Accent on Natural Landscaping

Donna VanBuecken

David Cordray to Present Keynote

Senior restoration ecologist and engineer, David Cordray, Owner of Environmental Returns LLC in Belleville, Wisconsin will be the keynote speaker at this year’s Toward Harmony with Nature Conference on January 19, 2019 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. … [Read more...]

Help Update WI Invasive Species Rules

The Wisconsin Legislature created the Wisconsin Invasive Species Council to assist the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in establishing a statewide program to control invasive species. Wisconsin’s invasive species rule, NR Chapter 40, was enacted in 2009 and last revised in 2015. … [Read more...]

300 Trees killed by Herbicide Application

The thing you always worry about when you spray a herbicide around trees is "will this affect the tree?" "How long will it stay in the ground?" Well, the staff at the Milwaukee County Parks got the answer to those questions for one herbicide the hard way when they realized 300 Black Walnut, maple … [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 … [Read more...]

Tall Ironweed (Vernonia altissima)

I have many favorite native plants for many reasons, but one of the Ironweed (Vernonia altissima) plants which grows in my wet mesic prairie is a special favorite. Over the years, my Wild Ones Fox Valley Area Chapter has conducted plant rescues in conjunction with the widening of Wisconsin Highway … [Read more...]

Japanese Knotweed

When I was a child, we used to see a vine we called Wild Cucumber (Echinocystis lobata) along roadside fencelines and trees in ditches, but today we see something called Japanese Knotweed (Fallopia japonica). It's gotten quite a hold along the fencelines and ditches and I suspect it is because for … [Read more...]