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American Hazelnut is a great native shrub for wildlife

July 17, 2016 By Jim 22 Comments

American Hazelnut

Today, lets talk about a shrub I doubt you have found in the garden center, nurseries or other stores you usually buy your plants in, the American Hazelnut. That does not mean you shouldn't be adding it to your landscape. Especially if you are trying to create a garden sanctuary not only for you, but also for the wildlife we share our land with. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Plant recommendations Tagged With: Bush, Edible, native, shrub

Butterfly weed an orange flower for us all

June 14, 2015 By Jim 5 Comments

Today, I wanted to get back to writing about perennials. I was about to write about landscapers favorite perennials. Instead lets talk about the one perennial landscapers SHOULD be using but typically don't, the Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa). … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Plant recommendations Tagged With: butterfly, milkweed, native

Switchgrass, a great native ornamental grass

February 15, 2015 By Jim 6 Comments

Panicum virgatum

Ornamental grasses have gone from making me roll my eyes during a dinner conversation (see my About page) to a perennial I am looking for a spot in my yard to plant more. The particular grass, I am writing about is commonly called Switch grass (Panicum virgatum). … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Perennials and bulbs, Plant recommendations, Winter Tagged With: native, ornamental grass, winter interest

Canadian ginger, a native made for the shade

August 2, 2014 By Jim 10 Comments

Canadian-Ginger-closeup

It’s been quite a while since I wrote about a perennial. It’s about time to cover another. Last time it was the blue false indigo. This time we are going to go over a foliage plant, the Canadian ginger. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Perennials and bulbs, Plant recommendations Tagged With: Deer resistant, Ground cover, Juglone tolerant, native, perennials

Plants for your Nature Inspired Garden: How to Find

July 5, 2014 By Jim Leave a Comment

Plants for your nature inspired garden: How to find using Nature Serve Explorer

Today, I will show you how to identify plants for your nature inspired garden. Last post, I showed you how to use Land Cover Viewer to find out the name of the types of natural areas near you. We will take that information and use it to find plants for your landscape. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Design, Plant recommendations Tagged With: Land Cover Viewer, native, native plants, Nature Serve Explorer, Plant Associations, Plant list

Local Inspiration for your Nature Inspired Garden Part 1

May 31, 2014 By Jim 3 Comments

Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie

In a previous post, I wrote about using a natural area as the inspiration for your garden. In it, I wrote about using plants and materials that are native to your area. Doing this helps to bring about the feeling that your garden is actually related to the surrounding landscape. To use native plants in your garden to invoke a natural place, we need to know what plants to use as well as how they are arranged in natural areas. To do this it can help to classify the natural area we are trying to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Perennials and bulbs, Restorative Environment, Supports Wildlife & Biodiversity Tagged With: native, Prairie

Oakleaf hydrangea for long summer blooms

July 14, 2013 By Jim 18 Comments

What’s native to the southeast US, has great red fall color and has huge white flowers that last all summer? It’s the bold oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia). I say bold, because with leaves as big as your hand, this is not a shrub for the timid. Sure you could be like everybody else and plant timid little meek girly shrubs like lilacs, burning bush, and viburnum. I say don't be a wimp and plant a real shrub, one with big bold leave that cry’s out, “Hey I’m here and I won’t be … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Plant recommendations Tagged With: bark, exfoliating bark, fall color, flowering shrub, native, summer, woodland garden

12 Common invasive plants & natives to use instead Part 1

April 13, 2013 By Jim 5 Comments

Last post, I gave some reasons why I have become a proponent of using native plants to create your garden sanctuary.  Now, over the next two posts, I will give you a list of 12 non native invasive plants and some suggested native to US alternatives. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Plant recommendations, Supports Wildlife & Biodiversity Tagged With: invasive, native

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