These days I have to spend a lot of time in Springfield, about 200 miles south of Chicago. Twice in the last two weeks I was able to get off work in time to take a walk at the Lincoln Memorial Garden, which is located on 100 acres along an artificial lake. Let me stop …
There was a column by Douglas Tallamy in the New York Times about a week ago. Tallamy, you probably know, is the entomologist and author of Bringing Nature Home, which makes the case for native plants as a foundation of a healthy garden ecology. All right, I know I write about this stuff a lot, …
Is gardening a crusade or a hobby? This question occurred to me after reading a New York Times article about a symposium featuring Douglas Tallamy, Chair of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware. Tallamy is also the author of “Bringing Nature Home”, in which he argues for the environmental importance of using native …
Prairie Nursery is a pioneer in the field of native plant gardening and habitat restoration. For 42 years this central Wisconsin nursery has been selling wildflowers, grasses, sedges, ferns and shrubs native to the Midwest region. Their website is here. Prairie Nursery’s is another one of my favorite catalogs. (Are there catalogs that are not …
Scientists have just released this year’s report on the number of Monarch butterflies overwintering in Mexico. Those numbers, measured in the amount of land occupied by Monarch colonies, vary from year to year. The last three years, however, have all been at historic lows. There was an increase over last winter, from 0.67 to 1.13 …
So I have some exciting news! You may remember last October I wrote about how the city forestry crew had taken down a dying maple on the parkway west of the driveway. It turns out the city will NOT be replacing that tree (something about too close to the driveway). This creates a new space …
This is the time of year when I end every day leafing through garden catalogs before going to sleep. The promise of new blooms and greenery help me get through the short bleak days of winter. Fortunately I get lots of catalogs, and over the next few weeks I’m going to write about some of …
Purple Milkweed (Asclepias purpurescens) is an excellent garden milkweed that for some strange reason is difficult to find. What’s so unique about Purple Milkweed? First of all, it actually prefers part shade. It will grow in full sun, but will then need more moisture. Secondly, it is very polite, spreading only moderately by seed. Both …
There was an interesting article in the New York Times on Monday about Monarch butterflies and milkweed. The takeaway is that planting Tropical Milkweed (Asclepias currasavica) may do more harm than good, according to several researchers. Milkweeds, of course, are the only plants that are eaten by the caterpillars of Monarch butterflies.Changes in farming practices …
If you have a shady garden but would like to grow an ornamental goldenrod, do not despair. Zigzag Goldenrod (Solidago flexicaulis) is quite happy in shade, though I think it likes part shade best. Actually, I suspect that Zigzag Goldenrod would be happy growing in concrete under a quonset hut. As the Missouri Botanic Garden …
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