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.
In 2019, the Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD) sustainability committee asked me to research and write about plastic horticultural pots use and disposal methods. Because plastic is so easy to use, billions of plastic pots were being produced without a blueprint for what would happen as demand increased. Unfortunately, we’ve produced so much plastic that we can’t possibly recycle it all.
This past September I noticed, far off in the distance, a dying white pine (Pinus strobus) located on the edge of our driving range at The Country Club. After much research, I concluded that this white pine was infected by the pitch canker pathogenic fungus, Fusarium circinatum. Golf balls repeatedly hit into the pine had caused wounds to needles, branches, and bark creating ports of entry for pathogenic spores of pitch canker. Learn how pitch canker spreads and signs to look for on your property.
Winter is here and we have all moved our plants indoors. Everything is fine—for a few weeks. Then you notice a few leaves falling off your plants. You don’t think anything of it at first, but then your vibrant plants start to go downhill fast. After a careful inspection, you discover your plants are infested with insects. Learn the most common house plant pests and how to manage them.
2020 was obviously a remarkable year for many in adjusting work, relationships, and life in general in response to a pandemic, social justice movements, the economy, climate change, and politics. After a brief moment of uncertainly my job as Head Gardner went on as normal in this most unusual year.
What do Japanese spirea, burning bush, boxwood, and forthysia all have in common? They are all non-native common garden plants that can be invasive and do not support native pollinators. Growing native plants helps foster biodiversity, feed bees, and other pollinators. Many of our northeastern native shrubs are fantastic substitutes for commonly used exotics.
By Emma Marris
In October of 2013, I toured three miles of disused railroad line in Philadelphia. The entire line was covered with spontaneous vegetation alive with butterflies and ladybugs. Here nature was showing us her resilience and her wild beauty and offering to meet us where most of us live now, in the city. What is tricky about urban wildness is what I call the High Line Problem.
By Laura Kuhn
What if humans disappeared tomorrow? The temperate forest of the US Northeast would quickly return to the forest it wants to be. Every garden is, by virtue of human influence, an interventionist act. We as ecological designers face a balancing act of pleasing our clients and letting nature be wild.
By Emma Erler
Conventional wisdom tells us that earthworms are good for the soil. Now there’s a new worm in town that is not beneficial to our landscapes. JUMPING WORMS!! You read correctly. Jumping worms are an invasive worm from Asia that can quickly change soil structure and reduce biodiversity. Don’t panic, but be on the lookout for Jumping Worms in your garden.
By Ellen Snyder
In southeastern New Hampshire, where I work with landowners and communities on land stewardship, managing invasive plants is a constant struggle. As the Land Stewardship Coordinator for the Town of Durham, I’m guiding three restoration projects on town conservation land. It was hard not to be overwhelmed by the pervasiveness of invasive plants on all three properties. To avoid invasive paralysis, I keep my focus on the goal: restoration of a place to a mostly self-sustaining, healthy plant community. The reward is a restored landscape brimming with native plants and native beneficial insects.
By Bruce Wenning
Not all plant diseases are caused by parasitic microbes, some are caused by parasitic weeds. The dodder vine is one of those weeds. Dodder attaches itself to healthy plants and makes them more vulnerable to other diseases and insect pests. Find out all about the dodder lifecycle and best practices for ridding your landscape of this fascinating but noxious vine.
By Emily May
One of the most fulfilling aspects of spending most of my time at home over the past few months has been watching the flowers in my yard blossom and buzz with bees, flies, butterflies, hummingbirds, and more. I also notice when things go awry, like when I spotted deformed flower heads on my bee balm (Monarda fistulosa) and later on my purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea). What was going on and what could I do about it without the use of harmful pesticides which pose risk to both humans and insects alike.
By Karen Boussolini
Bees are smart. They recognize high-quality food and habitat. The buzz has gone out that my house is a happening place for carpenter bees. In a quest to rid my house of carpenter bees, understand their life cycle, and find alternatives that don’t involve them eating my house I discovered some simple steps to save both my house and these gentle beneficial insects.
