Accent on Natural Landscaping

Natural Landscaping

February 13, 2016

Do you have a passion for native plants and natural landscaping? Do you wish you knew more about native plants and biodiversity? If so, I invite you to join this blog and learn about native plants, natural landscaping and biodiversity a little at a time.

As Executive Director of Wild Ones for 17 years, one of the things I enjoyed the most was to share with members and others the new and interesting information I learned about things related to the Wild Ones mission. So now as I continue on with my next life adventure, [Read more…]

Fall Clean-Up of Your Habitat

November 14, 2018

Reference my earlier post dated December 5, 2016 entitled Fall Habitat Maintenance and the comment from Stephen Thomforde regarding heterogeneity as it relates to leaving the leaves. Specifically Stephen wanted to remind us that we should “manage our landscape in ways that mimic biomass harvest by grazing animals and biotic fire.”

I thought with this post I would add to the list of things to do for fall clean-up mentioned in the above referenced post.

Planning Ahead

Fall is the time to collect seed to do a winter overseeding of your prairie or gardens or a new seeding of a new area. See Winter Seeding your Prairie.

Leave dormant plants overwinter for overwintering insects and next spring’s solitary bees to use for nests.

Its also a good time to plan for next spring’s cold frames to use for starting those new seedlings from the seed you’ve collected. Find a sunny spot for nurturing next spring’s seedlings and plan to sow the seed this winter. The tops of cold frames can be made from recycled sturdy old windows. Don’t forget to label the seeds you are planting!

If you have more formal gardens, don’t clean native plant flower beds in the fall. Wait until spring after hibernating insects — bees and butterflies — have left the security of the stalks and leaf beds they’ve used to overwinter. See Flower Stalks for Bees and Autumnal Equinox.

Brush Piles

Along with the fall rains and winds come a myriad of broken tree branches. Instead of hauling them away, consider building a brush pile to shelter birds, rabbits, snakes and other wildlife from pending inclement weather and predators. The fall and winter months are also best for pruning oaks and other native trees prone to modern day disease and non-native insects.

Cartoon by John Klossner for Wild Ones: Native Plants, Natural Landscapes.

And last but not least, late fall is the best time to conduct your buckthorn census. Buckthorn is one of the few deciduous trees that is still green into November. So now is the the time to identify buckthorn. Pull buckthorn seedlings and either cut and paint the stems of larger trees with herbicide or mark them for future removal later into the season. Make certain to include in your plans for the spring, planting native shrubs and groundcovers in the areas from which you’ve removed the buckthorn.

Rain Barrels

If you have rain barrels, this is a good time of the year to sanitize them using the last of your salvaged rainwater, and then disconnect and empty the barrels.

See also Nature Scoop September 2018 by Toni Stahl for more hints for fall maintenance of native landscaping.

First Snowfall of 2018-19

November 12, 2018

Although it’s not the winter season yet, we had our first snowfall here in Northeast Wisconsin. I love how fresh and new a good snowfall always makes everything look. But now I wonder if I’m ever going to get the rest of the Norway Maple (Acer platanoides) leaves spread out over our yard. I’ve found over the years, that the leaves from the three huge maples that line one edge of our driveway do not break down as readily as the native maple leaves do. The Norway Maple leaves tend to smother underlying plant material, so we typically make every attempt to get them broken up and moved around in the fall as much as we can.

23rd Toward Harmony with Nature Conference

November 9, 2018

Monarchs and other pollinators depend upon late season forbs such as the New England Aster to help them prepare for the winter season. Learn what you can do with landscaping to have a positive effect on our ecosystems and our general health at the 23rd Annual Toward Harmony with Nature Conference on January 19, 2019. Download conference brochure.

Wild Ones Fox Valley Area Chapter is celebrating its 23rd Toward Harmony with Nature all-day conference on natural landscapes, native plants, biodiversity and wildlife this January 19, 2019. The Value of Ecological Restoration will focus on ecological awareness, and provide insight in helping us actively participate in restoring the health of our lands and how it benefits ourselves and others. What our speakers have to say should be of interest to anyone (homeowners, gardeners, landscapers, teachers, ecologists, municipal leaders, wildlife enthusiasts, nursery owners, etc).

Want to learn more about native landscaping and the positive effect it has on our ecosystems and our general health? Join us in learning from our speakers how we can apply their lessons toward creating a healthy habitat in our gardens and our own yards.

23rd Toward Harmony with Nature Conference

The Value of Ecological Restoration

This year’s conference is again being held at the Oshkosh Convention Center, 2 North Main Street on Saturday, January 19, 2019.

