A great habitat will support all kinds of animals, even some that may not be included on your personal “desired animal” list. Many people aren’t concerned if they see an owl, rabbit, fox or turtle in their yard. But a snake is another story. Continue reading "Creating Habitat for Snakes"
Cover photo and article by Justin Wheeler, Published in Wild Ones Fall 2022 Journal, Updated October 2023 by Wild Ones Staff Besides providing the right plants, and protecting your garden from pesticides, one of the next most valuable things you can do to support pollinators and other invertebrates is to provide them with the winter […] Continue reading "Leave the leaves!"
Few sounds are as disheartening to a homeowner as that of a bird colliding with a window. And with good reason, since studies show not only that such collisions are frequently fatal — one in two results in the death of the bird — but that they are also all too common. In the United […] Continue reading "Simple Ways to Prevent Birds from Colliding with your Windows"
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)"
