Years ago, Kathy Bildner taught herself how to identify monarch butterfly eggs on her milkweed plants. Each spring through fall, in order to save them from hungry birds, spiders, parasites, etc. she brings the eggs indoors to go through their life cycle. When they become butterflies, she releases them in her…
Our annual potluck dinner and seed exchange, held at the First Presbyterian Church of Kirkwood, was enjoyed by 36 members, including 6 from the new Southwest Illinois chapter, who were warmly welcomed. Copies of our chapter membership list and the 2015 meeting and event calendar were distributed. Confirmation of Chapter…
By Ed Schmidt At a couple of Wild Ones meetings this year, people have mentioned “seed bombs.” Some of us were unfamiliar with the concept, so I did some research. According to Wikipedia, “Seed bombing or aerial reforestation is a technique of introducing vegetation to land by throwing or dropping compressed bundles…
By Peggy Whetzel Small though it is, Fran Glass’s yard could serve as the poster child for making the world a better place, one suburban yard at a time. There are no roses, daylilies or beguiling begonias. Instead, with a gardener’s guiding touch, she’s sprouted a landscape brimming with 170…
Here are Kathy Bildner’s tips on planting seeds: Plant seeds in the late fall or early winter. The seeds must over-winter in the ground. Cover with screen or rocks so the squirrels won’t dig them up. Label the site so you remember what and where you planted. If you plant…
By Betty Struckhoff Our Wild Ones annual landscape makeover has become one of those markers in my mind’s clockwork — marking a changing season and another year. Always close to the fall equinox, we gather (like Druids?!) to dig in the dirt. This year was no exception. On September 27, 2014 Scott…
By Betty Struckhoff I’m not a native plant purist, but one thought often enters my head when I see a vast expanse of mown grass while driving on a highway: What a wasted opportunity! My yard has grass, but only enough to give a sense of order and to preserve a hill for occasional…
By Marilyn Chryst It was a cold winter night in 1999; there were snow flurries in the air. Yet 8 people showed up at the wood shop of Shaw Arboretum (now Shaw Nature Reserve) for a meeting of the newly formed St. Louis Chapter of Wild Ones. We were there…
The emerald ash borer (EAB), which is destroying ash trees in a large swath of the nation, has apparently spread to a different tree, according to a researcher at Wright State University in Ohio. Professor Don Cipollini has found that the invasive green beetle has apparently begun to attack white…
By Mitch Leachman September 27th was a beautiful day to be outside and even better if you found yourself sharing native plants with folks! The first ever Bring Conservation Home Native Plant Expo and Sale (originally called a swap) at the Schlafly Bottleworks in Maplewood was a great success, with…
