Ambassador Pitteloud’s Native Garden

Molly McCluskey wrote in the Audubon Magazine on September 8, 2021 that when Jacques Pitteloud, Switzerland’s new ambassador to the United States, arrived at his new home and office in the fall of 2019 in northwest Washington, D.C, he was dismayed to discover its historic six-acre stretch of land looked and were treated like a golf course.

“I felt a tremendous amount of guilt and shame when I took over the residence,” he said. “Golf courses are nice to look at, but they’re ecological disasters.”

Since arriving, Ambassador Pitteloud was bent on a mission to re-wild the expansive grounds, aiming to create a biodiversity reserve marked by the native plants of the region. 

They uprooted all the non-native bushes and trees, such as ornamental burning bush and non-productive grass, and replaced them with meadows, bushes, and native trees, including white oak, scarlet oak, black oak, and others.

In the Fall or 2020, one year after Ambassador Pitteloud’s arrival, Indian River County Commissioner Laura Moss wrote an inter-office memorandum to the County Commissioners advocating “for an area for Native/Florida Friendly Plants in front of the County Administration Buildings and the grass lawn to be removed.”

On August 11, 2012 she wrote in an additional inter-office memorandum that “The project is intended to be educational for our community-at-large, as well as functional.  It also affords us the opportunity to set a good example.  As we all know, run-off into our Lagoon is a major problem that is amenable to mitigation through such measures…native gardens are a natural way to conserve and protect our water.”

According to Dr. Richard Baker, president of the Pelican Audubon Society, who’s organization is funding the native garden, “We are looking forward to getting started with…our native plant garden that can reduce water use, encourage habitat, that can enhance everyone’s yard, and reduce chemicals and muck forming in our Indian River Lagoon.”

A native plant garden at the Indian River complex, Building A was unanimously approved at the County Commissioner’s meeting on October 5, 2021, a year later. It has been designed by Cadence, a professional landscape architecture firm based in Ft. Lauderdale.

According to their website: “Cadence is a Landscape Architecture practice focused on connecting physical and social landscapes. Our projects span the realms of design, science, art and community. Our motivation stems from a shared desire to bring forward thinking design to our clients. We craft spaces and orchestrate experiences; our canvas is the outdoors. Cadence understands the human impact the built world has on nature, we seek to make that a positive one.”

Once again, Pelican Island Audubon Society has contracted for Cadence’s serviced with no charge to the County budget.  Other contributors have come forward to offer financial support for the project, including:

Audubon Florida Society

Clean Water Coalition

Florida Power and Light (FPL)

Henry Fischer & Sons

Temple Beth Shalom/Interfaith Community Group of the Treasure Coast

Plant Schedule

Trees: Qty 1 Simpson’s Stopper

Palms: Qty 1 Florida Thatch Palm

Shrubs: Qty 1 American Beauty Berry

Qty 6 Horizontal Horizontal Cocoplum

Qty 1 Firebush

Qty 3 Scorpions Tail

Qty 6 Dull Leaf Wild Coffee

Qty 5 Shiny-leaf Wild Coffee

Qty 3 Rouge Plane

Qty 29 Carolina Wild Petunia

Qty 16 Coontie

Grasses: Qty 19 Elliot’s Love Grass

Qty 22 Pink Muhsy

Qty 13 Florida Crabgrass

Perennials: Qty 19 Leavenworth’s Tickseed

Qty 75 Lanceleaf Tickseed

Qty 16 Beach Verbena

Qty 10 Scarlet Sage

Qty 5 Chapman’s Sweet Goldenrod

Qty 6 Blue Porterweed

Ground Covers:

Qty 13 Frogfruit

Mulches:

Woodchip Mulch

Pine Straw Mulch