You can easily grow native elderberry (Sambucus L. ssp. canadensis) in semi-shaded areas with moist loam or clay soils, or in rain gardens. Their wild habitat is floodplains, shorelines and edges of swampy woods. Continue reading "Native Elderberry"
Do you remember the bug-spattered car windshields and radiator grills, when you were a kid? After a ride in the country, the insect guts and gore had to be scraped and scrubbed off the windshield. The radiator grill captured larger insects that didn’t bounce off. It was clogged with big, black beetles, mantids, moths and […] Continue reading "Neonicotinoid & Insecticides: Where have all the insects gone?"
Ecological Pathways: Poisonous Slugs No-till farming (not plowing and harrowing and disking the land frequently), benefits field and forage crop production by reducing soil erosion, Garden Slug conserving water (if irrigation is necessary), improving soil health, and reducing fuel and labor costs. It’s generally a ‘good thing’ to do. Neonicotinoids are the most widely used […] Continue reading "The Grapevine (Jan 2015)"
Use of Controversial Pesticides Banned in National Wildlife Refuges After facing a series of legal challenges from environmental groups around the country, the United States Forestry Service has issued a memorandum to the effect that by January 2016, it will have phased out use of neonicotinoid pesticides and “genetically engineered crop seeds” on National Wildlife […] Continue reading "The Grapevine (Sept 2014)"
Pre-poisoned Plants This is a reiteration of the importance of Mariette Nowak’s article titled “Are ‘Safe’ Pesticides Killing Pollinators”. A few things that have come up since she wrote it. It was recently revealed (Pesticide Research Institute, Pesticide Action Network of North America, Beyond Pesticides) that many “bee friendly” home garden plants sold at Home […] Continue reading "The Grapevine (Nov 2013)"
Researchers have documented, in many recent studies, that the Eurasian honeysuckle (Lonicera sp.) hereafter referred to as “honeysuckle” shrubs are much more harmful than previously believed. While it has long been known that these shrubs are invasive, and obliterate native understory vegetation, including native shrubs and herbaceous plants, it has now been shown that honeysuckles […] Continue reading "Eurasian Honeysuckle: Bad for birds, bad for trees, and bad for you"
We all love holly for the holidays, and so do birds. We value native hollies for decorations and for landscaping, while birds appreciate their berries, abundant during the lean times of winter. The American holly, (Ilex opaca), is the only native holly with evergreen spiny leaves and red berries – the classic characteristics of holly. Continue reading "Beyond the Bird Feeder: Holly"
Bring both berries and birds to your garden with a native mulberry tree. There are two species native to North America – the red mulberry (Morus rubra) and the Texas mulberry (Morus microphylla). Continue reading "Beyond the Bird Feeder: Mulberry Tree"
