Many trees die during the first season at the new site. Watering transplanted trees is not the same as watering crops or a perennial garden. Small annual and perennial plant root systems require less oxygen than the delicate fine root systems of the tree.
Like a handful of other invasive plant species, Japanese knotweed is tenacious and persistent on the one hand but economically useful and often medicinally beneficial on the other. Landowners and town leaders know that invasive species are impressive colonizers, and without a comprehensive plan to manage large corridors on the landscape, re-infestation is virtually unavoidable.
As you watch backyard plants and trees green up and leaf out, it’s also time to start observing those plants for symptoms of injury from herbicide drift. Over the past five years, many trees and broadleaf plants in backyards, on farms, and in natural areas across the Midwest have been injured by drift from volatile plant growth regulator herbicides.
In Garden Allies, author Frederique Lavoipierre encourages a perspective shift towards the critters in our gardens. Instead of thinking of garden inhabitants as good or bad, she encourages us to think of them in their ecological roles, with a food-web perspective. What results is a book jam-packed with identification clues, gardening guidance, and stories that had me penciling exclamation points in the margins.
I have deer that visit my property and need to use various deer repellents on my native plants. Does this repel the native insects that would like to chew on the leaves of these native plants?
Building a Native Habit on a Retaining Wall
I have a 35-year-old retaining wall running the length of my driveway behind my house. I would like to get rid of the ferns and plant something to attract birds/bees/etc. How can I do this without digging up and disturbing the soil sitting above the retaining wall?
Which species of native trees and shrubs are best to plant next to one another to take advantage and have them benefit the most from the sharing of their roots and fungi? I do not have woodland or an area where I can observe them naturally occurring. I live in Thomaston, Maine. ∼Dan Jaffe Wilder…
Share Your Expertise! As ELA begins scheduling fall and winter virtual conferences, we’re reaching out to our community for speakers. Our members have thousands of years of combined experience designing, developing, and maintaining all manner of ecological landscapes. If you have an ecological expertise or field experience, consider sharing with the ELA audience. We seek…
Building is usually a positive sign of economic growth but for wildlife, these roads and structures – even fences around parks and other green spaces – represent barriers to the daily and seasonal movement they rely upon for survival. So how can we coexist with wildlife as we enjoy the resources our communities have to offer?
Ferns are the ancient plants in our landscapes. Every time we walk into the woodlands or drive along a country road, we see them. They cover old stone walls and flourish in wetlands and meadows. Yet, how often do we think of using them in our gardens?
Over the past several years, one of my favorite landscape architecture projects has been developing and monitoring five pollinator plots at the South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT) rest areas in the eastern part of the state along Interstate 29. As a landscape architect, it is satisfying to witness the return of native prairie plant communities and be a part of diverse projects – and working in South Dakota has allowed me to do both.
Heather Holm has written another beautiful book for pollinator gardening enthusiasts. She combines Jane Goodall’s style of long-term field observations with library research. Her photographs and illustrations capture your interest and increase your appreciation for bees, their natural history, and their host plants.
