Covering Ground
![Lazy Gardening Image: Healthy Yards International Lazy Gardening Image: Healthy Yards International](https://www.speakingoflandscapes.com/sites/speakingoflandscapes.com/files/styles/thumbnail/public/UserFiles/Image/75540062_830852284019402_3229582932897169408_n.jpg?itok=vFi_MIqA)
Summer’s bright flowers and wavy grasses are dry and grey in winter. Many would say they’re not worthy of reprieve from autumn clean-ups.
But there’s another perspective circulating among folks who offer ways to protect pollinators. The idea is called “Save the Stems,” calling upon gardeners and landscapers to leave dead-head flowers standing until spring.
Why?
![Japanese barberry infestation Japanese barberry infestation](https://www.speakingoflandscapes.com/sites/speakingoflandscapes.com/files/styles/thumbnail/public/UserFiles/Image/Kathy-Barberry-E-03-Lorenz_MG_8917.jpg?itok=mXI2JPEO)
As someone who works in the land care business, I sometimes feel as though I’m caught in an endless game of whack-a-mole. Between spotted lantern flies and jumping worms, from knotweed to tree-of-heaven, I sometimes think, who needs Halloween or a scary movie?
Is there are more systematic, less fatiguing way to think about the problem of invasive plants?
![Beach plums are deer resistant and drought tolerant. Beach plums are deer resistant and drought tolerant.](https://www.speakingoflandscapes.com/sites/speakingoflandscapes.com/files/styles/thumbnail/public/UserFiles/Image/beach-plum-web.jpg?itok=6J9qQD8n)
Lots of us look for native plants that support pollinators and birds, but need those plants to be deer-resistant and tolerant to annual summer droughts. In my latest article, I nominate some selections that meet all three criteria—native, deer-resistant, and drought-tolerant. In my experience, these are the best natural bargains you can buy.
![Pollinator Pathway sign Pollinator Pathway sign](https://www.speakingoflandscapes.com/sites/speakingoflandscapes.com/files/styles/thumbnail/public/UserFiles/Image/Pollinator-Pathway-sign-web.jpg?itok=qCwlCkap)
It was 2019 when Heather Bradley accidentally killed a frog with her lawnmower.
"It hit me that keeping a turf lawn was a total waste of time, space, and resources, not to mention a detriment to ecology and the environment," said Bradley.
![Plant debris on a truck at a transfer station Plant debris on a truck at a transfer station](https://www.speakingoflandscapes.com/sites/speakingoflandscapes.com/files/styles/thumbnail/public/UserFiles/Image/brush%20to%20the%20dump.jpg?itok=8A2s8iBh)
We cut and pull plants and branches to neaten and manage outdoor spaces. It arrives at brush dumps and town transfer stations. What happens next?
![Healthy Plant Pots, Healthy Planet Healthy Plant Pots, Healthy Planet](https://www.speakingoflandscapes.com/sites/speakingoflandscapes.com/files/styles/thumbnail/public/UserFiles/Image/Healthy%20Pots%20Logo%20with%20Tagline%20copy.jpg?itok=dThXrAoN)
Plastic pots do a great job of helping us bring home the beauty of plants. But what can we do with the pots?
In Connecticut, we can recycle green, white, and red pots. (Clean them out first, please.) This unfortunately leaves out all the black pots and trays, which are the majority.
![](https://www.speakingoflandscapes.com/sites/speakingoflandscapes.com/files/styles/thumbnail/public/UserFiles/Image/Gov-Winthrop-planting-walk-London-planetree-%28web%29.jpg?itok=RrD5eGdy)
Once upon a time, I called a newspaper editor and inquired if she needed a garden column. She said they’d give me a try, and my regional column, Green & Growing, launched in February 2013. I started out imagining that I’d write veggie and flower garden how-to articles with an organic flair and a local bent.
![Anemone growing wild in woodlands Anemone growing wild in woodlands](https://www.speakingoflandscapes.com/sites/speakingoflandscapes.com/files/styles/thumbnail/public/UserFiles/Image/Anemone_May92015.jpg?itok=h-ZiX1Zs)
We know that native plants didn’t begin their evolution in the black plastic pots we see at garden centers. But where are the native plants in nature? How do we know if they are thriving or disappearing or just holding their own?
![The Nature of Oaks by Douglas Tallamy The Nature of Oaks by Douglas Tallamy](https://www.speakingoflandscapes.com/sites/speakingoflandscapes.com/files/styles/thumbnail/public/UserFiles/Image/Nature%20of%20oaks%20copy.jpg?itok=g3jmiVrv)
Some of us are snowbirds in winter, but I am more of a book bird. To the extent that winter forces me indoors, I fly across the room to my bookshelf. Here’s a sample of recent books on ecology, land care, trees, and plants that I’ve found useful, informative, and entertaining.
![Wiggle Room red wiggler earthworm castings Wiggle Room red wiggler earthworm castings](https://www.speakingoflandscapes.com/sites/speakingoflandscapes.com/files/styles/thumbnail/public/UserFiles/Image/Wiggle%20room%202.jpg?itok=4ugR28VM)
Holiday, 2021: The useful, earth-kind products described below are all have a special gleam of their own, having been invented, made, or packaged in Connecticut, notably free from gnarly supply chain woes. The products include the following: