Colorful butterflies can add a lot to a garden. With just a little extra planning and proper plant selection you can encourage these pretty creatures to visit, and maybe even get caterpillars to grow in your yard. Learn how to create a butterfly garden that will be attractive to many different types of butterflies in this article…
Plant selection is one of the most important decisions a gardener, landscaper or designer makes. Learn more about selecting plants in this publication.
If you plant them, they will come. Planting flowers will encourage many beneficial insects because they need nectar and pollen as adults. But some flowers are better than others for attracting small wasps and flies that are predators or parasitoids of pest insects. To learn more about which flowers are best for natural enemies read this article…
If deer visit your property, before planting (or replanting), check out this list of trees, shrubs, flowers, herbs, and grasses that deer tend to avoid.
Hummingbirds are a large group of tiny birds with iridescent feathers, who feed on a nectar from a wide variety of plants. Learn more about these birds and how to encourage ruby-throated hummingbirds in your garden in this article…
Whether you’re a beginning or an experienced gardener, you’ll appreciate the step-by-step instructions for planting, landscaping, and managing your own prairie plot. The Prairie Primer has more than 50 illustrated descriptions of grasses, wildflowers, and shrubs help you select the best plants for specific sites. Gardeners and prairie enthusiasts alike will find the spiral-bound book convenient to use in the field.
Maps related to cold hardiness zones so you can choose plants that can survive winter in your area.
This time of year the fields and roadsides are filled with airy white flowers. Those are the flowers of an introduced plant that is related to one of our common garden vegetables. Learn more about this nearly-ubiquitous weed by reading this article…
To increase monarch populations, people are increasingly planting ornamental types of milkweed and encouraging common milkweed to grow wherever it occurs in uncultivated areas. While milkweed is beneficial to monarch populations, people need to be aware that it is toxic and can be lethal to animals, particularly horses and other equines.
Grown for its showy foliage and airy flowers, mukdenia is an uncommon herbaceous perennial for the shade garden. The glossy green, fan-shaped leaves are attractive throughout summer, but when they transform to bright red starting at the tips they become a stunning statement in the garden. Learn more about this introduced ornamental plant in this article…
Sea thrift is a profuse spring and early summer bloomer, with pink or white flowers on low mounds of dense foliage. Coming from mountainous and coastal areas, it needs excellent drainage and lean soils to thrive so can be a challenge to grow in wet Midwestern climates. Learn more about this clump-forming evergreen perennial in this article…
With delicate, nodding purple, pink or white flowers that resemble tiny “shooting stars”, Dodecatheon meadia is a charming spring wildflower of moist prairies and open woodlands that adapts well to home gardens. Learn more about this perennial native to the central and eastern US in this article…
