An Early Spring in Philadelphia
by Jeff Lapp
These native pitcher plants (Sarracenia purpurea) will be in bloom just in time for EPA’s Flower Show exhibit.
Just a few weeks ago, as I stepped out into the crisp air – 4 degrees Fahrenheit, to be exact – I was well aware that spring had yet to come to Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Crunching through several inches of snow, I made my way to the greenhouse which harbored signs of a season yet to emerge. I opened the door and was greeted by phlox, azaleas, pitcher plants and ferns; the scene looked more like May than the bitter February day outside.
Staff from EPA’s Mid-Atlantic office are in the final stages of constructing scenery, forcing plants, and designing posters for EPA’s display at the 2016 Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Flower Show.
In our 26th year of participating in this event, EPA’s display “Preservation and Protection: Saving America’s Natural Heritage” supports the theme of this year’s show: the 100-year anniversary of the National Park Service. Our National Parks play an important role in habitat and resource protection. Increasing awareness of the significance of wetlands is an important part of EPA’s mission; EPA’s Flower Show display highlights the role of wetlands and headwater streams in maintaining watershed health and the diverse native plant palette contained within these ecotones.
Carex lacustris is a sedge native to the mid-Atlantic that can be used as an alternative to many of the invasive asiatic species used in landscaping
If you plan to visit the Flower Show, be sure to visit EPA’s display and celebrate the wonder and awe of our National Parks. And you just may get an early taste of spring in the process.
About the author: Jeff Lapp is a Wetlands Scientist who has been working at the Region since 1989 and has been designing and forcing for the show since 1991. He is an avid botanist and grows many native plants, specializing in our native pitcher plants, at his home in Bucks County.
An Early Spring in Philadelphia
Source: EPA Pesticides recalls news