Pollinators

December 26, 2023leslieBiodiversity, Native Plants, Pollinators

“Native flowers are absolutely the best food source for native pollinators, and the pollinators know it.Read More Throughout the millennia, the astounding beauty of the butterfly has inspired the imagination, the arts, literature, and poetry. Attracting these magnificent creatures into our own yards requires three basic ingredients: larval host plants, nectar plants, and sheltering habitat.Read More

October 30, 2023leslieBees, Biodiversity, Gardening, Pollinators

Let’s suppose you’re shopping for hot sauce. You probably have a favorite brand. You may be very firm about it. Let’s say you’d definitely buy Tabasco, but you’d rarely buy any other brand.Read More

September 26, 2022leslieBees, Biodiversity, Birds, Butterflies, Gardening, Insects, Lawns, Native Plants, Pollinators, Soil

How you can help wild animals come in for a soft landing.Read More

April 18, 2022leslieBiodiversity, Butterflies, Gardening, Pollinators

The Intertwined Relationship between the Common Violet and the Great Spangled Fritillary —By Vicki BonkRead More Willows are one of the last of our shrubs and trees to lose their leaves in autumn. They turn shades of yellow—anywhere from greenish-yellow to whitish-yellow. As earlier fall colors start to paint our landscapes, the willows offer a decidedly green contrast in a diversity of shades depending on the species.Read More When the O’Connors bought an old dairy turned deer-hunting farm, they had visions of transforming it into a “perfect” prairie. “We envisioned prairies with beautiful flowers, all natives, and no weeds,” explains Marcie, who, with her husband Mike, has been restoring their 500-acre farm near Alma, Wisconsin, into prairie and savanna for the past 20…Read More

June 24, 2019leslieBees, Pollinators

Native plant gardeners with keen observation skills have surely noticed the increase in flower-visiting insects in their gardens. Fascinating visitation patterns emerge from one growing season to the next such as the same type of bee consistently foraging on a particular native plant. About 15 years ago, while installing and tending native landscapes, I started…Read More

May 24, 2019leslieGrass, Lawns, Pollinators

Here are four things you may not know about America’s lawns. Who uses more pesticides? Farmers on their agricultural crops, or homeowners on their lawns? The answer?Read More