This week: Trillium for Woodland Gardens
Hello! This weekend I visited Raccoon Creek State Park and native Trillium was putting on a show. These spring ephemerals are easy to identify: each flower...
This week: Early spring bloomers + big box native plants
Hello! First, an announcement: This summer I am keeping a list of native plants that I find at my local Lowes and Home Depot big box stores. The first...
This week: Spring Beauty
Hello! This week I happened across a field full of Spring Beauty—the ephemeral spring wildflower, not a general description of the landscape. Virginia Spring...
This week: How to start native plant seeds indoors
Last week we sourced native seeds to plant in spring. This week, we'll begin with cold stratification and starting seeds indoors. How to Cold Stratify Seeds...
This week: Native seeds for a spring start
Hello! Last week we dug into bare root plants. This week, we’ll talk sourcing native flower seeds in the spring. If you’re reading this in the northeast,...
This week: Accessible, affordable bare-root native perennials
Hello! Spring is the perfect time to capitalize on affordable, easily accessible native perennials. How? Local garden centers and big box stores often stock...
This week: Hemp dogbane—weed or wildflower?
Hello! This weekend I explored Churchill Valley Greenway, a former golf course located outside of Pittsburgh. It was abandoned over a decade ago and was...
This week: Signs of spring
Hello! At ground level, daffodils, snowdrops, and crocus are blooming here in Pittsburgh. But if you look up, you’ll notice thousands of native flowers...
This week: Eastern Hemlock, a native evergreen in trouble
Hello, I hope you spotted all the hairy bittercress in your garden beds and yanked them out last week! This week, we return to native evergreen options....
This week: A ballistic weed emerges
Hello! This week I spotted one of the earliest emerging spring weeds: hairy bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta). Unlike common violets and certain volunteer...
This week: Ubiquitous Arborvitae
Hello! Walk through any neighborhood and you’re bound to see Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis). This ubiquitous evergreen is native to North America,...
This week: Spruce it up
Hello! Did you know that in the eastern U.S., most of the large spruce trees you see in residential landscapes are probably not native to the area? I’m going...
This week: Native White Pines
Hello! Most of the year, evergreens play a supporting role to showy blooms and fall colors. In the winter, though, evergreens stand out. One of my favorites...
This week: Woolly Bear Caterpillars
Hello! This week I encountered a very famous caterpillar—the Woolly Bear. This caterpillar has at least two festivals celebrating it, and the size of its...
This week: Another method to grow natives from seed
Hello! Previously in this space, we talked about starting native plants from seed as one affordable option for getting a lot of plants for not a lot of...
This week: Getting rid of grass, part 2
Hello! Last week, we covered how to get rid of smaller areas of grass—techniques one might use to enlarge a flowerbed or start a small garden. But what if...
This week: Getting rid of grass, part 1
Hello! Are you planning to expand or create a new garden bed for native flowers this spring? If so, you will likely need to get rid of some grass. There are...
This week: Basal foliage provides winter greenery
Hello! Imagine that it’s the first week of January and you notice bright green foliage popping out of the ground. Maybe it’s been warmer than usual and...
This week: Winter sowing natives
Hello! This week is the perfect time to get outside and plant some native flowers. Starting from seed can be a more affordable way to procure native plants,...
This week: Garden sounds
Hello! When you imagine garden sounds, what do you hear? Birdsong and bees buzzing for sure, but incorporating other sounds can also enhance your time...