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…
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Bee 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,…
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Spotlight 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…
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Selling the Sizzle, Not Just the Steak: Promoting Native Landscapes
While meeting with a client who knows nothing about native plants and their benefits, I find myself recommending some great native plants for their landscape. As I rattle off names of possible plants, I notice the puzzled look I get from the client. Did I comb my hair this morning?…
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Ecological Gardening Tips for Spring
As spring begins in earnest, pause for a moment before rushing off to the nursery or garden center to shop for plants. First, consider how the steps you take and the choices you make can increase the health of your landscape and the environment around you. Here are some tips…
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Lessons from the Smokies: Biodiversity in the Home Landscape
During a recent trip to the annual Great Smoky Mountain Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage, I was overwhelmed by the incredible biodiversity of native plants and animals, interwoven in their natural habitat in the Smoky Mountains, making up one of the healthiest and most beautiful ecosystems I have ever encountered. Instead of…
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