The Polly Hill Arboretum (PHA) recently launched an online plant selection guide designed to take the guesswork out of plant choices, putting form and function into your landscape.
PHA, with the support of the Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC), developed a searchable plant database targeted to municipalities, landscape architects, landscapers, professional gardeners, home gardeners, and garden centers on Martha’s Vineyard. The new easy and fun website aids in choosing plants well-suited for your landscape requirements, while allowing personal style to prevail through the selection process.
Searches are based on site conditions, native region, plant type, and plant characteristics. Each category has more detailed options, allowing your search to reflect your desires for your landscape or garden. In an effort to encourage plant selections based on appropriateness for your site, plants with the natural ability to thrive in an Island environment are listed. This allows for plants you may be unaware of to become an option in your garden. Plants not suitable for Island conditions, but widely used, are clearly noted in search results.
The Commission and the Arboretum are both working to increase biodiversity, promote ecological integrity, and preserve the unique ecosystems of the Island. The MVC already oversees plant choices in projects it reviews. Now, this collaborative website serves as a resource to support well-informed plant choices applicable to landscapes Island wide. This website is designed specifically to enhance and protect the natural landscapes, flora, and fauna of Martha’s Vineyard.
The new Plant Selection Guide can take the guesswork out of finding the best plants for your project, and the results will let you take a well-informed plant shopping list to the nursery next spring. Over the coming year, photographs will be added to give users a better idea of plant characteristics and seasonal interest.
To go to the guide, click here.