Horticultural Initiatives
The following initiatives have been driving our diversification efforts for the past several years , and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future .
• Conifer Diversification Initiative : In response to the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid outbreak , which is exacerbated by climate change , since the early 1990s we have reduced our hemlock collection by roughly two thirds down to the current 125 trees . Using our expanded in-house plant production program , we have been adding new conifer taxa to the collection . But the process is slow due to the fact that we have to propagate most of the plants from seed or cuttings . There are currently 250 seedlings in production , though we anticipate using only a portion of these once they reach maturity .
• Underground Tombs , Curb & Fence Lot Plantings : There are 640 lots on the grounds where granite curbing , iron fencing or underground tombs present challenges for the safety of structures and staff from our turf maintenance activities . Our efforts to replace the turf in these lots with more sustainable plantings have been happening since 1993 . Currently , we have completed 244 of these conversions ( 38 %), and in recent years have averaged five conversions per year .
• Test and utilize more USDA Hardiness Zone 6 Plantings : This is a long-term initiative , which anticipates further warming and growing conditions that are different from most of what Mount Auburn ’ s landscape has seen in the 190 years since its founding . After testing a fair amount of Zone 6 taxa , we will now focus on adding more of the proven ones into the landscape .
• Expand collections to include more Late Spring – Summer Flowering Plants : This initiative is primarily in response to earlier and earlier flowering times for plants in the spring , a phenomenon being documented by our citizen scientist phenology study . The reduction of flowering during bird migration periods creates insect ( food ) shortages for birds . Our goal of having 50 % of new plantings represent later-flowering plants has been achieved in each of the last two years , and should continue for the foreseeable future .
• Enhancement of Historic Landscape Character Zones : This is by far the broadest of the initiatives , and has been in place since 1993 . Among the many different objectives covered under this initiative , the ones for removing high-maintenance hedges and for replacing manicured turf with naturalistic ( minimally mowed ) turf or groundcover alternatives , are the most relevant for sustainability issues . We are now close to 90 % in the effort to replace hedges in “ the meadow ” area ( surrounding the Grove Street Gates ) with lower maintenance plantings . The naturalistic turf objective has seen success with landscape renovations at Harvard Hill , the Appleton lot , the North Dell Meadows , the Beech-Central historic zone , the apiary meadow and the slopes along Mountain Ave . These have used fine fescue grasses and a variety of sedges . Looking ahead , Phase-3 of the Indian Ridge project will attempt to replace turf with a sedge-wildflower meadow , and the proposed Chestnut Ave shrublandmeadow project will attempt an even larger conversion ( nearly 4 acres ).
Mount Auburn Cemetery | Climate Action & Sustainability Plan 32