One of the last flowering shrubs of the year, American Witchhazel (Hamamelis virginiana) is a hiker's delight when spotted late in the fall. Native to both Northeastern and Southeastern USA, their fragrant bright yellow blossoms appear late in the autumn after all the leaves have fallen from the … [Read more...]
Native Plants & Birds: Stopover Initiative
At last week's joint meeting of Wild Ones Fox Valley Area and Winnebago Audubon, Kim Grveles, an avian ecologist with the Wisconsin Stopover Initiative, outlined a number of things we can do to help birds as they migrate over our habitats. Here are nine things we can do to help migratory birds: … [Read more...]
Winterberry (Ilex verticillata)
One of my favorite shrubs to use for winter decorating is the Winterberry (Ilex verticillata). Its brilliant red berries really brighten up the evergreen boughs that bring such a wonderful pine-scented fragrance to the air. The berries are eaten by nearly 50 bird and waterfowl species and also by … [Read more...]
Websites Help Choose Native Plants
I recently attended the WBCI (Wisconsin Bird Conservation Initiative) annual conference "Protecting Birds through Action & Art" in Rothschild, Wisconsin. One of the speakers was John Rowden, Director of Conservation for national Audubon. He introduced attendees to a new program called Native … [Read more...]
Fall Colors – White Baneberry
I love fall. It's the season that clothes itself in the colors I like the most -- reds, oranges, yellows, browns and greens. The fall foliage of the White Baneberry (Actaea pachypoda) is a good example. … [Read more...]
Are Cultivars Pollinator-Friendly?
New research indicates that, with a few exceptions, cultivars don't have the nectar, seed, etc resources that the native plant species do. Annie White has been studying natives and nativars (aka cultivars) since 2011 in northern Vermont to evaluate their garden performance and study patterns of … [Read more...]