Gardening Techniques
Backyard Foraging: Edible Native and Invasive Plants With Ellen Zachos
The phrases: “grow local” and “eat local” take on a whole new meaning when you add native plants and invasive plants into the picture. Many of our native plants, such as Serviceberries (Amelanchier species) and Pawpaw (Asimina species) provide beauty in the garden while offering delectable fruit picked right off the plant. Some of our edible native plants are also…
Read MoreThe Dirt on Worms: Friend or Foe?
That seemingly harmless creature, the earthworm, revered so long as our ally in the garden, has become a foe in our forests. Surprisingly, earthworms are not native to the Northeastern United States. Glaciers in the Pleistocene period wiped out native earthworms in most of the Northern Continental U.S. Explorers and settlers introduced exotic earthworms possibly as early as the 1600s. …
Read MoreLatest Research on Honey Bee Deaths: What Does it Mean for EcoBeneficial Gardeners?
A new research study was released this week that points to a variant of Tobacco Ringspot Virus as a possible culprit in the phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). The study was conducted by a group of researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Beijing, Emory University and the University of North…
Read MoreReplacing the Green Desert: Why Native Plant Alternatives to Turf?
The great American love affair with lawns has a long tradition. The funny thing is, it’s not even our tradition – we adopted the idea from Europe where turf grasses are native. And that’s where the ecological problem starts. Our native flora and fauna species did not co-evolve with European turf grasses and are not supported by these exotic grass…
Read MoreWhat Your Native Plants Are Doing When You’re Not Looking: In the Garden with Doug Tallamy
It is estimated that more than 90% of the insects in our home landscapes are benign or beneficial. Why then do so many folks spray pesticides that kill not only insect “pests” but all the beneficial insects, too? Instead of reaching for the spray, let’s use native plants to support beneficial insects and the natural predators that keep pests under…
Read MoreTop 10 New Year’s Resolutions for the EcoBeneficial Gardener
1. Reduce or eliminate your lawn – it’s an ecological desert. 2. Focus on increasing the health of your soil – it’s filled with life! Compost is king for most soils, not fertilizer. 3. Eliminate synthetic pesticides, herbicides + fungicides. Use organic counterparts sparingly, if at all. 4. Support beneficial insects with appropriate native plantings. They are nature’s pest control.…
Read MoreOur Allies in the Soil: Interview with Dr. Roger Koide on Mycorrhizal Fungi
Fungi are tremendously abundant organisms in our ecosystems, yet we often view them in a negative way or we don’t consider them at all. Actually, many fungi are essential for nutrient cycling as they decompose organic matter. A group of fungi with a daunting name, “mycorrhizal fungi,” are particularly valuable, as many can actually increase the nutrient and water uptake…
Read MoreInterview with C. Colston Burrell on Native Plants and Landscapes
I recently interviewed C. Colston Burrell (Cole), the noted author, lecturer, landscape designer and native landscape expert. Cole is the author of a number of great books on plants and gardening including: Perennial Combinations, a best selling gardening book on Amazon.com, the award winning book A Gardener’s Encyclopedia of Wildflowers, and a number of other books on native plants including:…
Read MoreUs vs. Them? Can We Afford to Remain Disconnected from Environmental Realities?
The population of Monarch butterflies has declined to the lowest level ever recorded, pollinators are in a well-reported nose dive, the 20 most common bird species have declined by 68% in the past 45 years. What does this all mean for us humans, the one species that all other species could exist without? It turns out that we need other…
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