Douglas Tallamy, world renowned and influential ecologist/entymologist, urges Americans to go native and go natural. Many people shorten this and call it 'ReWilding'. For a great article on his philosophy, read all about him in the Smithsonian magazine. For tips on ReWilding your own garden, read on. What is ReWilding? ReWilding, returning your landscape back …
Delaware Botanic Gardens Unveiling
Walking into the Delaware Botanic Garden on a sizzling hot morning in August, the first thing that I spotted was a a bright orange-painted box turtle scurrying down the pathway into the shelter of a nearby log. Being greeted by wildlife is typical at the soon-to-be-opened 37-acre Botanic Gardens that is located on the shores …
Coffee Ground Science for Plants
If you start the day with a steaming hot cup of java, you're not alone. Americans drink 700 million cups of coffee per day, and we create tons of coffee grounds in the process. Instead of throwing coffee grounds in the trash, why not put them to use in the garden? While there are plenty …
The Great Sunflower Project – The Backyard Bee Count
Would you like to help out native bees and honey bees? Plant Lemon Queen Sunflowers and start counting bee visits as the flower bloom and mature to add to the data base for North America so that scientists can study bees better.
Robbing the Bees- A Honey of a Day
It happens every August - honey extraction! After babying the bees, feeding, monitoring, re-queening, splitting, and just plain worrying about them, now is the moment of truth. How much honey did they deposit in the combs for me to rob from them? I won't leave you in suspense - I extracted 55 pounds from my one …
Suburban Homesteading – Raising and Preserving Sustainable Food
Sustainable is the new catch word for gardening. I hear it everywhere and I think it is overused without anyone really understanding exactly what it means. By definition it means - Conserving an ecological balance by avoiding depletion of natural resources. And by working gardens, keeping chickens for meat and eggs, preserving food, adding solar panels, …
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Blueberry Bonanza
The Invasion of the Blues I have been growing blueberries for years and this has been a banner year for picking them. We have had plenty of rain and the weather has been perfect for growing. I have only 5 shrubs but that is enough to keep us in berries, as well as providing the birds all …
High Line – Container in the Sky
I just came back from a day trip to NYC where I went to experience the 'High Line'. I have heard so much buzz from the media and friends on this new park in NY that I made a special trip to see it and was totally unprepared for the scope and genius of this …
American Grown – The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America
The Read I just finished reading 'American Grown' by Michelle Obama and it is a fascinating account of the garden and landscape evolution at the White House. From the very first vegetable garden installed by John Adams, our second president, the book mentions a variety of plantings and gardens until it ended up being a hodgepodge of styles …
The Great Sunflower Project – The Backyard Bee Count
The Great Bee Count Within the past couple of years, you might have heard that bees are in trouble, growing scarcer, and suffering from a mysterious ailment called Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD. A variety of culprits have been fingered in causing this syndrome, including pesticide use, parasites, and diseases. To study bees, scientists decided …
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