Blog

August 8, 2022

IG Posts

I'm back to blogging - and on a more regular basis! [...]
January 14, 2023

Moths Are Pretty Too!

Butterflies are so well loved, while their moth relatives are underappreciated and even disliked. These beautiful moth images will change your mind. [...]
October 29, 2022

Halloween Nature Surprises

Did you know that there are real-life Witches, Ghosts, Mummies, the Rising dead, and Zombies in nature?? I'll start with a Beautiful witch [...]
August 23, 2022

Xanthotype Moth

This big beautiful butterfly-like moth is mostly nocturnal, but can be active and sometimes flushed during the day. [...]
August 21, 2022

Snowberry Clearwing

Snowberry Clearwing Moths mimic a bumblebee that went to charm school. This day-flying moth floats gracefully around a flower [...]
August 19, 2022

Extrafloral Nectary

Candy store on a plant! This nob is an extrafloral nectar on the Senna plant. [...]
August 17, 2022

Wild Senna Flower

Here's a unique, stingy wildflower that doesn't offer pollinators any nectar [...]
August 15, 2022

American Snout

The “snout” of the American snout is actually mouth parts (labial palps)! [...]
August 14, 2022

Variegated Fritillary

Variegated Fritillaries travel north for the summer even though they can't survive our winters. [...]
August 10, 2022

Katydid Wasp

Meet the archnemesis of the leaf-rolling cricket, the Katydid Wasp. [...]
August 9, 2022

Leaf-rolling Cricket

Even though this cricket can't sing, fly or win a beauty contest, he's got some amazing attributes! I found this Carolina Leaf-roller Cricket [...]
August 8, 2022

Gorgeous grass moth

Sometimes, little moths that crash in the grass are beautiful! This Straight-lined Vaxi crambid snout moth dropped [...]
April 13, 2022

Why Landscape with Native Plants? Part 1

Why should you choose native plants for your landscapes? Because you truly can make a difference that will have a positive impact [...]
January 14, 2021

Beetles as Pollinators

While bees and butterflies are the pollinator darlings, beetles also provide essential pollinator services and deserve a little more respect [...]
December 5, 2020

Why Plant Winterberry Holly?

Winterberry Holly is a great native shrub that gets well deserved landscape attention because of its gorgeous heavy red fruit set during (guess?) [...]
October 31, 2020

Leave the Leaves

It’s fall and the leaves are decaying from their rainbow of reds, yellow, and oranges, and of course falling. But should you leave the leaves on the ground? The simple answer is yes [...]
October 21, 2020

Secretive Pumpkin Spiders

For those of you who are afraid of spiders, realize that she is more likely to see you first and go hide in her silken retreat! She’s a beautiful spider [...]
September 13, 2020

Katydids – Seen Rarely, Heard Nightly

Katydids are rarely seen, even though they’re part of the mesmerizing chorus of insects we hear every summer night. It’s late summer. As the sun sets [...]
August 19, 2020

Watching Swallowtail Butterflies

The whimsical flutter of swallowtails over a field of flowers is magical and soothing. During this pandemic summer, I am enjoying watching [...]
July 28, 2020

The Popular Purple Coneflower (Echinacea)

Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) deserves its status as one of the most popular mainstream native wildflowers for garden [...]
July 9, 2020

The Dainty but Ferocious Damselfly

The very name Damselfly creates a docile image of these small insects that live in and around our pond. But this is no damsel in distress.
June 24, 2020

Our Transformation to Native Plants

Our story about transforming a fallow cornfield to a native plant meadow and garden landscape that attracts wildlife.
June 9, 2020

Calligrapher flower flies are great beneficial insects

Calligrapher flower flies are top contenders for best beneficial insects you can have in your garden. You probably have Calligraphers and don’t know it [...]
May 28, 2020

Golden Alexanders Support Tiny Wildlife

    The first big wave of showy color in our meadow each spring is the native plant Golden Alexanders (Zizia aurea). The tiny wildlife […]