Got native plants or seeds to spare?

By Mitch Leachman The second annual Native Plant Expo and Sale will be held Saturday, September 26th in Maplewood at the Schlafly Bottleworks from 9 am to 2 pm. This FREE event is a great opportunity for you to share your native plant wealth with others at the St Louis…

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A Case for Pussytoes

By Dawn Weber Pussytoes is a low-growing native groundcover with understated spring blooms and silvery-green leaves that resemble the soft pads of a cat’s paw. Field or prairie pussytoes, botanically named Antennaria neglecta, are native to the north east and north central US as well as much of Canada. Just…

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SW Illinois Chapter celebrates its 1st anniversary

Text by Ed Schmidt, photos by Fran Glass The August general meeting of the Southwest Illinois Chapter of Wild Ones marked the first anniversary of the formation of the chapter. The meeting was at the home of chapter vice-president Grace Gavin, whose beautiful native gardens provided a wonderful gathering place….

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New transplant (person) looking for new transplants (plants)

By April Anderson Here are 2 ‘before’ photos of my tiny backyard. Upon removing this excessive amount of ivy, I found oak, hackberry, and redbud saplings. From my former home in the Chicago area, I brought New England aster, butterfly weed, black-eyed Susan, zigzag goldenrod, rosin weed, Joe Pye weed, and marsh milkweed…

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August meeting minutes

August 5 and 8, 2015 This month, Judy and Randy Speck, with their son Danny, hosted two yard tour gatherings. A total of 30 members and 3 guests attended. The Speck yard is Silver Certified by St. Louis Audubon’s Bring Conservation Home program. It was featured on the 2015 Native…

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Make paper from native plants this Saturday

By Peggy Whetzel With so much paper and so many books already in the world, you might wonder why anyone would want to make their own paper or create a book from scratch. With an invitation to attend free workshops on papermaking and book making, one answer is to save something…

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2015 Landscape Challenge update

By Ed Schmidt Planning for the 2015 Landscape Challenge is well underway. The property was chosen by representatives of Wild Ones and Grow Native! from among applications received from Bring Conservation Home participants in University City and surrounding communities. The winning property is in University City. Designer Jeanne Cablish has…

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July meeting minutes

PROGRAM Bill Hoss hosted a yard tour for this month’s gathering. Eleven guests and 27 members attended. Bill’s yard is Platinum Certified by St. Louis Audubon’s Bring Conservation Home program. His yard, along with six other Wild Ones members’ yards, was on the 2015 Native Plant Landscape yard tour on…

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Fall learning opportunities

Before we know it, the growing season will start winding down. But there are still plenty of opportunities to learn about landscaping with native plants. Powder Valley Nature Center Floral Design with Widlflowers – Aug. 14 Native plants greatly benefit wildlife, but widflowers can also make beautiful floral arrangements. Learn…

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Local entry in the 2015 Wild Ones photo contest

By Dawn Weber I have a photo in the Wild Ones 2015 photo contest. It’s in the Flora category, called “Under Pressure,” a photo of wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) guttation. Guttation occurs when a plant has turned off its transpiration processes, usually at night, so excess moisture cannot evaporate from…

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