The gardens at Wolf Trap support and encourage biodiversity. They enhance the efficient use of rainwater, create habitat for pollinators, birds and other animals and insects.
Friends of Wolf Trap (FOWT) helps maintain and support the multiple gardens at Wolf Trap. The Park’s 95 bees and 45 butterfly species in the multiple gardens at Wolf Trap. The gardens support biodiversity and prevent erosion while promoting native flowers, herbs and vegetables.
Woodland Shade Garden
Located at the bottom of the hill, behind the Filene Center. This shade garden landscape, with a variety of plants and trees, is supported and maintained by volunteer Green Spring Master Gardeners & Naturalists.
Meadow Garden
Established in 2012, this garden is located in the sunken bowl area at the front of the park. Over 21,000 native flowers and grasses (41 species) were planted (and are maintained) in this garden. In Spring 2018, FOWT observed Fairfax County firefighters perform a controlled burn of the meadow garden.
Native Garden
Located to the right of the box office. This unique area of native plants includes over 100 species of tree, shrubs, flowers, grasses and ferns.
Butterfly & Pollinator Garden
Located at the bottom of the hill, between the shade garden and the creek. Employees from a local Apple Store worked with FOWT Board Member, Mike Moran, to create and plant this garden. The plants in this garden are specifically meant to attract pollinators and butterflies.
List of some of the plants that can be found at Wolf Trap:
Trees:
- Ash
- American Holly
- Beech
- Oak trees
- Pines trees
- Tulip trees
- Wild azalea
- Cornus florida: flowering dogwood
Shrubs:
- Ilex verticillata: Winterberry
- Viburnum dentatum: Arrow-wood viburnum
- Leucothoe axillaris, Coast leucothoe
- Ilex glabra “ compacta”: compact Inkberry
- Gaultheria procumbens: Creeping wintergreen
- Hibiscus moscheutos: Eastern marshmallow
- Vaccinium angustifolium: Lowbush blueberry
Grasses/Ferns/Sedges:
- Adiantum pedatum: Maidenhair fern
- Osmunda regalis “Purpurascens”: Purple royal fern
- Osmunda cinnamomea: Cinnamon fern
- Carex morrowii “ice dance”: Variegated sedge
Perennials:
- Asclepias incarnate: Swamp milkweed
- Asclepias tuberosa: Butterfly weed
- Aquilegia canadense: Wild columbine
- Coreopsis verticillata “Moonbeam”: Moonbeam coreopsis
- Eupatorium purpureum: Joe pye weed
- Rudbeckia fulgida “goldstrum”: Blackeyed Susan
- Echinacea purpurea “Magnus”: Magnus purple cone flower
- Heuchera Americana: Coral bells
- Iris virginica: Virginia blue flag
- Iris cristata: Crested iris
- Mertensia virginica: Virginia bluebells
- Baptisia australis: Blue wild indigo
- Phlox divaricate: Woodland phlox
- Chelone glabra: Turtlehead
- Heliopsis helianthoides: Oxeye sunflower
- Helianthus angustifolius: Sunflower
- Oenothera fruitiosa: Sundrops
- Polemonium caeruleum: Jacob’s ladder