Content related to Plants, Animal Visitors, Stormwater Management, and Sustainable Horticulture
Monarch butterflies continue to be at risk from habitat loss. One of the most effective things we can do in North America is create safe spaces for them along their migration paths. It has taken me several years to grow milkweed from seed and get it to thrive, but I am finally ready to formally register my garden as a Monarch Waystation.
Years of backyard composting has biased me toward aerobic compost, so when I had the opportunity to tour an anaerobic digester, I jumped at the chance. I knew very little about the process other than the fact that it created a lot of methane, which was a concern of mine. Fortunately, the team at Ecotone Renewables was patient with my multiple questions on the tour.
Since I had purchased far too many plants to get in the ground before leaving town for a few weeks, I turned to a tool that might help me work smarter, not harder: the garden auger. As long as your garden’s soil is reasonably conditioned (i.e. not solid clay), using an auger is an excellent way to move your gardening project forward faster than ever.
I thought I was mostly done with the garden for the year, but then I had one more opportunity to visit my favorite native plant nursery while they’re open. I came back with a carload full of plants – many of them because they looked interesting. Among those impulse purchases were a couple native cultivars, which are a point of contention in the native gardening community.
Many people are wrapping up their garden work for the year, but it’s never too early to plan for the spring! If you’ve been putting off planting a pollinator garden for want of ideas on how to start, the Missouri Prairie Foundation has put together sample garden plans for people with sun, shade, and even picky neighbors. If you don’t know where to start, you should start here.
It is now fall, and I am getting close to being done with my garden work for the year. While the Garden is never done, it is amazing to watch it evolve over time, and I’m happy to share 2023 updates that include adding more square footage, discovering new plants, and relearning lessons about how an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Love it or hate it? Rose of Sharon is an oft-planted ornamental shrub, but it is considered invasive in Pennsylvania. The original bush planted by our home’s previous owners has allegedly colonized our neighbor’s yard and is now trying to expand further into ours. Meanwhile, I’m trying to figure out how to get rid of it before it annexes any more territory.
Once I got around to demolishing the dilapidated fence around our back porch, I knew I had to get rid of it in a responsible way. Landfilling is about as antithetical to “responsible disposal” as I can imagine, but because of the chemicals in pressure treated wood, there aren’t many better alternatives. The real key is making informed choices about whatever replaces it.
Gardening is a constant teacher. I’ve pulled garlic mustard out of my yard pretty inconsistently over the years, but now I know better. Garlic mustard is an established, invasive weed in Pennsylvania that can seriously disrupt the lifecycles of native plants and animals. With time and diligence – and maybe a little culinary creativity – I may yet be able to banish it from my yard.
My never-ending battle in the garden continues, this time with an opportunistic, invasive weed that is often the first to take over in the absence of established plants: thistle. There are different kinds of thistle, and it is important to know what you’re dealing with before you take action because, like me, you could be doing the wrong thing and making your job harder.