Accent on Natural Landscaping

Donna VanBuecken

Last Monarch of the Season

According to my phenology records, this year was the latest we’ve seen a Monarch butterfly in our yard; September 24, 2018. It was a hot, humid summer going right into Labor Day, so I guess I’m not surprised. I hope she makes it to Mexico okay.

Butterflies, like this Monarch, rely upon fall blossoming forbs to get them ready for their winter sojurn. Asters, False Boneset, Sawtooth Sunflower, Brown-Eyed Susan, Stiff Goldenrod and Zigzag Goldenrod all are great plants to have in gardens and native plantings this time of year.

See also the Yellows of a Late Prairie and More Yellows of a Late Prairie.

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Heather Holm appearing at Fox Cities Book Festival 2018

Heather will be appearing at the 2018 Fox Cities Book Festival in Appleton, Wisconsin October 8th and 9th.

Long time Wild Ones member Heather Holm, author of such books as Pollinators of Native Plants and Bees, will be featured at this year’s Fox Cities Book Festival in Wisconsin. On Monday, October 8th at 6:30PM, she will speak at the Elisha D Smith Public Library in Menasha about “The Pollination of Native Plants,” and on Tuesday, October 9th at 10:00AM, she will speak at the WILD Center in Neenah about “Gardening for Bees and Butterflies.” Copies of her books will be available for sale at both sessions. [Read more…]

The Importance of Deadheading

I’ve mentioned deadheading* over-zealous native plants and weeds occasionally in my past posts, but today I wanted to talk more about its importance for maintaining control not only over the look of a more formal garden, but also the biodiversity of a planting using native species. There are some native plants species which are more aggressive than others. For example, Branched Coneflower (Rudbeckia triloba), sunflowers (helianthus sp), (silphium sp) and goldenrod (Solidago sp), just to name a few, produce a lot of seed.

[Read more…]