This week: Spicebush Swallowtail Likes Laurel
Hello! Monarch butterflies may get all the press for their relationship with Milkweed, but Spicebush Swallowtails (Pterourus troilus) also need a specific...
This week: Biennial Gaura, Untidy but Attractive
Hello! “Untidy but still an attractive species,” writes Minnesota Wildflowers about Biennial Gaura (Oenothera gaura). While I’m not sure why they’re calling...
This week: Oops, All Mushrooms
Hello! All the hot, humid, rainy weather we’ve had over the past few weeks has caused mushrooms to magically appear everywhere! But is this a good thing?...
This week: Bee (Balm) Hotels
Hello! Monarda fistulosa, also known as Wild Bergamot, is one of the most familiar of the many native bee balms (such as Monarda didyma and M. bradburiana,...
This week: Is this Tree-of-heaven?
Hello! This week, we’re tackling a burning question many homeowners have: Is this plant Tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima)? This hard-to-remove invasive...
This week: Partridge Pea Improves Soil
Hello, Native annuals aren’t talked about much, but one, Partridge Pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata), is surprisingly common! It’s usually found in seed mixes...
This week: Bountiful Bottlebrush Buckeye
Hello! It’s been a shrub-filled summer for this newsletter, and this week is no different with the flower-laden Bottlebrush Buckeye (Aesculus parviflora)....
This week: Boldly Colored Purple-flowering Raspberry
Hello, Looking for a medium-sized shrub with stunning flowers that is native to the Appalachians? Look no further than Purple-flowering Raspberry (Rubus...
This week: Yucca in Pennsylvania?
Hello! Ever walk past a plant that looks like it belongs in the Southwest, yet it is strangely growing in a Pennsylvania front yard? It could be Yucca...
This week: Plant Mountain Laurel
Hello! Last week, we looked at Great Laurel, West Virginia’s state flower. This week, it’s time for another laurel and Pennsylvania’s state flower: Mountain...
This week: Big (Native) Rhododendrons
Hello! While non-native Rhododendrons can be found in nearly every neighborhood, native Rhododendrons are not a common sight. One eastern native is...
This week: Switchgrass’s Amazing Uses
Hello, Meet an incredibly useful native grass: Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum). It’s the perfect replacement for clumps of invasive Chinese Silvergrass...
This week: Is Yarrow Native?
Hello! From coast to coast, you’ll find Yarrow (Achillea millefolium). It is one of the most widespread wildflowers. But is it native? A Yarrow Cultivar...
This week: A Spring-Blooming Bee Balm
Hello! Bradbury’s Monarda (Monarda bradburiana), also called Eastern Bee Balm, is in bloom! This is hands-down my favorite bee balm. Why, you wonder? Because...
This week: It’s Not Poison Ivy
Hello! Virginia Creeper’s (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) main claim to fame is that it is not poison ivy. In the helpful rhyme “leaves of three, let it be;...
This week: Dividing and Relocating Perennials
Hello! Most of us have gardens with plants that have been around for years, if not decades. Even a well-tended garden can become overgrown and overrun in...
This week: Wild Geranium Explodes
Hello! Let’s look at another spring bloomer. Geranium maculatum, also called Wild Geranium or Spotted Geranium, is a spring beauty native to the Eastern U.S....
This week: The Other Cherry Blossoms
Hello! Though less famous than Japanese cherries, our native cherry trees, Prunus serotina, are blooming. The flowers on native Eastern Black Cherry trees...
This week: Grow Violets for Butterflies
Hello! Look closely, and you’ll spot this native underfoot: wild Violets (Viola spp.). While Violets are often seen as the enemy of the perfect turfgrass...
This week: Golden Ragwort Blooms!
Hello! If you read all the way to the end of last week’s newsletter, you’re probably already planning to stop by the Blooms to Bees tent at the Mt. Lebanon...