For a couple of hours this morning, I was spot spraying my back garden with 2,4-D. 2,4-D is a potent herbicide that is sold under the brand name Weed–B-Gone. I used about four tablespoons of the stuff, which kills everything that isn’t grass, mixed with water. And as I sprayed, I felt guilt. I …
It seems a melancholy thing that summer is slipping away into fall. I especially regret seeing the daylight hours slowly shortening with each sunset. On the other hands, there are compensations for us and for the suburban wildlife around us. For people, there are plentiful peaches and tomatoes, cooler temperatures, fewer mosquitos (or at least …
Until recently there seemed to be far fewer bees than normal in the garden, which is ordinarily a place humming with insect activity. The bees seem to have returned in quantity over the last couple of weeks, though still in smaller numbers than last year. Butterflies are still pretty scarce. Here are some bee and …
It is the season when the Common Violets (Viola sororia Willd.) are blooming. People have a complicated relationship with wild violets. We see them as charming and petite wildflowers, but also as voracious invasive weeds. Personally, I think that violets are fine in their place, which is anywhere other than my flower beds. I welcome …
An article in today’s New York Times contained alarming news about the decline of Monarch butterflies. This year the butterflies are occupying less than three acres of pine forest in their Mexican winter habitat. That’s down dramatically from the seven acres occupied in 2o11 and the 50 acres that have been full of Monarchs in …
The Front Island Bed lies between the Sidewalk Border and the low retaining wall of the expanded Foundation Bed. It is filled mostly with taller plants that enjoy lots of moisture, since the soil is a moist clay loam. It gets almost full sun, even though it is on the north side of the house. …
This book has impeccable birder credentials, sponsored by both the Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab or Ornithology. If I could have only one book on having a bird-friendly garden in the USA or Canada, this would be the one. It covers the basics – food, nesting, water, cover – in a more comprehensive manner …
For the first time since last Tuesday, there were no birders in the alley this morning, peering into the back yard. Perhaps our fifteen minutes (well, six days) of fame are over. The whole experience with the Varied Thrush has inspired me to write about the plants I have in my back yard that are …
Here’s another post about a summer visit to the Chicago Botanic Garden. This time I want to write about Dixon Prairie, one of the less visited parts of CBG. Dixon Prairie is a 15 acre restored prairie with six different ecological communities, from wet to dry, black earth to sand and gravel. In addition to …
It’s more about rabbits, actually, but I couldn’t think of anything that rhymes with rabbit (Babbit?). The biggest catastrophe that befell my garden last winter came as a result of nibbling and gnawing creatures. The worst damage was to three dwarf Black Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) ‘Iroquois Beauty’ that I had just planted. Every single stem …
gardeninacity 