Stony Brook Station

Our local train station is a transportation hub for commuters, tourists, and high school and university students. Vehicles and pedestrians pass by at a consistent hum so it is important to our community organizations that the space reflect our love of place. In 2022 several organizations came together to clear out over-grown brush and invasive plants and begin planting mostly native plants. It is our hope that the plantings inspire people in our community to learn more about native plants and see how they could incorporate natives into their home landscape.

Design Process

Our visual goals included buffering the view of the tracks from the businesses across 25A, but still creating an awareness of the station’s presence. By trimming up tree branches and cutting back brush along the ground, there is an eye-level connection to the train platform, but most of what one sees is green trees and blooming perennials that persist through the summer and fall. We have planted the beds in stages so that volunteers can keep up with the weeding and maintenance while the plantings grow and become established. One of the fascinating things to observe at the train station is how the plants handle no supplemental water after the initial planting phase. Choosing plants that can thrive with the fluctuations of seasonal rainfall and grow deep roots to sustain them through a dry summer has been an important part of the design process.

Plants Used

Two of the beds have been planted with exclusively Long Island native plants including little bluestem, butterflyweed, yellow wild indigo, purple lovegrass, asters, and goldenrods.