Redefining the Beauty of Nature and Wildlife in Our Gardens
[Guest post by Phil Nauta] A teaspoon of healthy soil can contain a billion beneficial microorganisms. I was a gardener for over 10 years before I learned that, and before I discovered organic gardening and the “soil food web.” That’s when I became passionate about gardening. Today I’d like to share something important with you [...]
It’s spring! Spring! SPRING! …ahem. Dangerous stuff, spring. I suppose somewhere there is a gardener that does not lose their mind a little in spring. Probably they grow only hellebores or mums or something. Even people who specialize in cactus get a little crazed in spring, if their cactus has gotten enough water this year [...]
I’m so excited to have been able to return to visit the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center this year. The area around Austin, Texas is certainly beautiful, and the Wildflower Center’s devotion to the conservation of the native plants of this area is commendable, and visitors are fully educated about this mission before even entering [...]
I’m in the process of creating a new presentation about Landscaping for Wildlife and I’ve been doing a lot of research to include all of the best information so I can teach people how to design a garden that creates welcoming habitat for wildlife and is beautiful to behold. During this process I have discovered a [...]
Take a drive around almost any neighborhood in the USA, and you’ll see the same thing. Yards are all green and boring, each having a nicely mown lawn, a few shrubs, some juniper or other pine trees, a nice ornamental tree or two and some petunias or other annuals for color. Then every once in [...]
“Now’s the time to plant those,” said the clerk at the feed store, as I slid a half-pound of tiny pearl-onion-sized bulbs into a paper bag. “Good to know,” I said. I wasn’t lying. I have never quite figured out vegetables, coming at gardening from the I-want-one-of-every-native-plant side as I have. I try to make [...]
Yesterday I was invited to participate in the Anti-Valentine Lawn Project, and I wrote a Love Letter to Wildlife, talking about how each of us could create a love letter to wildlife in our gardens by reducing or eliminating our lawns and adding welcoming habitat for the birds, butterflies and other critters to share our [...]
I met a new species this week. Well, actually we first met back in November, but I never got around to identification. My new friend is a Little Grass Frog (Pseudacris ocularis). Living up to its name, I saw some movement in the native grasses, a collection of sedges and bluestem and even some wildflowers [...]
“I had to fire my Gardener…” The other day when I was talking to my neighbor Marcie, I learned that she had fired her gardener. She had to cut expenses, so the gardener had to go. As a result, her perfectly manicured green lawn was dying. I have to admit I was secretly delighted with [...]
Not every plant likes to have it cozy, crumbly and moist. Many plants around the world thrive living even in the harshest of growing conditions. Rocks, sand, little moisture and blowing winds are their idea of having a good time while loads of compost, high humidity and wet feet can bring them uncomfortable feelings or [...]
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