Covering Ground
Covering Ground with Native Ornamental Grass and Sedge
Turfgrass and ornamental grass share the same last name, but they are very different plants. What's important is that ornamental grasses and their cousins, the sedges, are great problem-solvers, capable of filling niches where turfgrass is faint of heart.
Consider the differences:
Sedum: Desert Camel of the Groundcover World
It’s hot; it’s dry. Do you know where your sedum is?
These plants are the quintessential ingredient in many green roofs, though you may know sedum as the tall autumn species that flowers along with mums and ornamental kale.
How to Manage Weeds Without Weedkillers
Got weeds? Of course we all do--and they make us nuts. I count six ways to manage weeds without bottles of chemicals.
How native is that native plant?
Native plants went mainstream over the past five years as many people embraced the value of these plants to beneficial insects that pollinate our landscape and farms, especially to feeding specialists such as the monarch butterfly.
Indigenous knowledge of native plants yields surprising new insights
Perhaps you've heard the simple definition of a native plant: A plant that grew naturally on the American landscape prior to European settlement.
Want less lawn work? Start with the seeds.
If you are a lawn owner, perhaps you’ve wondered if there’s a way reduce the commitment and still have healthy grass. According to some in the turf industry, there is—and it starts with the seeds.
Now's the time to prune all trees and shrubs, almost
Seize the day and seize the pruning saw. It's late winter and time to prune (most) trees and shrubs. The list of exclusions is pretty short, so here goes:
Your Brain on Houseplants: Consider the Research
Houseplants for better mental and physical health? Here's a sample of studies that, one by one, make a positive case for plant life in the great indoors. (Also please see: "Winter Doldrums? Put Your Brain on Houseplants.")
Lawn Alternatives: Some Options
In some parts of the U.S. today, the lawn is disappearing due to droughts. In other places, pesticide bans are pushing both the willing and unwilling towards organic lawn care. Concern for pollinators and the lack of time for meticulous lawn care inspire others to ask a once-unthinkable question:
"To lawn or not to lawn?"
Take a Microbe to Lunch
It's mid-summer. Should we declare a National Be Nice to Soil Microbes Week? Several soil health experts would probably encourage it.
Microbes, after all, form a complex underground community and offer plants much of the sustenance they need.
And if that surprises you, how about this?