Birds
Fall Tip: Boosting the Health of Trees and Shrubs
Some of our most important native plants are “woodies” (trees and shrubs). Woodies provide critical structure and ecological function to most landscapes – some are early pollen sources for hungry bees, some are nesting sites for songbirds, and some, primarily evergreens, provide cover to many creatures during harsh winters. Your trees and shrubs are valuable to you and your ecosystem…
Read MorePut Down that Rake! What Leaves Can Do for You and Your Landscape
It’s that time of year when leaves seem to blanket everything in sight in much of the U.S., at least in locales where there is an abundance of deciduous trees and shrubs. For years, homeowners have taken great care to remove every dead leaf from their landscapes as if those leaves were coated with toxic waste. An army of rakes…
Read MoreWelcoming Birds Back to the Garden this Spring
As the weather warms, neo-tropical migrating birds start to reappear in our landscapes. Are you ready to offer a proper welcome? Resources can be slim at this time of year in our landscapes, both for overwintering birds and returning migrants. Now more than ever, we need to provide welcoming habitats for birds. According to the National Audubon Society, 20 of…
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 MoreAttracting Birds in Winter: Interview with North Coast Gardening
I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed by Genevieve Schmidt, landscape designer and well known garden writer. Genevieve is a contributing editor and staff writer for Garden Design magazine; her work has appeared in many other publications including Fine Gardening magazine and the Christian Science Monitor. Her website, North Coast Gardening: Gardening in the Pacific Northwest, is full of…
Read More20 Resolutions for the EcoBeneficial Landscape
It’s that time of year to make your resolutions for 2015. Don’t forget to include your landscape! Here are 20 resolutions to get you started toward a healthier ecosystem: 1) Reduce or eliminate the “Green Desert” (turf/lawn). Exotic turf grass is an ecological wasteland. When replacing lawn, don’t replace one monoculture with another. Plant diversely using regionally appropriate native plants.…
Read MoreFall Checklist for the EcoBeneficial Landscape
Now that fall is here, is your landscape in good order? Following some simple steps can prevent or lessen the impacts of a harsh winter, and lay the groundwork for best results in the spring. Fall Checklist – 15 Steps to Ecological Health 1) If you have plants to be planted, it may be too late. Newly-planted plants should be…
Read MoreThe Value of Signs in an Ecological Landscape
How do you communicate to your neighbors why you have little or no lawn, why you have a diversity of native plants, why your trees are not topped, why your shrubs are not pruned into meatballs, why you leave your perennials and grasses standing through winter? Many of our neighbors are baffled by our ecological landscapes – filled with diverse…
Read MoreExtending the Garden With Great Native Plants in Pots
If you are like many gardeners, you are scouring your landscape to figure out where else you can squeeze in another plant. No empty spots in your garden? No problem. Containers are the answer! While many gardeners plant in pots, few realize that there are many native plants which will do very well in containers. Not only are native perennials…
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