Answers to some of your native plant questions
Are mayapples, bloodroot, and wild geraniums ephermals if they go dormant during the summer? – Technically no. Some native plants are ephemeral such as Virginia Blue Bells, Shooting Stars and Dutchman’s Breeches. This means they will eventually go dormant...Rethinking Native Plant Maintenance
There are a few minor differences between maintaining native plants and non-native plants. In a non-native (traditional) garden, we are growing plants that naturally don’t grow together, aren’t part of natural processes or adapted over thousands of years to the local environment. Here are some nature inspired maintenance tips for native plants.
Plant profile: Purple Flowering Raspberry, a summer beauty
Purple flowering Raspberry (Rubus odoratus) is one of my favorite summer flowering shrubs (click photo below for an enlargement). It is native to Du Page County, but rare in surrounding counties. It is also thornless.
Bird house, bath, feeder fall maintenance
Fall is a good time, as well as periodically throughout the year, to do maintenance on your birdhouses, birdfeeders and bird baths. Maintenance will help protect birds from some pests and diseases, and from unwanted visitors.
The Sounds of Summer and the Impact of Noise Pollution on Wildlife
I love the sound of Cicadas and other singing insects in the summer. To me, the height of summer is when the male Cicadas, Crickets or Katydids are singing for a mate. But did you know noise pollution can harm wildlife and the lack of wildlife sounds is another indicator of habitat destruction?