NATIVE PLANT PRESERVE

The Native Plant Preserve (NPP) is a unique area tucked inside a woodland edge along the Cross Trail opposite west-facing Evans.

What are native plants, you ask, and why do we need to preserve them?  Native plants are indigenous species that have co-evolved with native wildlife in a particular area over the course of thousands of years.  These plants are at home in their habitats and play critical roles in the food web providing pollen and nutrition to insects, birds, and mammals.  We preserve them at Crosslands for their beauty and for what they teach us about sustaining the vitality of the native Eastern Piedmont.

In 2006 Dot Plyler, Crosslands resident, created the first NPP on the woodlands edge behind what we now know as the Mott Cottages.  Under the care of resident volunteers, the NPPflourished there for 15 years.  When the NPP in that location fell within the construction zone, a new location was found.  Staff and Woodland Worker volunteers stepped forward to painstakingly prepare the ground.  Contractors installed water and electricity and a fence was erected to exclude deer.  Jennifer Allcock, Crosslands resident, designed the new layout and staff transplanted 35 shrubs and many perennials.  It was quite a labor of love!

An ADA compliant asphalt path leads from PL 5 and an electrically operated gate provides easy access to a viewing platform for walkers and wheel chairs.   Come and enjoy the “natives” in their new woodland home.  Spend a quiet moment or visit with friends and family.  Within the NPP, you will find clearly marked pathways and benches.  Each spring, when the azaleas bloom, residents are invited to an Open House event.  The NPP is a very special place managed entirely by resident volunteers.