Sequence of bloom, planting for a succession of flowers in your garden, seems like a pretty simple and straightforward concept, but most gardeners can tell you it’s much more difficult than it seems. Best Laid Plans Sometimes Mother Nature gets … Continue reading
Winter is a quiet time in most gardens. It’s a time for planning for the coming seasons. I especially enjoy seeing my garden’s ‘bones’ – the structure that gets hidden during the frenzy of spring and summer. I find winter … Continue reading
More and more municipalities are developing multi-layered plans to manage storm water runoff. And the smart ones are enlisting the aid of homeowners to get involved and start keeping storm water runoff in their own gardens rather than have it make its … Continue reading
The other day, I found the most surprising thing in my garden….
A little fawn, looking, well, dead. At least that’s what I feared when I first discovered her. I went outside to take a closer look…
No visible wounds, no blood, but also no movement.
To find out more about this little fawn, please read my latest post on Native Plants and Wildlife Gardens, Surprising Find in My Wildlife Garden.
There’s a growing awareness that our gardens possess hidden powers.
No longer just a collection of pretty plants, these same gardens can make a positive impact on our local ecosystems. Simple steps like planting regional native plants and maintaining your garden in a sustainable and organic way are easy first steps.
You can also make an impact outside of what you’re currently doing in your own garden. Become a Citizen Scientist.
Citizen scientists collaborate with scientists around the world by helping them gather data. There’s no need for special outfits (of course if you want to wear a red cape or carry around a lasso of truth, I won’t tell anyone) but access to a computer or a smart phone can’t hurt.
One citizen science project that’s gathering attention is the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project. Simply sign up to monitor a patch of milkweed in your area and record your data. The scientists at the University of Minnesota’s Monarch Lab will do the rest.
If you’re interested in finding our about a few more citizen science projects you can get involved in, check out my post, Citizen Science – Make An Impact Beyond Your Garden, over at the Native Plants & Wildlife Gardens blog.
Are you a superhero? I’d love to hear about any citizen science projects you’re involved with.
A habitat planter for attracting 'good bugs'. photo © Mark Kelly
Over on Native Plants & Wildlife Gardens , I published a post about six great plants, some are annuals and some are perennials in my Connecticut garden (zone 6), for attracting beneficial insects to your garden.
Creating more habitat for birds, butterflies and bees is really easy. You can even combine these plants and create your very own habitat planter.
What exactly are the 6 plants for attracting beneficial insects to your garden? Here’s a quick peek…
Visit Native Plans & Wildlife Gardens to find out about the 6 plants for attracting beneficial insects to your garden and how to best use them in your garden.
John's Find white pine is a great native conifer for adding interest to your garden
At a recent gathering of professional landscape designers, the topic of designing gardens with native plants came up. Frankly, I was surprised by some of the comments I heard during the discussion.
Several designers shied away from using native plants because they felt their “clients would never go for go for that kind of look”. One landscape designer, who admitted to using native plants in her garden designs, qualified her answer by saying, “but my designs are really natural looking”.
Rather than launching into rhetoric about the many benefits of using native plants in designed gardens, I instead asked the group what they felt was the cornerstone of a well-designed garden. The answer?
Read the full post at Native Plants & Wildlife Gardens.
