A party in the woods

They came out young and old; dozens of people showed up Saturday for the "Clean Up Charlie's Woods" party. They dug up hundreds of invasive snake plants so they can be replaced  by those that are good for the environment.

A gumbo limbo, an oak and an orange tree were found inside the jungle.

It's the Grove's newest park is just next to the historic Charlie Cinnamon House.

Stop by and visit at the intersection of Plaza Street and Palmetto Avenue in the South Grove.

The four City-owned lots at this intersection are under-utilized and portions are full of non-native invasive plants. The objective was to transform this area to a Connect to Protect garden, supporting all-too-rare native biodiversity. There has been neighborhood interest in this idea, but also strong opposition. Through this event they hoped to gain support for the idea of transforming this space to a bio-diverse, mostly native planting, while ridding the area of dense weeds.

Invasive plants such as tropical almond seedlings, air potato and especially snake plant (aka mother-in-law's tongue, aka Sanseveria) have invaded the area. This latter species has deep rhizomes that must be dug up in order to eradicate it.

 Photos by Glenn Terry