Garden Experiments
For the love of gardening and wildlife habitat
Deer-resistant AND it can grow in clay soil - what's not to love about obedient plants? Native plants are favorites of mine because they are particularly suited for the local conditions (soil, heat, drought or rain, clay soil) of my area. When I find those native plants with particularly pretty flowers, I add them to my hodgepodge of a …
Continue Reading about Obedient Plant – Physostegia virginiana
Summer is the time of the year that you’ll see the bright yellow flowers of partridge pea blooming along the side of the road or along streams and ditches. They will continue to flower from late summer to early fall. Creates Food for Pollinators & Wildlife This little plant packs a mighty punch when it comes to benefiting …
Continue Reading about Partridge Pea: Butterfly Host Plant & Pollinator Plant
Updated: July 8, 2017 Leaving the base of the tree bare can often look unkempt or out of place since it's not easy to mow right up to the edge of a tree or to even weed-eat around it carefully. Plantings or mulching around the base of the tree trunk can not only help protect roots from the mower's blades, but also make your existing trees a part …
Continue Reading about Landscape Solutions for the Base of Trees
You never know where you will come across amazing gardening ideas or unique plants. I wouldn't necessarily think a zoo is a great place to find gardening ideas, but on a recent trip to the John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids, Michigan, I came across this gorgeous display of functional landscaping. In a shady corner, near the otters and turtles, the …
Continue Reading about A Living Wall of Shade Plants in a Colorful Pattern
When I reach my limit with the bleakness of winter and cold temperatures, the tiniest pink striped flowers start to poke their heads out of lawns and ditches. To me, the Virginia spring beauty (Claytonia virginica) is a harbinger of spring and warmer weather. These wildflowers bloom just before the false garlic – so they fill up the lawns and …
Continue Reading about Virginia Spring Beauty – Claytonia virginica
Despite the name, you’ll find this ‘weed’ in more and more gardens. Joe Pye Weed is a good garden staple for attracting pollinators from bees to butterflies. I planted it last fall and this summer the blooms have been prolific and I have seen all sorts of bees, wasps, and flies feeding on the nectar. Joe Pye weed flowers are gorgeous. The stem …
Continue Reading about Joe Pye Weed: Native Plant that Attracts Bees & Butterflies
