Natives are a Girl’s Best Friend (Forever)
Diamonds, emeralds, rubies? No thanks, Dahlink, what I prefer is plants. Native plants, Dahlink. My treasures are not found in any jewelry store or at the nearest mall. No, no. My favorite gems...
View ArticleDo Not Plant: Bradford Pear
The asian import, Callery Pear (Pyrus calleryana), commonly called Bradford Pear, is an ornamental tree that’s widely used in landscaping. It has, like so many other nursery-grown plants, escaped from...
View ArticleCats Preying on Wildlife: Natural or Not?
Free-roaming cats are a common sight in our suburban neighborhoods, but the toll they take on native wildlife often remains invisible. According to a 2013 study sponsored by the Smithsonian and the...
View ArticleLisa Bright Shares Her Garden Faves
Choosing the Right Native Plants for Your Garden Our Earth Sangha Wild Plant Nursery will be hosting a Fall Plant Sale on Sunday, September 27th from 10 am to 2 pm. We are offering about 300 species of...
View ArticleNon-Native Plants and Insect Diversity
Not only do native plants do a better job of hosting and supporting local insect communities than their non-native counterparts, but a University of Delaware study shows that non-native plants are...
View ArticleReplacing Lawn with Natives at a Virginia Rest Stop
On a cloudy humid morning, a small group of about 50 diverse people came together at the Dale City, Virginia, northbound rest stop. They weren’t travelling through and stopping briefly for a break....
View ArticleReflections on Establishing a Native Plant Garden…
Beverley Rivera, a transplant from Australia and world traveler, reflects on her most recent journey: discovering our native plants. Reflections on establishing a native plant garden… As summer starts...
View ArticleThe Hummingbirds: A Poem
Every spring, Robert and Arlene anticipate the arrival of the ruby-throated hummingbirds to their mountain home. They observe in awe as these tiny beings nest and feed and hover and swoop around their...
View ArticleLeaf Litter: Nature Knows What She’s Doing
It’s that time of year already. Autumn… or fall, if you prefer, a bittersweet season when summer heat retreats and leaves begin their graceful descent to the ground. So it’s also time for me to cast...
View ArticleThe Brush Pile: Build it for our Wild Friends
A brush pile is an uncomplicated, no-cost structure. It’s basically a large pile of sticks that offers habitat to all sorts of wildlife. Squirrels climb and hide, chipmunks zip under and out and a...
View ArticleNative Plants for Nesting Birds: Top 12 Picks
Derek Stoner, Project Coordinator for the Delaware Nature Society, helped restore the 860-acre Middle Run Natural Area by “intensive habitat management”, including planting 12,000 trees and shrubs....
View ArticleHow I Killed a Tree (and the Lessons I Learned)
Once upon a time, not long ago, I shared my property with a handsome, thriving tree. It’s now dead. The oak had lived for 55 years, less than half its natural lifespan. While alive it provided...
View ArticleVirginia ‘Rabbit Proof’ Native Plants
Precious pink wiggly nose, slender silken ears, a fuzzy snowball of a tail — all wrapped up in a cuddly but voracious plant-chomping package. Ahhh, our Eastern cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus...
View ArticleZika Virus Threat: Don’t Double Down on Trouble
Editorial by Miles Benson First responders to any Zika virus threat in this country had better be careful. Very careful. The worst consequences of exposure to the disease itself are scary. But those...
View ArticleHow to Control Mosquitoes Without Killing Pollinators and Other Important...
by Susan Gitlin. Warm weather and mosquitoes will be here before you know it, leading many of us to look for ways to enjoy the outdoors without being pestered by those annoying little—and sometimes...
View ArticleHow to Feed a Hummingbird Part I: Insects & Protein
This is Part I of a two-part series. There’s high excitement on this lovely afternoon as a male ruby-throated hummingbird guzzles at our feeder. It’s my first sighting of this wee bird this year. “Oh,...
View ArticleHow to Feed a Hummingbird Part II: Flowers & Nectar
This is Part II in a two-part series. Part I of How to Feed a Hummingbird: Insects & Protein revealed that 80 percent of a hummingbird’s diet is comprised of insects and spiders. Eighty percent!...
View ArticleDid the Pachysandra Kill the Hickory Tree?
by Joan Gottlieb. In my yard there is a large bed of Japanese spurge (Pachysandra terminalis), a plant widely used in landscaping. This hardy evergreen ground cover spreads by rhizomes to create what...
View ArticleRat Poison Kills A Hell of a Lot More Than Just Rodents
I inspected the tiny creature closely. It must have died recently, its brown and white furred body still soft and supple. Was it an outdoor cat that killed it? It certainly could have been. Free...
View ArticleNectar Sources for Large-Winged Butterflies of the Mid-Atlantic
Ooooo, a monarch! It takes an erratic path across the garden, bright orange wings gliding and flapping, drifting and fluttering. It floats down and lights on a stalk of common milkweed and after a...
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