When I was 7-1/2 years old, my mother brought a new baby into our house. I became the babysitter because my parents worked. Then, two years later, my middle brother, and three years later, my baby brother came – all called me "the protector," but in fact, they were my family. I had always considered … [Read more...]
Archives for June 2021
Common Burdock (Arctium minus)
Reference my blog post on Parsnip Predator. Wendy Walker wrote, "If the taproot is “sliced” and not fully removed, won’t the plant grow back? I’m primarily concerned with burdock, which you mentioned, as our new property has a large patch of this." I googled for manual control of burdock and … [Read more...]
Pollinator Week – Fireflies
Fireflies, or lightning bugs as my dad used to call them, are a welcome sight due to their spectacular nighttime displays. We usually see them from the middle of June into July in our backyard. Fireflies, however, are actually not flies at all; they are beetles. There are over 165 species of … [Read more...]
Creeping Bellflowers – My Back Aches!
I received a comment from Susanne Davis who lives in New York, "I know every perennial’s job is to spread and 'take over.' I have battled all kinds of plants who have done their job better than I wanted them to do. However, this plant makes all the rest seem like slackers. This plant has choked out … [Read more...]
Mycorrhizae
Wild Ones member Janet Carlson asked, "Is there a way to increase the fungi in the soil? I’ve been working on a yard heavily infested with buckthorn. Nothing grows in some parts. Now garlic mustard is moving in after buckthorn removal." I responded with, "I found a good source from the Smiling … [Read more...]
Wasps by Heather Holm
THE BUZZ ABOUT WASPS BY HEATHER HOLM AN INFORMATION-PACKED GUIDE TO FLOWER-VISITING WASPS THAT OCCUR IN EASTERN NORTH AMERICA To order WASPS is the first full-color, illustrated guide featuring approximately 150 species of flower-visiting wasps, and the specific native plants and habitat each … [Read more...]