Throughout her career working with people, plants, and landscapes, author/designer and gardener extraordinaire Carolyn Summers has often been puzzled by the lack of interest in certain plants that she finds exceptionally useful. These plants bridge the gap that sometimes exists between what humans want and what wildlife needs. Carolyn introduces us to three underused plants that are a must-have for native gardeners.
Contributors: Leslie Duthie and Ellen Sousa
ELA invited a couple of members to identify the “weeds” they like to leave in the landscape for their habitat value.
Conference Session Review by Melanie Kenney
As humans continue to shape and dominate the landscape, conservationists, land managers, homeowners, landscape professionals, and researchers need information about how wildlife interact with and make use of resources available in urban, suburban, and agricultural green spaces. Dr. Desirée Narango, Postdoctoral Researcher at the City University of New York, Visiting Researcher at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and Research Associate with the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, presented an exciting new set of research findings focusing on how songbirds navigate, feed, and reproduce in urban and suburban green spaces, using the Carolina chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) as a model insect-eater.
As demand grows for plants that support pollinators and other wildlife, ELA reached out to a few experts to find out which species they recommend including in every landscape design.
As pollinator populations decline as a result of habitat, solar farms may be a part of a solution that is beneficial to both wildlife and humans. Trials of native plants in conditions mimicking those found under ground-mounted photovoltaic solar sites show positive results.
by Dr. Susannah Lerman
Trees and shrubs provide ecosystem services and societal benefits in urban and suburban environments. They also provide vital habitat for birds, pollinators, and other wildlife. A new tool correlates habitat requirements for songbirds, evaluates the bird habitat potential at ecoregion scales, and can guide habitat improvement plans.
Do you have suggestions for late-season blooming native plants in the Northeast for humming birds? The hummingbirds in my gardens have been very active on the early and mid-season monarda and annual salvias, but they will be gone in the next couple of weeks and I want to ensure a sufficient nectar source. My mondarda…
by Dr. Randi Eckel In the fragmented ecosystems where we live and work, the importance of diversity in our landscapes cannot be over emphasized. Diversity of native plants, insects, mammals, birds, amphibians…. They all play a crucial role in sustaining a healthy environment.
by Karen Bussolini Bluebirds brighten any day, but their blast of blue and muted melodies especially lift my spirits in winter. On sunny mornings they’re like blue-clad clowns catching drops of snowmelt mid-drip as they hang upside down from the eaves of my garden shed. When every feathered creature around descends on the big old…
by Tod Winston Plant It and They Will Come: Such is the mantra of the modern bird-friendly gardening movement, founded in the growing scientific consensus that by increasing native plant populations, we provide birds with the resources they need to thrive. As manager of Audubon’s Plants for Birds program, I oversee its native plants database,…
by Tara Mitchell The landscape has long been shaped by economics. Marketing tells us which plants are weeds and which are desirable, which insects are pests to be eradicated and which are worthy of saving. While all insects are declining, those chosen to be saved are those that are most visible and that also bring…
Public Benefits from Ecological Landscapes Include Pollinator Habitat, Improved Water and Soil Quality by Rob Davis Dramatic changes in cost can drive dramatic changes in customer behavior—and create extraordinary business opportunities. Such is the situation right now with solar energy — hardware costs have plummeted by 80 percent in the last five years and the…
