Accent on Natural Landscaping

Donna VanBuecken

Bird/Pollinator-Friendly Garden

As cold as it has been, the birds have nowhere to go other than to hunker down in the bushes and leaf piles. Just sparrows – this was a result of my bird count. In general, bird are nature's messengers. As populations of birds change, those fluctuations may indicate shifts in pollution levels, … [Read more...]

Warranted but Precluded

Recently, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced that the Endangered Species Act Listing for the monarch butterfly was "warranted, but precluded" by work on higher-priority listing actions. With this decision, the monarch becomes a candidate for listing, and its status will be … [Read more...]

Western Monarchs Closer to Extinction

Today is a sad day. Across 261 overwintering sites, volunteers counted only 1,914 monarch butterflies for the Western monarch population of California. How does this year compare to previous years? When the Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count was started in 1997, over 1.2 million monarchs were … [Read more...]

A Small Native Plant Garden

Ken Sikora wrote this in an e-mail the other day: "Thanks for the Winter Seeding of a Prairie, Donna! Just last Thursday I did broadcast seeds in an existing prairie, trying to improve the wildflower diversity and fill in some thin spots. I did it knowing it was going to rain Friday, which would … [Read more...]

Winter Seeding of Your Prairie

Reference my blog post titled Winter Seeding Your Prairie. I usually use the winter seeding of my prairie as a general overseeding of the prairie. Recently, a gentleman from Ohio e-mailed to ask me a few questions. He began with the statement, "I'm working with the USDA's Conservation Stewardship … [Read more...]

Poinsettia (Euphorbia marginata)

I've always loved the Poinsettia. Because I had a December wedding date, I  had my bridesmaids and maid-of-honor carry Poinsettias in their bouquets, and all around us were plants of all sizes and shapes. Last Friday, December 4th, we celebrated our 55th anniversary! Poinsettia (Euphorbiai … [Read more...]