Productive Plants

To say that Michelle Alfandari was ultra urban would be an understatement. Living in New York City with her artist husband, Tom Goldenberg, she traveled the world creating new licensed branded businesses for companies as diverse (but always sophisticated) as The New York Times, the Tour de France and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

When she and Goldenberg moved to Sharon, Conn., a few years ago, Alfandari literally stopped and smelled the flowers. 

The house they now live in had been owned for years by a Sharon gardener/nursery owner; the bones were excellent, but the plants and beds had been neglected and needed some intensive TLC. Neighbors Robin Zitter and Michael Nadeau —landscape designers who emphasize native planting and sustainability — helped guide Alfandari through the process of learning what is an undesirable plant that can be evicted and what is a plant that should be protected and invited to stay. 

Then Alfandari attended a talk by entomologist Doug Tallamy and learned about the critical consequences of loss of habitat — degraded biodiversity and ecosystem services we all need to survive. She was impressed by the simplicity of the solution to restore biodiversity and felt she could help scale Tallamy’s message.  

Alfandari has partnered with Tallamy to create Homegrown National Park, a call-to-action to restore biodiversity, one person at a time, by planting native plants and removing invasives. They invite  everyone in America, no experience necessary, to get on the interactive Homegrown National Park map by planting native in their yards, whether it’s a  few feet or a few hundred acres.

To sign up and learn more, go to www.homegrownnationalpark.org. If you’re on your way to the nursery, Tallamy suggests these native plants as a way to create and protect biodiversity in your own homegrown national park:

Trees (buy small)

White oak (Quercus alba)

Sugar maple (Acer saccharum)

Paperbark birch (Betula papyrifera)

Black willow (Salix nigra) (damp areas)

Pin cherry (Prunus pensylvanica)

White pine (Pinus strobus)

Shrubs

Any native Viburnum

Witchhazel (Hamamelis virginiana)

Winterberry (Ilex verticilata

Sweet pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia)

Pussy willow (look for native Salix discolor)

Perennials

Any of the goldenrods (Solidago spp.)

New England aster (Aster novae-angliae)

Evening primrose (Oenothera biennis

Common milkweed (Asclepius seryaca)

Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus)

Latest News

Luigina A. Dzenutis

CANTON — Luigina A. Dzenutis, 91, of Canton, died peacefully on Jan. 16, 2025, in her home. She was the wife of the late Peter A. Dzenutis Sr.

Luigina was born in Bronx, New York, on May 17, 1933, the daughter of the late Jack and Medie (Tonelli) Grecco.

Keep ReadingShow less
Amenia approves pool at Troutbeck estate hotel

Troutbeck's sign at the intersection of Leedsville Road and Route 343 in Amenia.

Archive photo

AMENIA — Public hearings continued from the previous meeting concluded at the regular meeting of the Amenia Planning Board on Wednesday, Jan. 8. Having considered public comment, the board approved applications from Troutbeck for an indoor pool and from DaVinci Windows for a sign installation.

No public comment was heard in connection with the Troutbeck proposal to construct an outdoor pool as briefly described by project engineer Rich Rennia of Rennia Engineering of Dover Plains. The application is part of Phase 8 of Troutbeck’s adaptive reuse application, revised recently to reduce the environmental impact.

Keep ReadingShow less
Final grant of $675,000 awarded for Eddie Collins Memorial Park pool project
Eddie Collins Memorial Park in Millerton will the the site of a new community pool, with construction expected to begin by Spring 2025.
Archive photo

MILLERTON — Calling the ongoing revitalization of Eddie Collins Memorial Park “the largest project the village has taken on,” Mayor Jenn Najdek has disclosed additional funding has come through in support of its upgrade.

This past December, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation awarded the village a matching grant of up to $675,000 in support of the Eddie Collins Memorial Park Swimming Pool Project. With these monies, funding for Phase II of the project, which stems largely from a NY SWIMS capital grant, is now at $7.56 million.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pine Plains median home prices stay relatively steady at year's end

This 3 bedroom/2 bath renovated raised ranch at 7760 Main St. in Pine Plains sold for $590,000.

Photo by Christine Bates

PINE PLAINS — From August through November there were 14 sales in Pine Plains with only one on Lake Road selling for over a million dollars and two homes for over $500,000 — a midcentury modern in town closing for $590,000 and a historic house on 8.5 acres for $660,000.

Since September 2021 the median price for publicly listed properties in Pine Plains has hovered at around $350,000. Properties listed in mid-January include seven residences ranging in price from $150,000 to $8.95 million, six pieces of land and Harvest Homestead Farm on 343 acres with a fully functioning distillery formerly associated with 1930’s mobster Dutch Schultz.

Keep ReadingShow less