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Monarch’s Last Stand

July 23, 2022 By Jim 3 Comments

native plants support native monarch caterpillar

The monarch butterfly, the North American icon, now faces the threat of extinction, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, a top wildlife monitoring group which has put the butterfly species on it's Red List. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Supports Wildlife & Biodiversity

Homegrown National Park

May 16, 2021 By Jim 3 Comments

“In the past, we have asked one thing of our gardens: that they be pretty. Now they have to support life, sequester carbon, feed pollinators and manage water.”— DOUG TALLAMY  When I saw that Doug Tallamy had released a new book a couple of years ago, I thought something like, BEEN there, SEEN that, DONE it. After all, I had already seen him speak in person several times over many years with the first being February of 2014. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Product recommendations, Supports Wildlife & Biodiversity

Resilient Fall Bloomers

September 22, 2020 By Jim 2 Comments

Plants can show us how to have resolve in the face of challenges. Whether it was our record May rain falls or the Summer long drought we experienced after it, my garden is still alive. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Perennials and bulbs

Ecological Landscaping, another view

May 23, 2020 By Jim 1 Comment

Several years ago I went to a social mixer being held at a brewery by the now defunct group the Midwest Ecological Landscape Alliance (MELA). I was then in the process of changing my view of what gardening could be and this group seemed to be made up of like minded people. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Gardening, Supports Wildlife & Biodiversity

What happened to 2019? (and the 1900’s for that matter!)

January 3, 2020 By Jim 7 Comments

If you are on my email list, I can only imagine your response to getting this post. I thought he quit and went back to working in Insurance. I thought he was forced to flee the country. I thought he was on an expedition to India "find himself". … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Gardening

Ramblings in May

May 27, 2019 By Jim 2 Comments

It has been a while since I have written anything, so I thought I would share some rambling thoughts at the end of a busy May. I don't usually do stream of consciousness writing but what the hey? So in no particular order here are a few of my thoughts related to how my own relatively new yard's landscaping is developing. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Gardening

A Case for Non Native Plants

April 2, 2019 By Jim 1 Comment

Non Native Plants for Landscaping

#1 - Invasive pests are less likely to kill your Non-Native shade tree Exotic disease and insect pests are big problems because exotic pests evolve with plants that are related to our native plants. The pest and its host plant compete in an "Arms Race" in their homeland where they are evenly matched. Problems occur when the pest with its "advanced weaponry" come to a new land where it finds plants that it knows how to attack (they are genetically similar to the ones it "grew up with") but … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Plant recommendations

Tri Color Beech for Summer color and winter bark

February 26, 2019 By Jim 214 Comments

In the past, I have recommended two purple leaf beech trees for residential gardens.  I have already covered the purple fountain beech.  Now, I will cover the Tri-color beech, but with a caveat at the end of this post that may be changing my recommendation. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Plant recommendations Tagged With: beech, Fagus sylvatica "Roseomarginata', purple leaf tree, specimen, tree

School Trees Not Street Trees

February 21, 2019 By Jim 3 Comments

It is conference season in the "green" industry and I have been busy at both as an attendee and a vendor. Before I go to another one and get even more ideas, I wanted to share one. This fabulous one, I picked up from native plant icon Gerould Wilhelm from a talk he gave with plantsman Roy Diblik. Before I share it, let me give a bit of background from Gerould's talk. Why most trees are really lonely To simplify Gerould's talk too much, let's say the jest of it was that plants live in … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Conserves Money & Resources, Gardening, Supports Wildlife & Biodiversity

Live Stakes for Landscaping as Inexpensive Plants

January 23, 2019 By Jim 11 Comments

Live Stakes for Landscaping Yellowtwig Dogwood

Unless you are in the field of ecological restoration you are probably unfamiliar with the term, live stakes. But perhaps you are like me, and appreciate a good deal. Whether it is a pair of khakis for 50% off the last marked clearance price or a $5 Monday night burger deal at a local restaurant. I love saving money.  This frugality (my term, my wife and kids term would be cheapskate) also extends to my yard. While when it comes to landscaping tools or plants for clients, quality is the name … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Conserves Money & Resources, Gardening Tagged With: ecological restoration, nativeplants, saving money, shrubs

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