Talking Native Plants with Carol Kearney of Momentum Realty and Loudoun County Master Gardener

June 13, 2019; Potomac Falls, VA.
C.D. Guillaudeu, Your Business Our World

We at Your Business Our World love asking our customers about their business and may selfishly ask a few questions of our own that we may not know about and hopefully learn something new along the way.  We started out talking with Carol Kearney of Momentum Realty and Master Gardener about her passion for the environment and plants.

“From the garden which is what I will primarily be talking about today, if you’re a gardener you can do things in a way that is more sustainable and if you’re really passionate about the environment, you can build an environment if you will, that will sustain itself. “

So, on a pleasant afternoon in mid May, Carol Kearney of Momentum Realty and Loudoun County Master Gardener walked me around her yard pointing out plants that were easy to grow, which were native, which needed sunlight, which ones she wanted to move, which ones she wished she hadn’t planted... Don’t plant Nandina Berry trees, their berries are bad for the birds and the trees are hard to get rid of once they take hold.

“The environment is my passion and how does that work as a realtor, I can educate people in terms of homes that make a difference from an environmental perspective”

Now this author is definitely not a gardener, and I’m afraid I got her a little sidetracked on our walk-through.  While interviewing and chatting, I was thinking that gardening required way too much patience.  But all it takes is just one flower to pique your interest and all of a sudden, you’re on a lifelong journey of learning, enjoyment, excitement, and contribution to helping our environment.

One of the Virginia native plants she pointed out to me was a honeysuckle, .... “That’s a Honeysuckle?”, I asked thinking of the typical yellow and white one....”Yes, that one’s native to Virginia.”   “It’s gorgeous!” I exclaimed.

It has beautiful bright coral tubular flowers hanging upside down and its yellow stamens just peeking out from the middle, both of which are perfect for attracting Hummingbirds.  It’s called the Trumpet Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens).

According to Plant NOVA Natives (a cooperative campaign through several non-profits, ngos, etc.), the Trumpet Honeysuckle is a vine that can grow 12-30’, attracts hummingbirds, butterflies, as well as not being well liked by the deer.  

As we continued to walk about, she stressed that the idea is to cultivate your garden in a way that Mother Nature does the work for you, that it’s more sustainable, so you won’t need pesticides, it won’t have to be watered as often, provides food and cover for all the little critters, like birds and bats and other animals and insects that take care of the bugs for you.  

Towards the end of our walk-through, her love for gardening and the environment was shown even more by her Audubon at Home Wildlife Sanctuary plaque.

According to Audubon at Home in Northern Virginia, the need to create native habitats has never been greater and gardeners (such as Carol Kearney) play a keen role in helping to restore and rebuild native habitats.

Help the environment by starting with one native plant that you adore and then grow from there!

Summary:
•    Individual people can contribute greatly to helping our environment through many avenues; one way is that it can be as simple as starting with one plant.
•    Use native plants; Plant NOVA Natives website is a great reference.
•    Gardeners play a keen role in restoring and rebuilding native habitats.  There are many resources to help get you started and answer your questions.
•    Audubon at Home Wildlife Sanctuary is one of many kinds of certifications that can qualify a home business to list with Your Business Our World.


Resources and References:
Audubon at Home in Northern Virginia:
http://audubonva.squarespace.com/audubon-at-home-1

Use Virginia native plants:
https://www.plantnovanatives.org/