My daffodils are almost done and gone already, but it's a good time to think about replacing or supplementing them with more ecologically beneficial natives. While I have seen European honeybees on daffodils, I rarely, if ever, see early-spring butterflies or native pollinators visiting them. I envision them as a "last resort" for insects, a ...
Read More | Wildlife Gardening JournalThere are many non-native shrubs that are extremely popular in landscapes. I even have some in my own yard. They’re popular for good reasons: they’re often pest-free and have lovely flowers. The problem is also that they’re pest-free (meaning not beneficial to native wildlife) and sometimes escape our tidy neighborhoods to become invasive monsters in ...
Read More | Wildlife Gardening JournalAre you already planning your spring planting? I am. I'll admit I was somewhat dissatisfied with my gardens last year, and I've been looking at different natives to add. Not all of these will fit in my Oklahoma gardens, which experience tremendous extremes, but they are plants worth considering, especially if you can provide the ...
Read More | Wildlife Gardening JournalWhen I was young, I used to love overturning logs to see what was hiding under them. I'd find worms, and snakes, and salamanders, and hundreds of rolly-pollies that would scatter as I watched in delight. Logs, I knew, even as a child, were a wildlife haven. And really, it couldn't be simpler to recreate ...
Read More | Wildlife Gardening JournalFour years ago, I purchased a small St. John's Wort (Hypericum prolificum) and planted it at the back of a bed that gets drowned in spring and roasted in dry summers. It's an extreme area where very few plants survive. Honestly, for the next two years, I forgot it was even there. I assumed it ...
Read More | Wildlife Gardening JournalI just got back from a four-week trip to West Virginia, visiting a friend. I had a wonderful time, but I admit to being extremely disturbed by seeing all the invasive plants in Eastern forests, as well as the horrifying number of Lanternflies everywhere I went, from my friend's front yard to Shenandoah National Park. ...
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