No, those aren’t regular garden beds you’ll spot in Loudoun County Parks this spring. Virginia Cooperative Extension Loudoun and Loudoun Master Gardeners are working with Loudoun County’s Parks, Recreation, and Community Services to bring two gravel beds to Claude Moore Park and Franklin Park to help tree saplings grow healthy roots.
These gravel beds are just that — irrigated piles of gravel. They’re intended to hold bare-root saplings to help them grow strong, fibrous root systems that make it easier for the plants to survive when they’re transplanted into the ground, according to a news release from Loudoun County.
The VCE Loudoun Master Gardener Tree Stewards began work on the project in July 2023; The beds were funded by a $10,000 grant awarded to VCE Loudoun from Amazon InCommunities.
The group planted 24 native saplings including river birch, ironwood, and black cherry in a 10-by-10-foot gravel bed in Claude Moore Park at the end of July 2023. By November, they were ready to be transplanted in the park’s woods.
After that success, the Tree Stewards began work on a second, larger bed at Franklin Park. The 10-by-20- foot bed has a capacity for up to 50 saplings.
The Tree Stewards will now be able to install up to 75 saplings per year between the two beds, beginning in April 2024. Saplings will grow in the gravel for six months, tended to by the Tree Stewards, before they are planted in the fall.
For the first season, the trees from each bed will be planted in the same park as the gravel bed where they grew. In future years, the trees will be split between the parks and other parts of the community that have not yet been announced, according to VCE Loudoun.
This comes at a time when Loudoun County’s tree canopy is facing threats from new insects, diseases, and climate change, according to the Parks, Recreation, and Community Services department.
The public is encouraged to visit the gravel beds to learn about the importance of trees and how gravel beds can help.
Feature image of gravel bed at Claude Moore Park courtesy VCE Loudoun
For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine’s News newsletter
