Museum of the Earth

Members of FLNPS planted and maintain a "Gorge Garden" at the Museum of the Earth. The garden captures the feeling of a gorge in miniature, with cliffs, scree, and wooded bottomland.
Plants were chosen to represent the various micro-climates of a gorge. South-facing gorge walls are generally drier, with sparser cover, and are home to more drought-tolerant plants. North-facing walls are generally shadier, moister, and cooler, thus home to more moisture-loving species, such as mosses and ferns. Deeper areas of gorges are generally wetter and cooler than closer to the rim. In larger gorges, the creek edges may receive enough sun to support plants more often seen in wet meadows. Meadow plants were not included in the Gorge Garden, but were planted around the retention basin below the waterfall, and can be seen from the Gorge Garden.
Not everything we planned and planted has survived, but the garden has filled in nicely and is worth a visit.