The ecological landscaper relies on landscape practices that promote the healthiest plants possible and utilizes a range of non-toxic alternatives in order to preempt and solve problems in the landscape. Landscapes benefit when those responsible for care remain present in the landscape and identify plant and animal pests and diseases early.
Like a handful of other invasive plant species, Japanese knotweed is tenacious and persistent on the one hand but economically useful and often medicinally beneficial on the other. Landowners and town leaders know that invasive species are impressive colonizers, and without a comprehensive plan to manage large corridors on the landscape, re-infestation is virtually unavoidable.
As you watch backyard plants and trees green up and leaf out, it’s also time to start observing those plants for symptoms of injury from herbicide drift. Over the past five years, many trees and broadleaf plants in backyards, on farms, and in natural areas across the Midwest have been injured by drift from volatile plant growth regulator herbicides.
In October 2018, I found jumping worms in my vegetable garden two days after attending a professional conference and participating in a whole afternoon dedicated to jumping worms. It was saddening and disheartening, a bit hopeless. A few weeks before, I learned that jumping worms were found at my local municipal yard waste site, where I’d gotten cheap, local compost for years.
By Bella Ciabattoni and Pawel Pieluszynski Mantids – The Voracious Generalist Garden Predator While many insects often go unnoticed, one group never fails to attract attention. Large, charismatic, and bold,…
The MA Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) announced on September 28, 2021, that a small, established, and breeding population of the invasive spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) was detected in Worcester County, MA, in the city of Fitchburg. Residents and professionals living and working across the Commonwealth should learn the life stages of the spotted lanternfly and be able to identify their eggs, immatures, and adults.
Spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula, “SLF”) is an emerging invasive insect of concern in New England. Spotted lanternfly(SLF) was first detected in Pennsylvania in September 2014. It feeds on a wide range of fruit, ornamental and woody trees, with tree-of-heaven being one of the preferred hosts. It can spread long distances by people moving infested material or items containing egg masses. We must stop this pest could before it seriously impacts the country’s grape, orchard, and logging industries.
Effective and sustaining landscapes are informed by the surrounding environment. They are created by incorporating structural and species diversity into planting schemes to push minimalist restoration efforts to efficient results.
In 2013, Club Motorsports began construction of a private race track at the southern edge of the New Hampshire White Mountains. They designed the track with the idea in mind of a ‘country club’ for car enthusiasts.
Un paisaje accesible debe ser fácil de acceder físicamente y también ofrecer experiencias variadas a todos los visitantes. Los diseñadores ecológicos llevan el concepto de diseño universal aún más lejos y consideran cómo el paisaje, especialmente los jardines públicos y participativos, pueden beneficiar no solo a personas de todas las capacidades, sino también a la vida silvestre, los polinizadores, los microorganismos del suelo y las cuencas hidrográficas.
Coastal wetlands are a valuable component of our landscape for many reasons. They provide habitat to many species that are important for fisheries and recreation. They reduce wave energy and help mitigate coastal flooding. It turns out that they also help control the rise of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere by trapping carbon dioxide in plants and in soils.
Invasive species are on the rise as trade and travel accelerate the introduction and spread of new species in a way never seen before. Simultaneously, our climate is changing at an unprecedented rate resulting in climate extremes. While these two phenomena are each daunting challenge to biodiversity, their impacts can act synergistically and present additional hurdles for conservation and sustainability.
West Laurel Hill Cemetery, a level-II accredited arboretum located in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, features a unique space called “Nature’s Sanctuary.” This one-acre space, which previously served as the cemetery’s dumpsite, now uses a managed successional plan that will gradually transition from a sunny meadow to a meadow/woodland combination and, finally, a mature forest. This article focuses on the range of native plant species grown in this one-acre space and doing so with deer pressure.
