Melinda Guinn’s Garden Tour
Location: Fox Chapel, PA (address will be sent the day before the tour)
Date: Saturday, August 10th
Time: 10am
Limited space! (Registration will close the Thursday before the event.)
Our 3 Acres is an Audubon Society of Western PA Certified Backyard Habitat and a Penn State Extension Watershed Friendly Property that features nearly 100 native plant species and abuts eighteen acres of local parkland in Fox Chapel Borough.
I am a volunteer with ASWP, Tree Pittsburgh, Allegheny County Parks, and Fox Chapel Borough Parks Commission.
We purchased our property as a vacant lot in 2017 and our first challenge was to identify native species of value and invasive species to manage. We identified more than 25 non-natives and made the decision to locate and construct the house, driveway and rain garden in the center of a patch of seventeen removed Tree of Heaven. We left beautiful Oaks, Eastern White Pines, Tulip Poplars, Maples, Black Cherries and many other native species untouched.
Next we established a meadow using Ernst Conservation Seed and filled our rain garden with native trees, shrubs and perennials. We have continued to manage our woodland understory for invasives and we’ve planted hundreds of native trees and shrubs. Last year we added a water garden that has attracted frogs. Every year, I strive to increase native plant density, Biodiversity, and native plant seed production.
Most of our work is done ourselves as hobbyists. We hired Eichenlaub to assist with planting a few large trees initially and several Phipps Certified Sustainable Landcare Professionals to assist with special projects, my favorite being Jen Lazaro of This Green City. Rob Kruljac is our Arborist.
Hundreds of native trees and shrubs were obtained through a 10 Million Trees for PA Program Grant, but we purchase native trees, shrubs and plants locally from ASWP Native Plant Nursery, Tree Pittsburgh Heritage Tree Nursery, Arcadia Natives, and Rustbelt Natives. I occasionally order online for hard to find species.
