Why You Should Cultivate Your Garden with Native Plants
Gardeners are turning to indigenous species to help restore regional ecosystems.
By Tracey Minkin Buyenlarge
Recognizing a plant’s symbolic and ecological value as intrinsic to supporting life, from insects to birds and mammals, has become a
cri de coeur in 21st-century garden design. And yet 101 years ago, a group of horticulturally minded society women in Virginia had exactly the same idea.
Mount Vernon gardener Kristen Gauthier tends to the lettuce in George Washington’s pleasure garden which has been reconstructed in its original form. The Washington Post
The founding mothers of the
Susan Salisbury
Special to the Daily News
With Palm Beach Mayor Gail Coniglio announcing Dec. 30 she will not be seeking a sixth term after serving as mayor since 2011, it’s time to look back at some of the people who occupied that office before her.
Coniglio is the 16th mayor of the town, which was incorporated in 1911. While the mayor only has the right to vote to break a tie vote on any ordinance, resolution or ordinance, the mayor also has veto powers. The mayor is recognized as the head of the town government for ceremonial and other purposes and acts as an ombudsman to investigate and report the residents’ concerns to the council.
Preservation Foundation guest says native plants are the answer to healthy ecosystem
For entomologist and ecologist Doug Tallamy, everything begins and ends with insects.
“The planet’s entire ecosystem depends on pollinating insects and the native plants that sustain them. If we lose our pollinators, we lose 80 to 90 percent of plants on the planet. And if we lose that, the food web that supports all the animals would collapse, and they would all disappear,” he said. “The earth would rot without them, because you would only have bacteria and fungi to turn things over.”
Tallamy, a professor in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, where he has taught insect-related courses for 40 years, will give a virtual lecture Monday to discuss his new book,
Marie Penny
Special to the Daily News
Editor s note: Each month this season, we will publish a column from the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach featuring a landmarked property.
With its fish-scale scalloped shingles and pointed finials atop each gable, Duck’s Nest conjures up the Victorian era.
Viewed from Lake Trail, it may appear to be a charming house from the turn of the 20th century. But it also has a fascinating history, which includes weathering hurricanes, architectural styles, and the development of Palm Beach.
The house gets its name from the ducks that roosted on the extensive freshwater marsh, now filled in, which were formerly located east of the building. It’s hard to imagine, but at the time the only way to access this house was by boat via Lake Worth (now referred to as the Intracoastal Waterway).
Palm Beach Daily News
Billionaire real estate investor Jeff Greene’s plan to expand his landmark oceanfront Palm Beach estate received tepid approval Wednesday from the town’s Landmarks Preservation Commission – despite concerns that the historic home was being “swallowed” by additions.
Greene and his wife, Mei Sze, want to build a two-story addition to the Addison Mizner-designed estate, including an exercise room, home office and a casual “ocean room,” architect Mark Marsh told commission members Wednesday.
It would be the second expansion the Greenes have made to the property – known as “La Bellucia” – since purchasing it in 2009 for $24 million. While the first addition added a formal living room to the property, he said, it did not create enough casual space.