Native Plant School – 2012 schedule

The Native Plant School, co-sponsored by St. Louis Wild Ones, is a year-round series of mostly outdoor learning sessions in the Whitmire Wildflower Garden at Shaw Nature Reserve. They will cover various aspects of native home landscaping and prairie/savanna/wetland re-establishment. Please bring your questions, comments, photos, drawings, plant specimens, etc….

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Kudos to Jeanne Cablish

We’re fortunate to have Jeanne Cablish, owner of Native Landscaping by Jeanne as an active member of St. Louis Wild Ones. She was especially active last fall. For starters, she designed the layout for the 2011 Landscape Challenge in Chesterfield.

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Ticks and bush honeysuckle

Editor’s note:  Looking for more motivation to get rid of bush honeysuckle?  Or perhaps you’d like to tell your neighbors about the importance of removing invasive species?  Judy Ward shared this article about a study done at Washington University. WUSTL scientists says suburban influx of deer, invasive plants are affecting…

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Frost flowers

Kathy Bildner shared these photos of frost flowers on White Crownbeard (Verbesina virginica) in her backyard. Click an image for a larger version.

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Early prairies of St. Louis

Editor’s note: You may not wish to read all of this, but just read the part about the area in which you live.  Click map images for a larger version, or email me at brighoff@charter.net for copies of the map you can scale. At Laclede’s Landing, the foot of Market Street, the…

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Grandfather knows best

by Erin Scottberg A grandpa’s sage advice may be the biggest breakthrough in bug repellent since DEET. Scientists with the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have isolated two insect‑repelling compounds from leaves of the American beautyberry plant (Callicarpa americana), a shrub native to much of the southeastern United States.

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A few interesting websites

The meaning of Latin plant names: http://theseedsite.co.uk/latin.html Flora of the upper Mississippi: http://www.arrasimages.com/a‑z.html Native Plant List for Illinois, Iowa & Missouri: http://www.plantnative.org/rpl‑iailmo.htm How to Naturescape: http://www.plantnative.org/how_intro.htm

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Thank you to Forest Park volunteers

We received this thank you from Forest Park Forever for our help with the honeysuckle removal project.  With six members and three potential members, St. Louis Wild Ones were well-represented!  See more photos on our Shutterfly site.

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Fall gardening tips

Shaw Nature Reserve offers these autumn gardening tips. Remove autumn leaves from tree, shrub, and flower beds. November 15 to March 15 is the best time to prune most trees and shrubs. Remove conflicting and crowded branches, dead limbs, double-leaders and unsightly branches. Drain gasoline from power equipment or use…

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