Garden Maintenance – Spring Cleanups
Spring cleanups are starting. Even though spring is my favorite time of the year, cleanups are not my favorite thing to do. Especially as I get older, cutting back grasses, perennials, and shrubs, and leaf pick ups just do not sound as inviting as they once did. I still love working here, but more and […]
Plants for Winter Interest in the Garden
Now that winter is finally upon us, I like to look at my garden and think about the future. Right now, the snow is settled over the landscape, and I can see what looks good in it. Plants for winter interest are definitely needed. But we also want plants with multiple season interest. If we […]
Creating A Meadow Garden in Your Landscape
I have mentioned the meadow garden many times now. Why do you think that is? I love the native prairie and the application of prairie into the landscape is not an easy one for most homeowners. But you can create a meadow garden in almost any landscape. The meadow is similar to a glade, in […]
Sunflowers or Silphiums – Plant Look-A-Likes
One of the things that comes hard to me is when I am with folk who do not now their sunflowers from their silphiums. Or any plant look-a-likes that may happen. I often get to help lead native plant walks, as well as tour home gardens where look-a-likes occur frequently. But what are silphiums? Because […]
Best Native Plants (not cultivars) for the Landscape
Deciding what native plants to add to your landscape can be a daunting challenge. From landscape designers to botanists, homeowners are pressured into adding natives into their landscapes, often without knowing how those plants will do in a traditional garden or landscape setting. If your are designing a meadow garden or native plant garden, you […]
Blazingstar – September Plant of the Month
Blazingstar is our September Plant of the Month. These perennials are one of my all-time favorite flowers, because the first one I learned to identify bloomed around the time of my birthday, in September. Since then, I have learned about the many species of blazingstars, which start flowering as early as July and continue into […]
Rudbeckia – August Plant of the Month
Rudbeckia, aka black or brown-eyed Susan, is our August Plant of the Month. Native to North America, rudbeckias are favored in both the old world (Europe) and the new (America) for their long bloom period and adaptability. There 23 species across the continent, but only 7 that we are concerned with. Black-eyed Susan’s have been […]
Milkweed – July Plant of the Month
Milkweed is our July Plant of the Month. When you think butterfly conservation, butterfly gardening, or butterflies, you also think mostly about milkweeds. But why is that? The Monarch butterfly, often considered the most majestic of North American butterflies, can only raise its young on milkweeds, and a couple tropical milkweed cousins. Because of the […]
Meet the Pollinators : Skipper Butterflies
What are skipper butterflies and why are they separate from other butterflies? Skippers are often termed as an intermediate group between butterflies and moths. What does that mean? It mean that they have characteristics of both groups within Lepidoptera. Skipper butterflies have furry bodies similar to moths, but fly during the day and sit at […]