Rose-breasted grosbeaks
By Susan Orr To my delight, three male Red-breasted Grosbeaks have spent the last two weeks at the feeders outside my kitchen window!
Deer-resistant plants
As several Wild Ones have encountered, deer are becoming increasingly common in urban landscapes. They can be fun to see, but they can also be hard on landscape plants. At our Earth Day booth, several people asked about plants that deer are less-likely to eat.
Mystery plant #2
By Susan Pletscher Can anyone identify this plant with distinctive seeds? It looks neat, but I need to know whether to pull it up or not before it drops seed. I know that I have a definite weed next to it — like a thistle or something that is for…
Polyphemus moth
By Kathy Bildner In March I brought a cocoon of a Polyphemus Moth into my house. I found it in the backyard on a bittersweet vine that grows up my silver maple tree. I knew what it was because last spring I did this same thing. Mid April it emerged…
2012 Sustainable Backyard Tour – opportunity to get involved
The Sustainable Backyard Tour is a self-guided, open-house-style tour of sustainable outdoor spaces in and around St. Louis. Attendees get to see how others have integrated sustainable living practices including rainwater harvesting, composting, keeping chickens, bees, or goats, using renewable energy, permeable surfaces, recycled art and more. The concept of…
Mockingbird Romance
by Betty Struckhoff Yesterday morning I was stretching in my favorite spot at my gym, next to a second story window overlooking some Deciduous Holly (Ilex decidua). A mockingbird was nestled in the branches full of fresh new leaves. Finally she poked her head up and opened her mouth like…
Pollinators in Early Spring
by Bill Hoss With many trees and flowers blooming so early in 2012, I been wondering what bees, butterflies and flies people are seeing. By middle to late March I was already seeing a Spicebush swallowtail, one of the smaller sulphurs, a Cabbage White and a couple Pearl crescents in…
Hackberry is Berrying!
By Amy Redfield Last spring I planted a new shade tree – a hackberry, Celtis occidentalis. Thanks to some pretty intensive babying – slow soaker watering every other day for that entire dry and hot summer – I’ve been rewarded with hackberries! Hackberry trees are among the best food and…
2012 Grow Native! Landscape Challenge – in Normandy School District
The 2012 Grow Native! Landscape Challenge will occur in the Normandy School District. If you live in the Normandy School District and want help incorporating native plants in your front yard, you are eligible to apply. Print, complete and mail the application form by May 25, 2012. Read more about the Grow…
Yellow, growing low, what is it?
by Betty Struckhoff Strolling in the woods on Saturday, I spotted an delightful yellow bloom with waxy leaves in a low area not far from a creek. It may or may not be a native plant. Here is a photo: Can anyone tell me what it is?
