With native plants, the most popular species tend to be showy wildflowers with colorful blooms. And among those of us passionate about conservation and rewilding, tree planting is typically the top activity. But there’s one aspect of native plants that can unite these goals and any other gardener concerned with ecosystem health: planting native grasses. […]
Pollinators
Should You Raise Caterpillars Indoors? A Guide for Native Plant Enthusiasts
In our last article, we talked about enjoying one of the most important relationships you can find in your garden: that between native plants and caterpillars. It’s so vital because caterpillars require specific host plants to complete their life cycles, and they also serve as crucial cogs in the food chain. The last article was […]
Tips for Finding and Observing Caterpillars in your Garden
We’ve written about the importance of making sure to include host plants in your butterfly gardens, so you can support multiple generations of pollinators rather than just providing a food source for adults passing by. The result of this, of course, is that your goal is to support pollinator larvae, or caterpillars, in your garden. […]
Maple Trees (Red, Sugar, etc.) as a Host Plant for Caterpillars
If you’re told to picture a pollinator garden, you’ll probably imagine a sunny patch of wildflowers and not necessarily a single big tree. But although their flowers aren’t as showy as our native perennials, trees are hugely important host plants for a wide variety of butterflies and moths. Native trees typically host way more species […]
What’s a Host Plant? Why It’s Important to Plant for Caterpillars, Not Just Butterflies
All plants have some baseline ecological benefits. They prevent erosion, keep moisture and nutrients in the soil, and sequester carbon. They also provide shade, shelter, and cover for species ranging from tiny insects to large mammals. But when we talk about the most beneficial plants and trees to plant (or conserve) in a given area, […]
Should I Worry About Unseasonably Early-Growing Native Plants?
Due to this year’s warm winter (which is, of course, not a one-off but rather a look into the future with a changing climate), many regions of the United States are seeing much earlier emergence and growth of a variety of native perennials. For a couple of weeks I’ve been excited to walk through my […]
Why You Should Grow a Shade Garden
The native plant movement has been growing in recent years, and for many this means sun-loving plants and showy wildflowers. It’s increasingly common to find gardens showcasing plants like purple coneflower, black eyed susan and milkweed, while concepts like the “pocket prairie” and “mini meadow” have become more mainstream. Native shade plants, on the other […]
Best Pollinator-Friendly Native Plants for Shade Gardens
When we talk about planting native plants to support pollinators and ecosystem health, the dominant image that comes to most of our minds is that of a sunny garden reminiscent of a prairie or meadow. But it’s worth remembering that a large percentage of areas of the United States were occupied primary by forest, especially […]
5 Ways to Help Wildlife In Your Yard (Leaves, Lawn Care and More)
The best way to attract and support wildlife in a home garden is to plant native plants, especially those that bloom throughout the season and those that serve as keystone native species. But what else can you do to help wildlife in your yard? This article will go over some tips other than planting that […]
Do Native Shade Gardens Still Help Bees?
Most native plant gardeners do what they do, at least in part, to help pollinators. With important bee populations in steep decline as a result of disappearing food sources, this is often an area of emphasis for our own gardens. But for some the dominant image of bees is still the imported honeybee pollinating crops […]