Tag: Wild Bergamot
High Stakes Gardening
Plants with bad posture: can’t stand ’em. Which is a problem in a garden like mine, intended to have an informal, even wild feel to it. Also, I like to grow big plants generally and especially wildflowers accustomed to a lean soil. My soil is fairly rich, the topsoil deep and with lots of organic matter. …
From Both Sides Now
So you have to be careful about what you say to Judy. One day I casually mention that people really liked her overview shots of the garden and maybe she should do more of those. Next thing you know, she’s sitting on a windowsill on the second story of our house, both feet dangling over …
A Garden to Kvell Over
Almost every day Judy and I drive by the garden of the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation of Evanston. Today we decided to walk the mile from our house to give it a closer look. This garden was created when the congregation rebuilt their old synagogue so as to meet the highest certification standards of the US …
A Monarda Moment
In mid-summer the Monardas take center stage in the Sidewalk Border. The blue and purple salvias retain a bit of color, but are mostly done. The ‘Husker Red’ Penstemon (Penstemon digitalis) and golden Alexander (Zizia aurea) have been cut back. Now come the Monardas in red, lavender, and purple (yes, purple). The Monarda that demands …
Reason to Bee Hopeful?
There is an article in the most recent Science section of the New York Times on efforts to fight the worrisome decline of bees. The focus is on increasing the availability of plants in agricultural areas that provide forage for pollinators. In California, researchers are testing native plants for use in hedgerows or among crops. …
Are ‘Nativars’ The Enemy?
The most recent issue of the Wild Ones bi-monthly journal arrived the other day, featuring a big page one article on ‘Nativars’, or cultivars of native species. I’m a member of Wild Ones, which seeks to promote the use of native plants. The article lays out the organization’s recently adopted stance regarding these plants, which …
Summer Finale: August 2013 GBBD
We are at the mid-point of August. Mid-summer flowers are fading, late summer bloomers are peaking, and the very first flowers of autumn begin to open, like scouts checking out a new territory. I am very impressed with Yellow Coneflower (Ratibida pinnata). The flowers are very long-lasting, and the bright clear yellow wears well through …
Lights! Cameras! Pollen!
So now there are bees and pollinators all over the front garden. Especially bumblebees. Judy took these videos with her phone. This first one is mostly bumblebees on the Wild Bergamot. Judy says these bees are rather hyperactive and difficult to keep in the frame. Bumblebees always seem so industrious, but also cute. Maybe because …
True Or False, This Is A Good Plant
Why are some plants called “false”? Like the Midwestern native False Sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides), whose common name implies that it is guilty of impersonating a sunflower (Helianthus sp.). This is unfair on so many levels. First of all, who is to say that the sunflowers came first, and that the Heliopsis is the imitation? Even …
The Bees are Back
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 …
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