Accent on Natural Landscaping

Donna VanBuecken

Non-Native Plants reduce Food availability for Birds

Doug Tallamy, Desiree Narango and Peter Marra* have provided more definitive data about the importance of native trees and shrubs for the livelihood of insect-eating birds. In this case, their research focused primarily on the Caroline Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis). In their report Nonnative … [Read more...]

What’s Good for Birds is Good for People

What's good for birds is also good for people.  Here are some possible impacts of your native plant garden presented by the National Audubon Society: "557: Varieties of butterflies and moths supported by native oak trees, as compared to only 5 butterfly and moth species supported by … [Read more...]

Gardening for Pollinators

I'm working on a new PowerPoint (PPT) presentation on pollinators. Although I've done many presentations on natural landscaping, I've never done one focused on pollinators, so I thought I should understand a little more about pollination before I started developing the PPT. Here's what I came up … [Read more...]

Spring means Sap is flowing in Red Twig Dogwood

I love spring when the branches of the Red Twig Dogwood begin to again glow a brilliant red. What an awesome sight. Red Twig Dogwood (Cornus sericea) is a great native plant to have in your landscape. From their white blossoms in the spring and deep green foliage in summer, to their rich red … [Read more...]

Wisconsin Conservation Congress Spring Hearings – Neonics

Each second Monday of April, the Wisconsin Conservation Congress holds their spring hearings. There are 54 questions this year concerning a myriad of conservation issues. One of great importance to natural landscaping enthusiasts is advisory question 45 on the use of neonicotinoids: … [Read more...]

New Idea to Save Birds from Tall Objects

  According to the USGS, wind turbines collisions kill between a quarter to a half million birds annually. Researchers from the College of William and Mary, however, have built a warning system they call the Acoustic Lighthouse. This invention emits a high-pitched sound which warns birds to … [Read more...]