Interview
Remembering a Great Naturalist: A Toast to Carol Gracie
This past fall we lost one of the great naturalists of the Northeast, Carol Gracie. Carol was not just a naturalist, but a botanist, photographer, lecturer, and author of four fantastic books: Summer Wildflowers of the Northeast, Spring Wildflowers of the Northeast, Florapedia, and Wildflowers in the Field and Forest: A Field Guide to the Northeastern United States (co-authored with…
Read MoreWhy Locally-Sourced, Locally-Grown Native Plants Matter
Have you visited your local farmer’s market lately or picked up your weekly allotment at a CSA? If you are a locavore, like so many of us, you might be asking some pretty specific questions of your suppliers when you are vetting your food choices, such as: Where was this food grown? How far is the farm from here? Where…
Read MoreNative Plant Research at the Mt. Cuba Center with George Coombs
Great garden plant or garden slacker? This is a question that the Mt. Cuba Center in Hockessin, Delaware has sought to answer, giving gardeners and green industry professionals a helping hand in selecting native plants. Since 2002, Mt. Cuba, has conducted native plant research in their trial gardens, examining native species, native cultivars/selections (“nativars”) and hybrids to evaluate which plants…
Read MoreThe Nativar Conundrum: New Research on Natives vs. Native Cultivars with Dr. Doug Tallamy
Planting trees or shrubs this fall? How will you go about making your plant selection? If you have been reading the EcoBeneficial website, hopefully you have been inspired to choose native plants. Beyond that, your choices might be more complicated – should you choose plants that are native to your immediate area or native to your region? Locally sourced or…
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 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 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 MorePollinators of Native Plants With Heather Holm
EcoBeneficial! is delighted to be back online after a medical emergency and a long recovery period. I return with an interview with Heather Holm, author of Pollinators of Native Plants: Attract, Observe and Identify Pollinators and Beneficial Insects With Native Plants. Click to watch the slideshow Click to listen to the podcast Holm is a landscape designer and consultant specializing…
Read MoreTasty Natives: Pawpaw (Asimina trioloba)
As fall planting winds down, consider whether you might have one more spot for a tasty native plant. It’s a great way to add an ecological boost to your landscape, while growing something unusual that you can eat. Edible native plantings help connect us with the ecosystems around us, and are a powerful way to engage kids with the landscape.…
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