The Nantucket Garden Club and Nantucket Land & Water Council are partnering to recognize gardens throughout the community that reflect best practices to encourage biodiversity, reduce the impact on our waters, and withstand the ravages of increasingly severe weather conditions.
Click on a link below to see how you can receive a Conservation Commendation for your efforts by creating a pollinator habitat, planting a climate-resilient garden, or establishing an environmentally friendly lawn.
What You Need to Do to Receive Your Commendation
Choose the category for which you wish to receive a Commendation
Complete the simple online application form detailing the garden and plant material being submitted for a Commendation no later than July 15 of the current year
The application will be reviewed by a joint Committee of the Nantucket Garden Club and Nantucket Land & Water Council
A site visit will be scheduled to view the site
Upon completion of a satisfactory review and the required criteria have been met, you will be given a Commendation plaque to display in the garden
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis
If accepted, Commendations will be recognized during the Nantucket Garden Club’s Annual Meeting each August
Commendation Areas
Pollinator Gardens
Birds, butterflies, and beneficial insects are attracted to specific varieties of plants. Create a pollinator habitat that can be a single garden or split among multiple areas of your yard. The garden must consist of plant material beneficial to pollinators, a majority of which are native to Nantucket. Garden must remain free of pesticides and chemicals.
Turf - New or Conversion from Traditional Lawn
Traditional lawns consume vast amounts of water resources and require ongoing fertilization that is detrimental to ponds, the harbors, and the island’s water supply. There are more resilient varieties of turf grass that do not require irrigation or the use of fertilizers. To qualify for this Commendation, a minimum of 200 square feet of lawn must be planted with low-maintenance species, a majority of which are native to Nantucket.
Resilient Landscapes & Rain Gardens
Climate -resilient landscapes and rain gardens are appropriate adjacent to a beach, dune, coastal bank, waterbody, or within an area prone to flooding. Plant material should include low-maintenance species, a majority of which are native to Nantucket. Plant material should be hardy, strong-rooted perennials or grasses able to tolerate both wet and dry conditions.
Resources
Click on the blue links below for sources/details
– NLC Pollinator Species List
– Nantucket Native Plants Brochure and Species List
– NLC Pollinator Program Guide
– Fun for Families
Turfgrass Species Lists
– Lavoie Horticulture
– Prairie Nursery
Low Maintenance Meadow
– Duke Farms
– UVM
Species List of Sedges and Other Grasses
– BBG
– Lavoie Horticulture
– Prairie Nursery
Native Fescue-Based Seed Mixes:
– Panicum virgatum (switchgrass), Schizachyrium scoparium (little bluestem), Carex pennsylvanica (Pennsylvania sedge)
– Eragrostis spectabilis (cane or love grass) and can use plugs
Species List of Plants Tolerant of Wet and Dry Conditions
Where to purchase plant materials and/or seeds:
– Bartlett’s Farm
– Surfing Hydrangea Nursery
– Moors End Farm, 40 Polpis Road, Nantucket
– Arrowhead Nursery
– Prairie Moon
– Sheffields
– Hudson Valley Seed
Past Commendations Awardees
2024
Meg Gliddon
Jane Hammond
Melissa Puljic
2023
Christine Harding
Peter Kellner
Kevin Kuester
Nantucket Garden Club-Saltmarsh Center Garden
2022
Nantucket Conservation Foundation-Kelly Omand
Susan O’Brien
Valentina B. Gandini Booth
Barb Kaytes
