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...]
Live Stakes for Landscaping as Inexpensive Plants
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...]
Two shade loving Asters that pollinators flock to
Fall blooming plants such as goldenrods and asters are great additions to almost any garden. Most of them like to grow in full sun. There are, however, exceptions. Let's look at two of these that are very similar, the Blue Wood Aster (Symphyotrichum cordifolium) and Short's Aster (Symphyotrichum shortii). … [Read more...]
Adding the Ground Layer to Finish an Ecological Garden Design
Let us wrap up the landscape design that was begun in Trees for Carbon Sequestration and Wildlife Support and continued in Wildlife Friendly Garden Design by planting the ground layer. This layer will include a meadow-like planting of perennials and grasses. … [Read more...]
Trees for wet areas and poorly drained soils
I would like to talk about selecting trees for wet areas, as I recently received the following question from Aubrey from the Denver Colorado area: We have an area of our yard at the bottom of a small slope. It tends to stay damp to wet. It's also clay. What tree would you recommend for that area? … [Read more...]
Wildlife Friendly Garden Design
Last post, I showed the start of a wildlife friendly garden design and selected a Swamp White Oak tree to anchor it. That tree was chosen due to the high value it provides to wildlife and due to its high carbon sequestration rates. Now we are going to add some additional trees and shrubs to make the planting an even more wildlife friendly garden. Picking Two Smaller Trees First, let's pick the evergreen tree. In Northern Illinois, there are very few native evergreen trees. Eastern red cedar … [Read more...]
Trees for Carbon Sequestration and Wildlife Support
Picking the right trees for carbon sequestration is a good step to take in creating a Landscape that does more than look pretty. In this post, we will begin a 3 Part Series showing an ecological mixed landscape bed design by selecting trees to sequester CO2 and support wildlife at a high level. … [Read more...]
Landscaping for your grandchildren
Your idea of landscaping for your grandchildren probably includes having a play and lawn area for running around and sports, as well as the usual goals of having a beautiful and low maintenance landscape. Those goals are no longer enough....not if you care about what your grandchildren will be inheriting. We are borrowing the land from future generations, even that yard you think is yours and yours alone, so you are indeed landscaping for your grandchildren whether you think about it or … [Read more...]
Purple Fountain beech as a perfect specimen
Today, I am, going to recommend you consider an odd specimen tree, the Purple fountain beech. Yeah even though it's not a native tree and I have bad mouthed Purple leaf Japanese maples in a past post. I made the argument that green leaf Japanese maples fit into landscapes better than their purple leafed cousins. I also gave some suggested green leaf varieties. … [Read more...]
Pollinator Garden Plan with Plant Descriptions
Today lets look at a pollinator garden plan I put together. This is decent sized garden approximately 12' wide by 8' deep in the form of an oval. It is for an area with medium to drier soil moisture that gets over 6 hours of sun. We will be using Prairie plants that are especially attractive to pollinators for our planting palette. … [Read more...]