Covering Ground
A Weed by Any Other Name
"What's in a name?" A fictional young woman named Juliet once asked that question. "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet," she says.
But what if the rose is a non-native invasive plant?
National Wildlife Federation Hopes We'll Plant 500,000 Wildlife Gardens by 2025
Many experts suggest that one way to help birds, pollinators, and other wildlife is to use regionally native plants. That is not always easy to do in 2021.
Living Mulch Helps Fight the Weed Wars
Nancy DuBrule-Clemente has encountered a few unwanted plants—aka weeds—during her 50-year career in the state’s landscape. Graduating from UConn in the 1970s, DuBrule-Clemente went to work in the landscape profession and stayed.
Native Plants Underfoot, in the Spring Lawn
We all know that dandelions, clover, and buttercups grow in lawns. Unfortunately, none of them are native. It’s important to understand that lawns nurture native plants, too. They are “hidden in plain sight.” The upshot: We don’t have to visit a garden center to find native plants. We can protect what we have.
Why protect and promote native plants?
One Simple Thing: Turn Down the Lights
When it comes to helping pollinators and wildlife, you don’t have to buy plants or dig a garden. Anyone can help when they adopt some of the ideas put forward by the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA). Better yet, we can all petition our cities and towns to do the same.
Native Shrubs Offer Blossoms, Month by Month
Who'd have thought the growing season, and pollinator season, of southern New England starts this early? But it does.
First, there's that funky swamp-life called skunk cabbage. The odiferous blossoms smell mighty good to particular flies and beetles. Those flies offer something to the skunk cabbage, too--pollination.
Reviews: A Podcaster, a Blogger, and a Book
A long time ago, I saw a tag on a teabag that read, “Calming tea for a nervous world.” I don’t know who wrote that line, but I never forgot it.
I’ve been drinking a lot of tea lately. Luckily I’ve also found a local podcaster, a regional blog, and a book about a neighboring town that help keep me grounded in the workings of the natural world.
During the Pandemic, More People Are Walking in the Woods
According to the Connecticut Trail Census, our small state has more than 2,000 miles of recreational trails. Those are a lot of miles but, until a few years ago, no one was counting trail usage within the state.
In 2016, though, the Connecticut Trail Census pilot program launched. (See cttrailcensus.uconn.edu.)
How to Leave Those Ticks in the Woods
It’s a sunny 40 degrees outdoors. You decide to take a walk in the woods. It’s winter. Does that guarantee a tick-free walk?
Not quite.
A Night at the Nature Movies
In search of a good documentary, something that both teaches and entertains? I recently reviewed four that I consider well worth the time of anyone interested in plants, landscapes, nature, and ecology.