Bees
It’s National Pollinator Week: Thank a Bee, and a Fly, and Even A Beetle
In 2006 the United States Senate designated the first National Pollinator Week as a way to recognize the importance of pollinators to agriculture and ecosystem health. Sure, beekeepers and avid gardeners celebrate this week, but the average American is hard pressed to name even a single pollinator beyond a honey bee. As we have become increasingly disconnected from our food…
Read MoreBee Hotels or Natural Habitat?
There is a huge wave of enthusiasm for bee hotels and that’s totally understandable – we all want to help native bees that are facing incredible challenges. A landscape with lots of pollinator-friendly flowers is an important forage buffet, but a landscape that also provide areas for pollinators to nest, shelter and overwinter – now that is a pollinator garden.…
Read MoreWhere Are the Bees, Butterflies and Other Insects? Facts & Tips
From individual observations to published research, the situation seems clear – insect populations are declining across the globe. It’s a crisis that gets little play in the media, surpassed daily by “news” of unhinged political tweets or the latest Kardashian romance. Anecdotal evidence is abundant – recent posts on NABA Chat (North American Butterfly Association) from across the country report a…
Read More5 Ecological Landscape Resolutions Worth Making
Losing weight and curbing bad habits don’t have to be the only resolutions you make for the New Year. How about adopting some resolutions that will have a positive impact on the environment around you? Here are 5 ecological landscape resolutions worth making: Resolution#1: Become a Climate Change Steward – Plant More Trees The efforts of nations are critical to…
Read MorePlanting for Specialist Native Bees
Our estimated 4,000 native bee species in the United States and Canada fall into one of two categories – pollen generalists and pollen specialists. Generalist bees are the majority, accounting for approximately 75% of all bee species. It is their good fortune to be able to forage on many different native plant species, and often on a number of non-native…
Read MoreThe Pollinator Victory Garden: Winning the War on Pollinator Decline
You don’t have to be a gardener or a landscape professional to know that many pollinators are in trouble. The White House has taken notice and on May 19, 2015, released the “Pollinator Research Action Plan.” In the summary of the plan, three “overarching goals” are cited; unfortunately, our 4,000 species of native bees were not highlighted in these goals,…
Read MoreNative Bogs with Ron Determann of Atlanta Botanical Garden
If you haven’t seen a native bog in full bloom, then make sure to put that on your bucket list. A recent trip south this fall provided me with the excuse I needed to see the splendid bog gardens at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. Both ornamental and endangered, native bogs are some of our most threatened ecosystems. Wanting to learn…
Read MorePowerful Prunus: A Visit With Dr. Doug Tallamy
Some of our most ecologically powerful native plants are the ones we never plant! It’s time for a change, if we really want to make a difference to our environment. Often considered a “weedy tree”, our native Black Cherry (Prunus serotina) is an extraordinarily valuable plant in nature. Native to most of the Eastern half of the U.S., Black Cherry…
Read MoreGoing Pesticide-Free for Pollinators at The Farm Between
This past August, I took a road trip to one of my favorite states, Vermont, where lots of good things are happening with organic and pesticide-free landscapes and nursery production. One of my stops was “The Farm Between” in pastoral Jeffersonville, Vermont. This is one of the oldest farms in the area, dating back to the early 1800s; it used…
Read More