June 4, 2007

Demonstration garden educates about benefits of buffer zones

Virginia Tech and the City of Virginia Beach are working together to educate residents on the importance of buffer zones with the Buffer Educational Garden at the Virginia Tech Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center (AREC). Susan French, Virginia Cooperative Extension horticulture agent in Virginia Beach, and Laurie Fox, horticulture associate at the Hampton Roads AREC, initiated the project.

“Buffer gardens are important to everyone because they protect and preserve our water quality,” Fox said. Buffers slow down and spread out storm water runoff while filtering sediment, nutrients, and pollutants before they get into the water.  Buffers prevent erosion and stabilize the shoreline, provide food and habitat for wildlife, add visual and species diversity to the landscape, and help moderate flooding.

French and Fox wanted to provide a place for people to learn about how to incorporate buffer zones into their own landscapes. Buffers are adaptable to any location adjacent to a body of water, from a creek to a storm-water retention pond to the Chesapeake Bay. The buffer garden at the Hampton Roads AREC shows two styles – a more naturalized design that emphasizes native plants, and a more formal design that emphasizes ornamental plants. “These gardens represent opposite ends of the spectrum and show visitors that buffer gardens can fit with any landscape style,” Fox added.

The two hope that gardening enthusiasts who visit the Buffer Educational Garden will be more successful with their own buffer projects.

For those interested in adding a buffer zone to their garden, Fox recommends planning ahead. “Do your homework ahead of time,” she said. “Understand your site conditions and what you want the final garden to look like. Visit other buffer gardens, and gather information including plant lists before installing your own.”

More information about the Buffer Educational Garden (http://www.vaes.org.vt.edu/HRAREC/Buffer%20Zone/Bufferzone.htm) is available on the Hampton Roads AREC website.

About Virginia Cooperative Extension

Virginia Cooperative Extension (www.ext.vt.edu/) brings the resources of Virginia’s land-grant universities, Virginia Tech and Virginia State University, to the people of the commonwealth. Through a system of on-campus specialists and locally based agents, it delivers education in the areas of agriculture and natural resources, family and consumer sciences, community viability, and 4-H youth development. With a network of faculty at two universities, 107 county and city offices, 13 agricultural research and Extension centers, and six 4-H educational centers, Virginia Cooperative Extension provides solutions to the problems facing Virginians today.

Contact: Laurie Fox
Virginia Cooperative Extension horticulturist
Hampton Roads Agriculture Research and Extension Center
(757) 363-3807
ljfox@vt.edu

Contact: Michael Sutphin

Writer

Communications and Marketing

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Virginia Tech

(540) 231-6975

msutphin@vt.edu

Writer: Susan Suddarth

Student Intern

Communications and Marketing

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Virginia Tech