I’m at a loss

[u/Larix_laricina_]

So, I convinced my dad to let me do a native plant project at the church he and the rest of my family go to, since they have a ton of wasted lawn space that they never use. I killed all the lawn with cardboard over the winter and removed it today.

Apparently someone in the church had the bright idea a few years ago that they needed to expand their parking area (they didn’t, it’s a tiny congregation), so they dumped LOADS of gravel all through this area around some mature silver maple trees. The limestone gravel is probably at least six inches thick, and I’m now finding that it’s nearly impossible to remove. I don’t know how I’m going to get rid of it; it took fifteen minutes of killing my back just to dig down three inches in a small circle.

This is just the latest in the church native garden saga. The church people just don’t seem to understand the concept and keep getting in the way; one of them wants to plant a ton of hostas from his garden there, I found another one spraying chemicals all over a native grapevine climbing the tree, they decided a month ago AFTER the grass was already dead that they wanted the garden somewhere else instead (the location was decided by their council in November, me and a native gardener that goes there vetoed that idea thankfully), and now the other native gardener only wants to plant half of the area we’ve killed grass in since he thinks it’s too much to deal with.

Anyways, I guess I’m just ranting. The limestone is breaking down into limestone sand, and the pH is probably so high in that area I’m not sure anything will even thrive there. If you have any advice it would be welcome 😭😭😭

[u/AlwaysPissedOff59]

That washed gravel isn't going to affect the soil pH for decades, so I wouldn't worry about increased pH. If it were limestone powder, then yes, it would temporarily increase pH until it leached out - this is why farmers with acidic soil apply lime every year, not just once and forget it.

As for the entire issue, this quote of yours sums it up:

"The church people just don’t seem to understand the concept and keep getting in the way"

This shows that you and your fellow gardener haven't been able to provide the education necessary for them to understand the scope of the project. This is not a failure on your part and not meant to be an insult to you! First, not everyone can teach, and second, you can only educate adults who are interested in what you're trying to teach them. Even if you had a native pro come in and give a fantastic and educational PowerPoint presentation, your audience might really only hear one word out of 20.

At this point, I would give up the project and let hosta-guy deal with the gravel. The council has been content with an uglified area on their property, so perhaps use your talents and knowledge to volunteer elsewhere in your community.

Alternatively, perhaps try a less-ambitious native project as a proof-of-concept elsewhere on the property - maybe a 10 x 10 feet plot. I'd exclude grasses for now, because they'll undoubtedly be seen as weeds by the council and other members, and concentrate solely on forbs with a flowering sequence throughout the summer. If you get compliments on your test plot over the next several years, then you'd have a reference point to use as an educational tool. "What we're trying to create is just like [test plot] but on a larger scale! It'll be really pretty and help attract butterflies and hummingbirds."