Accent on Natural Landscaping

Donna VanBuecken

National Water Quality Month

With all the flooding we've experienced around the country this year (and around the globe), it's important we think about water quality. So it is a fitting reminder that August is National Water Quality Month. As native plant enthusiasts however, we already know we are doing our part to maintain … [Read more...]

The Weather and Purple Loosestrife Beetles

Reference Wisconsin Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) Biocontrol. The message below is from Wisconsin Wetland Invasive Plant Program Coordinator Brock Woods. It is intended for all who are rearing beetles this year, and have not yet released them. If you are not rearing this year, please … [Read more...]

Bee Species Moving North

In 2017 I wrote about a research project from Germany which found Flying Insects in Decline. Now in America researchers from the University of New Hampshire have found a decline in 14 wild bee species which are important food crop pollinators across the Northeast. Thirteen of the bees were native … [Read more...]

Climate Change Changes

This is the time of year we receive the latest reports on climate change. NOAA and NASA reports say 2018 was the fourth-hottest year on record globally. Graph courtesy of Climate Central. 2018 was also another near-record year for America's weather and climate disasters. So what does this … [Read more...]

Climate Change causes Cherry Trees to Bloom Early

You've probably read the peak bloom time for the cherry trees* in Washington DC is now approximately five days earlier than their first recorded date in 1921. This seems to be a trend everywhere in the USA and is likely the result of climate change. Plants, trees and shrubs are blooming earlier … [Read more...]

Spring Blooms

Spring is here, but with all the snow still on the ground, I'm not certain the ephemerals will be too eager to show their delicate blossoms. The first thing that typically shoves through the ground here at my home is the Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra cucullaira). I have some that grows … [Read more...]