Liz and Terry and I head off to deliver the Loblolly Pine needles to the Coastal Plain...Val drives the getaway car

At the bottom of Fern Valley, between the road and the fence that separates the Arboretum from Langston Golf Course, is the Coastal Plain area. The plantings are predominantly from the SE although the coastal plain extends as far north as New Jersey and along the Gulf Coast to Texas. It is one of the most interesting parts of Fern Valley; there are plants there you don't often encounter. The dominant tree species in this community are pines. We have several beautiful Longleaf Pines, Pinus palustris but they aren't large enough to shed enough needles to mulch the entire area.

Every year we collect pine needles to supplement the Longleaf's contribution. In the past we have used White Pine needles but this is a more northern pine that really doesn't occur naturally on the CP. This year we collected Loblolly Pine needles. Loblolly is an important member of the CP community so we have captured a bit of verisimilitude. And we had fun!