Accent on Natural Landscaping

Donna VanBuecken

NASA GLOBE Observer App

NASA would like your help in measuring the Earth's trees using the NASA GLOBE Observer app on your smart phone. In September 2018, NASA launched an instrument, via the ICESat-2 satellite, called ATLAS which measures many ecological surfaces to determine the health of the world's resources. This … [Read more...]

Dogwoods – Part 2

Red Osier Dogwood (Cornus sericea) Red Osier Dogwood (Cornus sericea), often referred to as Red Twig Dogwood is another striking shrub because of the red highlights in its growth. This multi-stemmed shrub has red stems which are at their most brilliant in the late winter when the sun begins to … [Read more...]

Dogwoods – Part 1

The other day my husband John and I were having breakfast on the deck, overlooking the prairie, and he asked "are those red things on the dogwood  berries?" Nope, they were not, but from a distance the bright red stems left from the Pagoda Dogwood (Cornus alternifolia) fruits sure did stand … [Read more...]

Running out of Time to “Tidy Up” Your Woodlands

As we all know, winter is the only time to prune some of our most beloved trees, namely, the oaks and elms. But winter is also the best time to remove unwanted  trees and brush -- native or non-native -- to "tidy up" our woodlands. This is the time when plants are dormant so there is less … [Read more...]