Sugar maple, Lorimer writes in his book, is an example of a tree pushed farther north, which is beginning to affect maple harvests. 

“The impacts of climate change are going to be forever,” Smith said. “There’s a sense of sadness there. … There are species that have gone and will go extinct because of this. “

Bradley added a note of caution for gardeners looking to replace those plants with warmer-adapted ones, which often constitute ornamental plants sold by nurseries. She said they may not be the best matches for northern gardens, and are more likely to have detrimental effects on ecosystems than native species. She urged gardeners to avoid potentially invasive species. They can take over a space and become a monoculture.

Biodiversity supports a range of insect and bird species, but also makes life easier for gardeners. Rounsaville said the wrong weather pattern or insect infestation could quickly eradicate a monoculture. As for tropical temptations such as bananas, he said, “It only takes one of those chance, extreme events that could reset the clock, so to speak, on what you’ve put in your garden.”

By planting and nurturing native plants — defined as species that have evolved naturally in a region — gardeners can build climate-resistant ecologies, Lorimer said.

“I think of it as sort of active compassion for what remains,” he said.

So about those Southern plants …

Not so fast, Lorimer said. “My answer is that we don’t have to make Massachusetts look like Virginia. By embracing the genetic diversity that’s here already, and working to preserve it, it will give the plants in this region the chance to adapt.”

Transitioning an established garden to native species need not be an overwhelming prospect, Lorimer said. Ideally, aim for about a 70 percent-30 percent split between native species and other plants, which he said encourages maximum species diversity.

Good moves, Smith said, include avoiding plants grown with neonicotinoids (a type of insecticide implicated in pollinator death), improving soil porosity, creating more green space, reducing grass lawns, and investing in the native plant mission.

“Where you look at it and you’re like, ‘I’m just one person, what can I do?’” Smith said. “You can put a native plant in your garden and save a bee. … You put in some milkweed and save the monarch.”

It’s about reconnecting with nature, Smith said.

“What it is to be human,” he said, “is that you get to make a choice.”

In order to help plants adapt, so must we.

Lindsay Crudele can be reached at lcrudele@gmail.com.

Climate change also has diminished another winter freeze benefit, Lorimer said: The reduction of pest eggs, which instead may flourish unchecked. For example, woolly adelgid, a sap-sucking insect that decimates hemlock, has mostly spared the state of Maine — until recently. Lorimer said he heard reports of the pest reaching Acadia National Park.

While extinction looms, existing plants will begin to struggle, visible even at the garden level, said Bethany Bradley, a UMass Amherst Department of Environmental Conservation professor.

“It’s really the [plants] that are more cold-adapted that may start doing more poorly in our gardens,” said Bradley, plants such as those belonging to Zones 3 through 6.

And, she said, climate change brings additional challenges: It’s not just gradual temperature shifts, but also more extreme weather systems.

“The very wet wets and really dry drys that we’ve had over the last couple of summers, those stress plants, too,” she said. “So we can expect to see more plants dying in our yards.”

Labeling and Counting Leaves

This gray treefrog was discovered by  Kelsey V.  

A much large white gilled mushrooms discovered by Saoirse D, October 17, 2022.

Ella S's photo showing the witch hazel flowers which consist of four, yellow strap-like petals which curl up on cold days and unfurl in warm weather, open on October 24, 2018.

Measuring Leaves. Measure width of the leaf at its widest point. Measure the length of the leaf blade, NOT including the leaf stem (petiole).

Spring peeper found by Jacob M., Oct. 29, 2018

Many of the leaf buds on American Beech #82 have opened into leaves that are now being chewed by 1st instar gypsy moth caterpillars on May 11, 2018.

Students collected leaf change data on October 1, 2, 9, 12, 17, 19, and 24, 2018. 

Here is a link to the weather conditions for that day.

F TO C: FAHRENHEIT TO CELSIUS CONVERSION FORMULA

To convert temperatures in degrees Fahrenheit to Celsius, subtract 32 and multiply by .5556 (or 5/9).

• Example: (50°F - 32) x .5556 = 10°C