garden.
“You don’t need fertilizers, you don’t need to mulch and you don’t have to water as much if you layer plants that are suited for the place that you live,” she says. “Yes, there will be selective pruning and weeding required to manage the garden. But native plant gardening is a truly important and responsible action that each one of us can take to live in harmony with nature and to heal and protect our environment.”
About the Yard
- The Nora and Bob Bernhardt property is located on Signal Mountain in the Chattanooga metropolitan area, and is part of Walden’s Ridge in Southeastern Tennessee.
- Their 1.3-acre property is about ¼ mile from the escarpment marking the eastern edge of the Cumberland Plateau. To the east of Walden’s Ridge are the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians and the Tennessee River.
- The Bernhardts have more than 250 varieties of native trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants present.
- They also have added an outdoor sculpture, bird baths, a hammock and several seating areas to encourage them to linger and relax.
- Some areas at the back of the property have been left “unlandscaped” although invasive vinca and English ivy were removed and wood chip trails were added so that they can explore and observe these more natural areas.
Written by Barbara Benish
All photos courtesy of Nora & Bob Bernhardt