by Laura Hansplant When I first started designing green roofs six years ago, my secret fear was that they’d be predictable and monotonous. Fortunately, they’re not. In fact, reflecting on climate resiliency, urban habitat, and access to nature in cities, we have only begun to dig into the potential of green roofs. And unexpectedly, green […]
Archive | Native Plants
Rethinking Black Locust
April 15, 2019 in Invasive Plants, Native Plants
by Dan Jaffe While there are about as many definitions of “invasive species” out there as there are definitions for “native species,” they all agree on a few basic principles: An invasive species is a non-indigenous species, introduced outside of its natural range (either intentionally or unintentionally), that causes ecological and/or economic harm. And there […]
Eco-Answers from the Pros: Native Evergreen Groundcovers for Sun
April 15, 2019 in Eco-Answers, Native Plants
I am looking for a native groundcover recommendation for my yard. It is a slope between wetlands and uplands that gets full sun exposure. Ideal plant would be perennial evergreen that will help suppress weeds and is low maintenance and drought resistant. Thanks for any recommendations! (more…)
Native Plants for the Small Yard: Easy, Beautiful Home Gardens that Support the Local Ecology
November 15, 2018 in Gardening Basics, Landscape Design, Native Plants
Text by Kate Brandes Illustrations by Tom Maxfield Social scientists have looked at how people feel about their yards, and their research shows that preferences are determined mostly by people’s desire to fit in with the neighbors. Unfortunately, native plants have developed something of a bad rap among homeowners as messy and hard to manage […]
Growing in the Off-Season – Native Perennials from Seed
September 14, 2018 in Native Plants
by Ellen Sousa Must be easy to spread yourself around when you’re a plant that produces lots of seeds, right? After all, look at what happens when kids blow the seeds off dandelions! Dandelions pop up everywhere next year! Unfortunately, it’s an ironic fact of gardening life that whatever you are trying to grow takes some effort, whereas […]
Lessons Learned from the First Year of a School Garden
September 14, 2018 in Landscape Design, Native Plants
by Missy Fabel A lot can happen in a year, especially in High School. In the spring of 2017, a dozen students, a couple of faculty members and a handful of PTA parent volunteers planted more than 3,000 native plant plugs in an enclosed courtyard at Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua, NY. The project […]
Wait! Do you really want to plant that there?
August 15, 2018 in Landscape Design, Native Plants
by Bruce Patterson The wise advice gardeners often hear is to “plant in the habitat type where the plants are naturally found. Be sure to select plants that prefer the habitat (or microhabitats) of your garden.” Sometimes that good advice conflicts with the vision we have for our gardens. (more…)
A Walk in the Garden
August 15, 2018 in Landscape Design, Native Plants
Text by Dan Jaffe Photos by Penny Lewis Before the hot weather took hold in New England, ELA took a late spring walk through Garden the Woods in Framingham, MA to see what was blooming. A return visit a month later offered additional photo ops. In addition to lovely individual plants, we also found some […]
Drought-Tolerant? Think Native!
July 16, 2018 in Conservation, Native Plants, Sustainability
by Carol E. Becker In the upper Midwest, we don’t often think of strictly drought-tolerant gardens, because we have adequate seasonal rain. But that rain comes in the spring and fall, and we typically have hot, dry weather in July and August. Our best strategy for creating gardens that can withstand midsummer drought is to […]
Drought Tolerant Container Gardens, Beyond the Traditional
July 16, 2018 in Conservation, Gardening Basics, Native Plants
by Irene Brady Barber When people think of the plants for drought tolerant container gardens, immediately succulents come to mind. Succulents are great for that purpose, but there are many other plant options. Consider the opportunity of using native plants in place of the exotic succulents. (more…)