Blog
Understanding Native Bees
Bees are our friends, despite the occasional painful bee sting and medical concern of allergies to bee stings. Bees pollinate the plants that produce our food and, therefore, are required for our survival. There are many more species than just the honeybee, which is a...
Why Bare Root a Tree before Planting?
It isn’t always necessary to bare root a tree before planting, but in some cases, it’s crucial for the tree’s good health. The tree in the photos below probably came from the southeastern U.S., based on the heavy clay soil that is...
Native Plants with Bluestone Flag Path
Drought tolerant, sun-loving native plants replace a patchy lawn between the house and garage. Plants include: inkberry and winterberry hollies, prairie dropseed, June grass, ivory sedge, bluets, hairy beardtongue, stiff aster, and bird’s foot violet, three-toothed...
We’re in a Tight Spot — Landscape Design for Small Urban Spaces
This is an article I wrote, originally published in the Ecological Landscape Alliance Newsletter on April 10, 2017. Cities are places of condensed layers of people, vehicles, and building materials. Plants are also found there,...
Gypsy Moth Control
It's that time of year when we see gypsy moth caterpillars emerge and wreak havoc on our trees. You won't ever completely eliminate this insect, but you can control some of the damage. Spraying insecticides kills pollinators, other beneficial insects, and often birds...
Attract Butterflies and Moths to Your Garden
The idea of supporting more wildlife in your yard can be expressed in many ways. It might be that you want to provide food for birds, attract butterflies, create safe small mammal pathways, or improve pollinator resources. Animals and insects need a variety of plants,...
Great Plants: Trillium grandiflorum
I like a lot of Trillium species and there are a lot of Trilliums to like, but the big, bright white flowers of Trillium grandfilorum is one of my favorite plants. The leaves and blossoms unfurl in a spiral from sheaths as they emerge. The white blossoms brighten the...
Native Plants Currently Blooming at Garden in the Woods – Framingham, MA
Clean Water Is Healthy Water
Stormwater management is an important element that separates sustainable and ecological landscape design from conventional, unmanaged landscaping. Stormwater runoff is often contaminated with various substances like fertilizers, pesticides, road salt, oil from cars,...
Espaliered Native Plants: The Formal Garden
Native plants have traditionally been overlooked in formal design. People often equate native plants with being messy or at the very least, wild, yet there are many native plants that are perfectly suitable for formal landscape design. As an example, is this Aronia...