Turf grass lawns are an American tradition. Everyone who has any kind of yard or property aspires to having a perfect green manicured carpet. But as we now know, grass can be a dead zone for native insects and birds, devoid of any nutrition or habitat for native species. Mowing, watering, fertilizing, and pest controls …
Fig Feast
Fig feasts were part of my late summer meal planning. Growing figs was always something I thought was beyond my reach here in MD zone 6b, but I harvested for the first time an avalanche of tasty large brown turkey figs this summer. Rarely found in stores, occasionally at farmers markets, there is nothing better that …
Pollinator-Friendly Seed and Nursery Directory
After picking out dead honeybees from a honeycomb frame recently, I pledged to use only plants that are neonic free. Neonics or neonicitonoids have been implicated in recent bee declines as well as other factors, such as loss of habitat and the game changer bee parasite- varroa mite. There are a number of studies that …
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Jeana Phlox-Pollinator Super Star
'Jeana' Phlox is one of the top pollinator attracting plants in my garden in the dog days of summer. Attracting dozens of butterflies and other assorted bees, my patch starts in the late morning with a few butterflies and by the end of the heat of the day, the plants look like they are fluttering …
Updated: Neonic and Pesticide Free Nurseries
After picking out dead honeybees from a honeycomb frame recently, I pledged to use only plants that are neonic free. Neonics or neonicitonoids have been implicated in recent bee declines as well as other factors, such as loss of habitat and the game changer bee parasite- varroa mite. There are a number of studies that …
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Hairy Balls & Pollinators
Visitors looking over my garden in the fall, always ask what the strange-looking plant is that is forming large spiny pods. Growing in my veggie garden, because of the amount of space the plants take, my Gymnocarpus physocarpa, or "Hairy Balls" are a conversation starter. A Milkweed family member, another common name is Balloon Plant. …
Milkweed Chronicles
One of the most beautiful flowers, both in flower and seed pod, as well as great importance to wildlife, has been relegated to the roadside for years and virtually ignored. Asclepias syriaca, or common milkweed, is struggling and harder to find because wild areas are disappearing and roadsides are regularly mown. "Familiarity breeds contempt" is a common saying and …
Plant Three Pollinator Plants for National Pollinator Week 2019
Twelve years ago the U.S. Senate’s unanimous approval and designation of a week in June as “National Pollinator Week”, marked a necessary step toward addressing the urgent issue of declining pollinator populations. Pollinator Week has now grown into an international celebration of the valuable ecosystem services provided by bees, birds, butterflies, bats and beetles. The …
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Mexican Sunflower-Butterfly Favorite
If anyone ever asks me what flower draws the most butterflies to my garden, I don't hesitate to say- Mexican Sunflower. Tithonia rotundifolia 'Torch', attracts beneficial insects such as hover flies and minute pirate bugs, and of course- butterflies. This coarse textured plant grows up to seven feet high in my veggie garden and meadow …
Hairy Balls Milkweed
Visitors looking over my garden in the fall, always ask what the strange-looking plant is that is forming large hairy pods. Growing in my veggie garden, because of the amount of space the plants take, my Gymnocarpus physocarpa, or "Hairy Balls" are a conversation starter. A Milkweed family member, another common name is Balloon Plant. …