by Jessamine (Jessa) Finch
As pollinators lose ground, we’ve been urged to create more pollinator-friendly gardens, but are all pollinator gardens created equal? A team at the Chicago Botanic Garden has developed a project to evaluate native and nativar support of pollinators by gathering data on pollinator preferences across the country. You can become part of the research team.
by Carol Gracie Unlike spring, when most people are eager to get out in the woods to look for the first wildflowers of the year, summer tends to be a time of vacations, beach trips, family gatherings, and other pleasant diversions. Our many beautiful summer wildflowers are often overlooked, or only perceived as blurs of…
The best food plants for insects, with a focus on caterpillars and bees by Thomas Berger When choosing plants to support insects in our gardens, we want to make the most of our limited space. Which plants nourish the most species? And which kinds of insects need our support the most urgently?
by Cathy Rooney For those of us who love to garden, whether for necessity, pleasure or both, an added dimension of the challenge and pleasure is to provide flowers that also attract butterflies along with beneficial insects and other pollinators.
by Emily May Conservation biological control is a science-based pest management strategy that seeks to integrate beneficial insects back into the landscape for natural pest control, ultimately reducing and in some cases eliminating the need for pesticides. Farm landscapes can provide food and shelter for pollinators and other beneficial insects, boosting populations of these insects…
by Thomas Berger, text and photos Feeding the birds in winter has become a common practice so that we can support and enjoy them, and providing birds with nesting boxes is another way to help them survive in our man-made landscapes. It is no different with insects. Besides growing their favorite food plants in our…
by Jack Brodie, James Hitchmough, and Michael Livingstone There is a crisis in the UK, and many other developed countries, in the decline of a wide range of insects that visit flowers to gather nectar and pollen. The Twentieth Century saw major population declines, range contractions, and local extinctions of many wild insect pollinators such…
I work on a golf course in the middle of a city, (Newark, NJ). I am always looking to put in natural areas and promote pollinator plants. My question is more with regard to bees. Does it make sense to have an all-out pollinator area in the middle of the city where there are no…
The mason bees filled most of the tubes in the house this spring and the ends were sealed with the mud. Now in August, the mud seal is gone and the tubes are empty. I know it is too early for the young bees to emerge. Would a predator be responsible for raiding these tubes…
by Keith Nevison Take a trip to your local nursery and head to the native plant section. Do you come across any cultivars of native plants (“nativars”) among their offerings? Do you wonder if these selections offer the same level of ecological benefits to native wildlife as their straight species counterparts? As a landscaper, how…
Attract, Observe and Identify Pollinators and Beneficial Insects with Native Plants Written by Heather Holm Published by Pollination Press LLC, Minnetonka, MN, 2014 Reviewed by Bruce Wenning Heather Holm is an experienced native plant landscape designer and restorationist. Her well-written book includes over 1600 color photographs and drawings that encapsulates her devotion to native plant…
by Matthew Shepherd The National Pollinator Garden Network (NPGN) is a newly created partnership of organizations involved with pollinator conservation, wildlife gardening, and gardens. The network was initiated as part of the White House’s National Pollinator Strategy released earlier this summer. It draws together nearly two dozen nonprofits and organizations with a shared aim, to make…
