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 […]
Archive | Native Plants
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…)
Superfoods in the Insect Garden
June 16, 2018 in Beneficials/Pollinators, Native Plants
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? (more…)
Fronds in My Garden
June 16, 2018 in Landscape Design, Native Plants
by Leslie Duthie When most people think of ferns, they picture delicate quivering fronds blowing in the breeze next to a rippling stream deep in the forest. Or they think of forested swamps with tall ferns growing among the maples. Sometimes we think of fern-covered stone walls rambling unexpectedly in the woods. All of these […]
Landscape Architecture Proposal with Native Vegetation in Urban Spaces
June 16, 2018 in Native Plants
The Case of Ecoparque, Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico by Melissa Lilian Díaz Salazar and Lina Ojeda Revah Concept The concept means that our urban landscape has a major role to play in conservation. We have to create spaces for wildlife, and support nature and biodiversity. Introduction Green spaces in the city of Tijuana are usually […]