While my last blog expounded on the benefits of native plants in a wildlife-friendly landscape, I'm going to take a brief detour to laud a familiar, but beloved, non-native. Chaenomeles speciosa or close relative, Chaenomeles japonica, both known as flowering quince, are an early boon to bees. Honeybee on flowering quince. I have lived in ...
Read More | Wildlife Gardening JournalI know I write a lot about native plants on this blog, but they are the heart of a wildlife-friendly landscape. It's hard to have one without the other. So, with spring on the horizon, I want to encourage you to plant natives this year. Then: Ugh! My plants are being eaten! I like to ...
Read More | Wildlife Gardening JournalFall is here, bringing a promise of relief from scorching hot summer days. The last two weeks of September and the first of October are always busy in my yard. The butterflies arrive in clouds, often visitors from the south and west arriving on stiff winds. This year has been no different, and I thought ...
Read More | Wildlife Gardening JournalI have a friend who once commented, “The promise of spring leans hard on you gardeners.” Oh, how right she is. Is it spring yet? I can almost taste it on the wind today. Soon, soon, my landscape teases. My daffodils are almost ready to start blooming, but they aren't very popular with pollinators if ...
Read More | Wildlife Gardening JournalLooking critically at the yard today, it's easy to see that it's about time to mow the wildflower meadow at the top of the yard. The black-eyed susans are about finished, and the beebalm is on the downhill swing as well. The prairie gaillardia is long gone. The meadow wasn't as glorious this year as ...
Read More | Wildlife Gardening JournalButterfly gardens bring double beauty to any landscape: Gorgeous flowers! Colorful butterflies! Plus, they aren't difficult to create by providing a few basic butterfly needs. Butterfly gardens should have the following: - Habitat - Nectar plants (food) - Host plants - Hospitable landscape Habitat I like to talk about habitat first because most literature on ...
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