8:45AM – 4:15PM Registration 8:00-8:45AM Lunch 11:45AM-1:15PM

The Value of Ecological Restoration by David Cordray, Senior Restoration Ecologist & Engineer and Owner of Environmental Returns, LLC

Was your youth rich in outdoor adventures? Did you use these adventures as your classrooms for your ecological goals today? Our keynote speaker David Cordray was fortunate to be able to do so. Through his keynote, he will share his journey to finding ecological awareness and his insight into why we must actively participate in restoring the health of our lands. Wishing to give others the opportunity to participate in their natural heritage, he will explore reasons for striving for ecological health, how the work benefits others and how we can influence a greater ecological awareness.

As an engineer, David Cordray’s first career was working with environmental monitoring satellites. He changed careers in 2008, and brought his creative ideas, work ethic and knowledge to natural lands management. One of his research interests is native landscape design methods and planning to enhance the human outdoor experience. Since 2001, he and his wife, Debra, have been actively restoring their 100 acres near Belleville, WI to prairie and oak savanna.

Nine other presentations follow the keynote which will address using native plants and creating natural landscapes in our homes and communities.

Morning Speakers – Concurrent Session I (10:30-11:45AM):

“Native Trees and Shrubs that Work Together”
Ben French, propagator, Johnson’s Nursery Inc
“Natural Shoreline Restoration for Water Quality Protection”
Paul Skawinski, Citizen Lake Monitoring Network Educator, UW-Extension Lakes Program
“The Importance of Prairies to Threatened and Endangered Species”
Sarah Warner, United States (U.S.) Fish and Wildlife Service Biologist

Afternoon Speakers – Concurrent Session II (1:15-2:30PM):

“Integrating Natural Systems into Urban Landscapes”
Steve Apfelbaum, Chairman and Senior Ecologist, Applied Ecological Services
“Measure Twice and Cut Once: The Importance of Planning and Adaptive Management When Restoring Oak Ecosystems”
Aaron Feggestad, Senior Associate Ecologist, Stantec Consulting Services, Inc.
“Amazed by Invasives – 15 Years on 15 Acres”
Katharine Grant, Natural Ecosystems Management

Afternoon Speakers – Concurrent Session III (3:00-4:15PM):

“Urban Lot, Native Plants, Big Change”
Loris Damerow, Past President Wild Ones Fox Valley Area Chapter
“Restoring Your Woodland to Health” Frank Hassler, President and Ecologist, Good Oak Ecological Services
“The Present and Future of Goose Pond Sanctuary’s Prairies”
Mark Martin and Susan Foote-Martin, Resident Managers, Goose Pond Sanctuary

Details for Speaker List

Exhibitors and Vendors

Silent Auction

Conference website

Mailed pre-registration must be postmarked no later than Friday, January 11, 2019.

On-line pre-registration for lunch with the conference ends at midnight, Tuesday, January 15, 2019.

On-line preregistration for just the conference ends at midnight, Wednesday, January 16, 2019.

On-site registration day of the event is available: $40 member, $45 non-member, $20 student

Teachers bringing five or more students receive a free registration. Contact wildonesfoxvalley@gmail.com for more information or call Conference Coordinator at 920-766-2292.

Lodging Accommodations – a limited number of rooms are available for $89.99 single or double occupancy at the Best Western Premier Waterfront Hotel adjoining the Convention Center. To make reservations call 855-230-1900. Be sure to mention the Wild Ones conference to get the special rate.

Tamarack also known as American Larch

November 7, 2018

The gold of the Tamarack blends beautifully with the bronzes and reds of other fall colors. In the spring, the tiny yellow needles reflect the sunlight nearly taking your breath away from the shimmering glow.

I have many favorite plants, but one of my favorite pine trees is the Tamarack, also known as the American Larch (Larix laricina). It’s such a unique tree. It looks like a coniferous tree, but it goes dormant every year and loses its needles — but not before turning the most beautiful shade of yellow.

We find the Tamarack growing around our hunting property and all over in Northern Wisconsin. It likes lowlands like swamps and bogs, and grows in areas where there are sedge mats and hummocks. It also likes the cold, so as the temperature increases due to climate change, the larch will likely move further north.

Its bark is unusual, too. The light colored bark is scaly and has a pink cast; underneath it actually looks reddish-orange. In the winter you can see lichen growing on its bare branches. Unlike most coniferous trees, it has long deep roots which help keep the larch alive for hundreds of years. Its brown pine cones are very small, typically about 3/4 inch long. All these characteristics help to make it fire resistant.

In Montana, Tamaracks can reach over 150 feet tall and over 250 inches in circumference. Here I’m standing next to a Montana Western Larch growing near a camp ground north of Seeley Lake.

Western Larch (Larix occidentalis)

When I attended a wildflower conference in Montana in 2016, I talked with a fellow-attendee, who was researching the after-growth from wild fires, about my love of the larch. She told me about a small stand of the biggest larch she had ever seen at Seeley Lake in Montana. It was on the way back to the Amtrak railroad station in Glacier Park, so we made the detour. I have to say she was right — I was in such awe of the size of these trees that I forgot to take photos until we were well away from the lake.