Hummingbirds
By Kathy Bildner Over the last month we have been watching as she sat on the nest, hatched out two babies and raised them. The last one left this weekend. Click any image for a larger version.
Rainwater harvesting talk and workshops
By Susan Lanigan You’ve probably heard about the importance of keeping rainwater on your property to reduce stormwater runoff and minimize your dependence on irrigation, but how do you actually do that? EarthDance Farm is offering three opportunities to learn rainwater harvesting techniques from Jeff Adams, founder of Terrasophia. Wednesday, August 27th, 6:00-8:00 pm….
Book review: “The Living Landscape” by Rick Darke and Doug Tallamy
By Margy Terpstra I first found out about this new book from a link on Doug Tallamy’s website. Doug was interviewed in his home garden by Kim Eierman, founder of EcoBeneficial! Doug describes the book near the end of the interview as, “Two-thirds Rick’s book, one-third mine. I like to…
Home with native yard for sale
By Bill and Linda Bennett We got interested in the virtues of native plants after hearing Scott Woodbury give a short talk at a gardening workshop at Meramec Community College many years ago, and began planting shortly after that. We have no idea how many species we’ve accumulated over the…
Pipevine caterpillar update
By Peggy Whetzel Things have changed in the aquariums overnight. Rather suddenly, the pipevine quit vanishing so quickly and several chrysalises have formed, so there’s less pressure to provide food. It’s becoming a “pupation station” instead. I’d heard the caterpillars would eat for five weeks, but these finished in about…
Got Dutchman’s pipevine?
If you have some Aristolochia macrophylla in your yard, I’m hoping you might want to share some tendrils with the pipevine swallowtail caterpillars that are rapidly depleting my plants. Actually, I am rapidly depleting my pipevine plants to feed about 45 caterpillars. They were rescued as tiny orange eggs or…
Missouri Prairies and Native Plants: The Science of Our Natural Landscape
St. Louis was once the home of tall grass prairies, stands of grasses that often grew as tall as a man, or even taller. The grasses – especially big bluestem, little bluestem, Indian grass and switchgrass – are still common. Tall grass prairies are a unique and complex ecosystem that…
Build a rain barrel stand, or bid on this one
By Ed Schmidt A rain barrel stand raises the faucets on your rain barrel to a convenient height and increases the water pressure by raising the water to a higher level. A barrel of water weighs over 400 pound, so strength is important. I have built four of them from…
Pollinator workshop
What: Pollinator Habitat Conservation Workshop When: Saturday, August 2, 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Where: The Nature Institute, Godfrey, Illinois (Google map) Cost: The workshop is free, but registration is required Pollinators are responsible for every 3rd bite of food we eat. Birds, bats, butterflies and other insects – even…
2014 Landscape Challenge winner chosen
By Ed Schmidt This year’s Landscape Challenge was open to residents in Kirkwood, and fit right into the celebration honoring naturalist Edgar Denison. To encourage homeowners to apply, Alan Hoepfl and I each wrote and had published letters about the Challenge in the Webster-Kirkwood Times. Wild Ones members Ann Early,…
