Our Meadow Story
Beginning in 2023, Common Ground Earth started talking to Asbury Methodist Village on the possibility of a grant funded turf grass to native meadow conversion.
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A custom native meadow seed mix was developed to establish a vibrant and diverse ecosystem composed of wildflowers, grasses, and other plants that are indigenous to Gaithersburg. These native plants create an ideal habitat for a variety of wildlife, attracting colorful songbirds, hummingbirds, butterflies, and pollinators. A native meadow also embodies a fundamental principle of CGE: diversity.
Please read below as we tell the story of how this beautiful meadow came to be!
The Habitat Action Commitee at Asbury
The Habitat Action Committee at Asbury looks after a 17-acre Nature Preserve, Asbury Methodist Village is a certified wildlife work site with a commitment to maintaining an eco-friendly campus that goes beyond just having a beautiful place to live. Asbury is dedicated to nurturing our environment and creating a space that will grow, evolve and sustain hundreds of species of native plant and animal life for decades to come.
Founded by Asbury Methodist Village residents, Gaithersburg Beloved Community Initiative (GBCI) is a volunteer-led nonprofit creating intergenerational programs that promote social justice and improve the lives of youth, families, and older adults. Inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King's vision of a "beloved community", GBCI works to bridge the opportunity gap for low-income communities in Gaithersburg through afterschool programming, mentorship, dialogue groups, and community action.
August is for ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT!
Throughout the year, members of Common Ground Earth and The Habitat Action Committee here at Asbury do what they can to properly monitor the overall health of the meadow. Although we have had great success with last winter's drill seeding, we are finding invasives like American Burn Weed and Horseweed which we try to eradicate for the success of all the seedings.
Shallow Root System
Our First June Bloom Of 2025!
Witnessing the first official bloom at Asbury, we're taking in all of the great colors popping up and paying special attention to the areas that are in further need of native vegetation for the pollinators. Furthering the health of the meadows will be our priority moving forward with our continued adaptive management and monitoring plans. The largest group of invasives we've been eliminating are American Burn Weed & Horse Weed.
Spring Workshop With Gaithersburg Beloved Community Inititiative!
CGE had the opportunity to design a scavenger hunt identifying native plant species and were taught how the native seeds are planted with local elementary school children with GBCI. The intergenerational learning that day was quite a site to see. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the experiential learning and walked away feeling excited about nature!
American Burn Weed
Spring Has Sprung! Time To Get To Work...
Bittercress
Welcome to Spring 2025! We are finally able to start monitoring the seed planting from November of last year. This data will give us a starting point to look at areas of the new meadow that need attention. And from the pic above, it looks like we've got plenty of invasive Bittercress to deal with.
CGE NO TILL Drill Seeding System
Drill Seeder
Seed Hopper
CGE and Legacy LandWorks prepared 2 different native seed mixes based on density for the NO TILL seed driller. 1.65 acres of Asbury's Nature Preserve was seeded with 45 different native species in November 2024. In June of 2025 we were amazed at the results. With only a six month waiting period we were very curious what kind of success we would have especially with a large goose population that consumes seed who inhabit the area. Our data suggests that even with the geese feeding off of the ground, our NO TILL seed driller effectively planted seed at a depth that was protected.
Defining our meadow space
With 1.65 acres to work with, we tried to utilize to most acreage within the 2 meadow sites on the Asbury property. Starting by drawing diagrams to educate the Asbury Foundation and the public on exactly where the meadow would be installed. We also left paths of existing turf grass so the lawn care crew would have better access. And finished with temporary, high visible fencing to deter access while meadow is growing.
Turf Elimination
Working with Empire Landscaping, Environmentally safe aquatic spray was used to prep the meadow areas before seeding. We eliminate turf grass because it will give the native deeds planted the best chance of survival. Depending on the size of the meadow project, CGE uses aquatic spray, black sheeting or cardboard for smothering, etc... These methods will ensure a proper starting point for a healthy meadow.
