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Holiday Gift Ideas with a Native Gardening Twist
Enough with the ugly sweaters, run-of-the-mill Amazon gift cards, overpriced fruit-of-the-month club, and belly-bomber fruitcake! Why not give the gardeners you love a gift that they will love? The gift of native gardening! Here are some ideas for your holiday shopping: 1) Membership to a Native Plant Society No matter where your gift recipient lives, there is a native plant…
Read MoreSpotlight on a Great Native Nursery: Amanda’s Garden
When you are looking to buy native plants, it can still feel like the search for the Holy Grail. Take the time and effort to seek out local native nurseries that grow the regional native plants you want and that healthy ecosystems need. Skip the big box stores, and support local suppliers that care about their clients and the environment.…
Read More“Looking for Mr. Goodbar” – The Quest to Find Male Native Plants
While searching for native plants for clients this season, I have once again encountered the annoying challenge of trying to find male pollinators for female plants when plants are dioecious (male and female plants). Conventional nurseries and native nurseries alike often fail to deliver the goods. It’s a serious problem for those of us who want to plant for wildlife,…
Read MoreEcoBeneficial Temporarily Offline
Due to an unforeseen illness, EcoBeneficial must go offline temporarily. We hold great pride in providing timely, helpful information to improve our environment. We hope to be back online soon. Thank you for your understanding and support. Sincerely, Kim Eierman, Founder EcoBeneficial!
Read MoreInterview with Dr. Doug Tallamy, Author of Bringing Nature Home
Recently I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Doug Tallamy at his home. Doug is the author of Bringing Nature Home: How you Can Sustain Wildlife With Native Plants, a book which has sparked a new cycle of enthusiasm for native plants and ecological landscapes. Doug is Professor & Chair of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware,…
Read MoreTo Mulch or Not to Mulch: Protecting Plants in Winter
As winter creeps up on us and the ground starts to freeze in many parts of the country, you may be wondering if you should use mulch to protect your plants. You may know that I recommend leaving fallen leaves in place to act as nature’s mulch and compost. Ditto for any fallen plant debris, assuming that those plants have…
Read MoreMeadowscaping: A Perfect Alternative to Lawns
You might be thinking about doing some planting this fall. Why not consider planting a native meadowscape: a meadow or a meadow-like garden? Meadowscapes are fantastic ecological alternatives to lifeless lawns (“green deserts”). Whether you have a tiny yard or an expansive landscape, you can create a native meadowscape and give your landscape a big ecological boost. Bees, butterflies, other…
Read MoreYour Favorite Native Plants: Cutleaf Coneflower
Autumn Thomas had the final winning entry to the EcoBeneficial t-shirt contest: “I’m going to go with Cutleaf Coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata) even though it’s a tad aggressive, I see hundreds of bees, beetles and lepidoptera (butterflies, skippers and moths) on it every year. Then, after it goes to seed flocks of goldfinches arrive!” Wondering if Cutleaf Coneflower would be a…
Read MoreYour Favorite Native Plants: Skunk Cabbage
Here is another winning entry to the EcoBeneficial t-shirt competition from Kay Wulff, answering: “What is Your Favorite Native Plant and Why?” “Skunk Cabbage is my favorite native plant. It is so original, showing its flower before all others in spring. It has adapted to live in the wet lands where many people do not dare to go. It creates…
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