Beautiful Native Plants
A Tree and a Missed Opportunity
Today, January 20, 2012 is Florida Arbor Day, a day for revering trees and a great day for planting trees in our state. Unfortunately, Floridians are not in a particularly celebratory mood this week. One of the world’s oldest trees (said to be the 5th oldest), a resident of Florida for purportedly 3500 years (not… [Continue Reading]
Planning a Butterfly Garden
The Pasadena Rose Parade is behind us now, but the weather it is famous for remains: clear, sunny skies and short-sleeve temperatures. January, what better time for the California native gardener to start a new Wildlife Garden! In reflecting on last year’s garden, I have decided that I don’t see enough butterflies. Sure, they visit… [Continue Reading]
Dreaming and Designing
January in the Rockies is cold, sometimes snowy, and definitely non-gardening weather. It’s too early to start seeds in the sunroom, the ground is too frozen to dig in, and while many parts of the country have beautiful blooms already, the gardens here are happily sleeping. My gardening fingers are itching to do something plant… [Continue Reading]
Falling for Favorite Natives-Part 2
Well it’s a New Year and I hope your New Year’s Day was wonderful. In thinking about planning for the new year’s garden, I offer you Part 2 of my fall favorite native plants. You can read about Part 1 if you missed the post. There are some tried and true natives in the list,… [Continue Reading]
Doug Tallamy Says Bring Nature Home to Your Wildlife Garden
Talk to anyone who speaks, writes, or teaches about creating welcoming habitats for wildlife in our gardens, and sooner rather than later they will mention Bringing Nature Home by Doug Tallamy. This book has become the “bible” for wildlife gardeners everywhere. Doug Tallamy clearly shows in this book how native plants form the basis of… [Continue Reading]
Beautiful Wildlife
It’s a Worm…It’s a Slug… It’s a WHAT?
My head is ready to explode since I’m still reeling from this week’s debacle involving the partnering of National Wildlife Federation with Scotts Miracle Gro. In order to regain my sanity, it is time to revert back to enjoy the oft-unexpected findings in my Beautiful Wildlife Garden. New critters always clear my mind…once I figure… [Continue Reading]
A Mask Does Not a Bandit Make
It was the wee hours, yet I was awake. I glanced at the glass doors to the deck .. did I see eyes? Yes, I spied two yellow eyes. And.. there was a face attached. I could make out a face with a mask! The face moved away quickly as I slid open the door. … [Continue Reading]
David Mizejewski Defends National Wildlife Federation Partnership with Scotts Miracle Gro
Listen to interview with David Mizejewski while you read: Like so many others, I was stunned when I learned that the National Wildlife Federation had decided to team up with Scotts Miracle Gro in what they describe as a mutually beneficial relationship. Personally I find nothing at all beneficial about this, and I have a… [Continue Reading]
Should the Sign Come Down?
Sometimes organizations make decisions that are simply too far out there to understand. The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) just made one of those decisions. The NWF has decided to partner with the Scotts Miracle-Gro Company. That’s right, the non-profit organization whose logo is “Wildlife Promise” and has a mission statement of “Inspiring Americans to protect… [Continue Reading]
The Hawk in the Garden
[Guest post by Benjamin Vogt] I’m a big believer in luck. And by that I mean serendipity. And by that I mean fate. This is why I think that every email could be “the one,” or every telephone ring, or each envelope in the mailbox. Today, I was simply going to the kitchen to get… [Continue Reading]
Beautiful Insects
In Praise of Bugs: The White Pine Weevil
[Guest post by Sue Sweeney] The white pine weevil (Pissodes strobe) seems as good a candidate as any to start a national native bug appreciation day movement. Chances are you’ll be much more likely to see this critter’s work than the critter, which may be a good thing seeing that the bug is an ugly as an… [Continue Reading]
Killer in Our Midst…The Assassin Bug
Inspired by team member Ursula Vernon’s Monday post, I set out to find one edge of my patio. Overgrown with Bidens alba that gave out to the 2 hours freeze we experienced recently, I began to pull out the spent plants from the roots. B. alba can really be considered an annual and will… [Continue Reading]
Planning a Butterfly Garden
The Pasadena Rose Parade is behind us now, but the weather it is famous for remains: clear, sunny skies and short-sleeve temperatures. January, what better time for the California native gardener to start a new Wildlife Garden! In reflecting on last year’s garden, I have decided that I don’t see enough butterflies. Sure, they visit… [Continue Reading]
Falling for Favorite Natives-Part 2
Well it’s a New Year and I hope your New Year’s Day was wonderful. In thinking about planning for the new year’s garden, I offer you Part 2 of my fall favorite native plants. You can read about Part 1 if you missed the post. There are some tried and true natives in the list,… [Continue Reading]
Wildlife Coming Out Party!
I’m always amazed at how nature does its thing. The other day I was out and about and stopped by an area of Shyleaf (Aeschynomene americana) to see what was “cookin”. There are a few Green Lynx Spiders with egg sacs and I patiently await the miracle of birth. I was thrilled to see a… [Continue Reading]
Join the Conversation