Tag: Wildlife Gardening
American Pokeweed: Bane or Beauty?
There’s an American Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana) growing across the alley from our house. It emerged from an overgrown hedge this year that our new neighbors have cut to the ground.
The Eccentric Flowers of American Witch-Hazel
There’s an American Witch-Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) planted on the east side of the house. Rabbits chewed it to the ground every year before I protected it with hardware cloth. Then it bounded upward and quickly reached its current height of about 10′. It’s still growing, I think.
Venerable Vervain
Hoary Vervain (Verbena stricta) is an attractive but not a showy plant. But it has great value from a wildlife perspective. First, let’s deal with the name. “Hoary” does not mean what some of you think it means (don’t bother to deny it). It actually means appearing aged, as in white-haired or grizzled. And in …
Country Bee, City Bee
For some bee species, cities can provide a more welcoming habitat than the countryside. In fact, cities are emerging as important players in bee conservation. That’s the message of an article I stumbled upon in the online magazine Yale Environment 360.
A Neighbor’s Garden
There’s a remarkable garden just a few blocks away from where we live. The owner, Pat, is a garden designer and works in the landscape business. She was nice enough to let me come by and take some pictures of the front.
Culver’s Root: Sometimes Newer IS Better
Despite the depredations of the Four Lined Plant Bug, our ‘Fascination’ Culver’s Root (Veronicastrum virginicum) has begun blooming pretty nicely at this point in the year.
Currant Events in the Garden
The Wild Currant (Ribes americanum) begins to bloom just as Clove Currant (Ribes odoratum) is finishing up. Right now the Wild Currants are just loaded with dangling yellow flowers – more of a soft greenish yellow, as opposed to the bright yellow of Clove Currant. As with the Clove Currant, our Wild Currant plants seem …
I Love Flowering Crabapples
When it comes to small flowering trees, is there anything better than the Crabapple (Malus sp.)? Of course not – I’m glad you agree. And my ‘Donald Wyman’ flowering crab is especially lovable this year. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this tree so full of blooms.
Spicebush and Forsythia
Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) and Forsythia, two shrubs that burst into yellow flowers in early spring. They seem to exemplify two different styles in the garden.
Ecological Gardening Still Fashionable in Chicago
Millenium Park, which includes the Lurie Garden, has displaced Navy Pier as the top tourist attraction in the American Midwest (both are in Chicago). Today’s Chicago Tribune tells us that Millenium Park was visited by nearly 13 million people in the second half of 2016, while Navy Pier had 9 million visitors for the entire …
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