Native Yardening

What to do when it’s not working

Hi friend, Let’s be real, at some point or another in your eco-garden journey you’re going to get stuck. Invasive plants you thought were gone sneak back in Your starter plants die before they get established Soil regeneration takes longer than you expected I’m here to tell you, that’s totally normal. In fact, these are badges of honor! It means you care, you’re trying, and you won’t give up. A lot of us seem to think success is a straight line with no mess ups, downswings, or...

1 day ago • 1 min read

The history of this invasive tree 🌳

Hi friend, Did you know that one of the most invasive trees in the eastern half of the United States was introduced on purpose by the US government? That’s right, the smelly Callery pear and its man-made cultivar the ‘Bradford’ pear were both cultivated intentionally by the US Department of Agriculture. Callery pear (Pyrus calleryana) is a tree that’s native to China and Vietnam and was first introduced to the US by the US Dept of Agriculture in 1916 to breed with the common European pear...

8 days ago • 2 min read

Spring is here! Now what?

Hi friend, It’s finally officially spring after a long winter. It’s time to get back in the garden, but what should you be doing this time of year? Hold off on “garden cleanup” It can be tempting to want to make your garden look nice and tidy once the weather starts to warm up, but most regions should wait a bit to do this. Insects are still relying on dormant plant stems and leaf litter for shelter until low temperatures are consistently above 50°F If you have tall plant stems from last...

10 days ago • 2 min read

Can annual plants be invasive? 🌺

Hi friend, It was recently brought to my attention that not everyone knows that annual species can be just as invasive as perennials! While an individual annual plant only lives for one growing season, annuals are also prolific seed makers to ensure the species lives on. One plant can make thousands of seeds that spread across large areas and create colonies that are very much capable of outcompeting native plants and reducing biodiversity. Many of these invasive annuals also grow extensively...

14 days ago • 1 min read

Is it too late to cold stratify native seeds? 🧐

Hi friend, Did you know that many North American native seeds need a cold stratification period before they’ll grow? Spring is approaching and the weather is warming up, but don’t worry if you didn’t winter sow any seeds outdoors! Seeds can be cold stratified in your refrigerator any time of year. This is personally my preferred method because it gives me more leeway with timing and lets me keep growing new plants through the warm months! Not sure how to properly cold stratify seeds in your...

27 days ago • 1 min read

Where have I been??

Hi friend, I’m sorry if you haven’t heard from me in a while. Life’s been rough and hectic (what else is new?) If you follow me on Instagram and/or Facebook, you might’ve seen that I lost my mother in October after her three-year battle with glioblastoma brain cancer. (That sentence is still so hard to write 😢) I initially had to step away from my work because I was caregiving for her in home hospice. And then I needed some bereavement time while my whole being had to reset and adjust to...

about 1 month ago • 1 min read

Things my native yard provides that a lawn could never 🌿

Hi friend, If you’ve followed me for any amount of time, you’ve probably heard me talk about the problems with lawns. Lawns are ecological dead zones. They cause pollution, create habitat loss, reduce biodiversity, waste water, and cause so many other problems with no payoff. So what does a native yard do that lawns simply could never? SO MUCH! Here are some examples: 💧 Stormwater management 🏡 Home insulation 💪 Climate resilience 🍄 Healthy soil 🐦 Wildlife habitat ☁ Air quality improvement 🦋...

7 months ago • 1 min read

But this invasive plant is sentimental to me! 😰

Hi friend, Something I hear a lot from people when I’m discussing invasive plants is, “But my parent/grandparent/sibling/friend, etc. gave me this plant as a gift, and that person has since passed away. It has sentimental value to me, and I don’t want to get rid of it.” Interestingly, this seems to happen a lot with butterfly bush (Buddleja davidii), a very harmful but popular invasive species across North America. Perhaps it’s bad luck to gift someone this invasive shrub 😉 (just...

7 months ago • 1 min read

The biggest thing that helped my yard 🍃

Hi friend, When I started my eco-garden, my yard was absolutely overtaken by invasive plants. English ivy, burdock, wintercreeper, Amur honeysuckle, rose of Sharon, ground ivy, and garlic mustard just to name a few. And the first step toward getting rid of the invasive species and letting in volunteer native plants is knowing what’s growing. It’s common for gardeners to just broadly pull “weeds” without really knowing what they’re pulling. Then you end up accidentally killing free native...

7 months ago • 1 min read

How do we save the monarch butterflies? 🦋😢

Hi friend, We've all heard that monarch butterfly populations are declining. But what should we do (and not do) to help them? The way we protect monarch butterflies is by restoring their wild habitat, avoiding insecticides, and planting native. When humans try to further interfere with nature by captive rearing monarchs or keeping caterpillars away from predators, it does more harm than good to the overall population. It’s easy to think, “Well, monarch populations are decreasing, so the...

8 months ago • 3 min read