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 just three basic ingredients:larval host plants, nectar plants, and sheltering habitat.Read More
Kelly Cartwright, Ph.D., is a biology professor at the College of Lake County in Grayslake, Illinois where she teaches environmental biology, general biology, botany, and introduction to sustainability. Her research centers on the concept of “people and nature” and she is an enthusiastic supporter of native and environmentally friendly landscaping. As I write this, the […]
Details Community-based: The garden is organized by volunteers and promotes mutual outreach among residents of the Whittier Neighborhood. Most gardeners live in the neighborhood. Working together strengthens the community and creates opportunities for neighbors to discuss a common endeavor. Organic: Gardeners are required to practice organic gardening methods. Composting and proactive disease and pest control […]
January 2, 2025leslieBiodiversity The coyote has long been thought of as an animal of the American West. This was true during the pre-Columbian era when the coyote primarily roamed the Southwest and Great Plains of the United States. Today, however, its ever-expanding range stretches across all of the lower-48 states (and Alaska) and much of […]
Local food production is one of the key components of a climate crisis solution. The spread of the urban agriculture phenomenon across the U.S. is encouraging in this regard. Many cities have embraced the concept by allowing and encouraging the farming of vacant lots. But what does urban agriculture look like in U.S. suburbs where […]
February 19, 2024leslieBiodiversity, Sustainability You know this is lichen. You’ve seen it everywhere your entire life. That’s because there are over 14,000 species of lichen in the world. Yet, what do you know about lichen? Here’s a secret: it’s one of the most fascinating organisms on Earth. And you’ve barely noticed it.Read More
Details Nokomis East Gateway Gardens: Help beautify the neighborhood and attract butterflies! Gateway Gardens was designed pro bono by the landscape architecture firm of colberg|tews to resemble a Monarch butterfly wing when seen from an aerial view. Planted in October of 2010 using all native plants indigenous to the region, including a Bur Oak to […]
February 19, 2024leslieBiodiversity, Sustainability You know this is lichen. You’ve seen it everywhere your entire life. That’s because there are over 14,000 species of lichen in the world. Yet, what do you know about lichen? Here’s a secret: it’s one of the most fascinating organisms on Earth. And you’ve barely noticed it.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
With the help of volunteers and partners, PFA restores and enhances pollinator habitats large and small. Visit our pollinator demonstration gardens at Ramsey Grove Park, Northland Park, Triangle Park and the new Pollinators Landing at Mulberry Creek 535 Owens Street, Stillwater; complete with a bee lawn, mega flower garden, flowering prairie and restored milkweed slope. Contact […]
January 3, 2018leslieBirds, Community, Waste As daylight transitions to nighttime “electric daylight,” the cosmos above never fully reveal themselves to most of us. According to the article, The End of Night, in the digital journal, aeon, “More than 60 per cent of the world, and fully 99 per cent of the U.S. and Europe, lives […]
May 28, 2018leslieLawns, Organic, Soil, Water John Coatta, of Green Core Organic Lawn Care, explains how homeowners can have lush lawns that don’t rely on weed killers and synthetic fertilizers.Read More May 3, 2018leslieCommunity, Gardening, Insects, Pollinators About 15 years ago, MaryJo and Charlie Skemp started noticing unusual activity in a hosta planting that runs […]
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 December 1, 2020leslieSoil, […]
August 5, 2017leslieButterflies, Gardening, Native Plants, Pollinators Pictures tell most of this story. Property owners in an east suburb carved out a section of their property and transformed it into a wildlife haven in just a year. Milkweed that had always grown on the property were supplemented with a variety of Minnesota native plants. The […]