Saw a baby squirrel for the first time in my life, in our front tree!
(It’s really hard to tell from this photo but this squirrel is TINY, and it was hanging out with mama, who was a smaller breed of squirrel to start with!)
#squirrels #PlantNative #biodiversity
Pro-tip if you’re looking to go more native for your home landscaping: GrowNative.org
- Info about specific plants
- Native plant garden designs
- Specific suggestions for different groups of wildlife
- Info about carbon capture, managing storm water runoff, building healthy soil, etc.
Soooo many resources there for doing right by pollinators and the overall environment. #gardening #PlantNative
@amyfou So many exotic plant invasions started because people thought the plants were pretty or useful.
Pleased to see landscapers ordering native plants on behalf of their customers....I've had swamp milkweed, yaupon holly, winterberry holly, sweet pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia), and Itea all leave the nursery in the last two weeks. Let's keep this up! #plants #PlantNative
Let me reiterate what I just saw on someone else's post...
"If something's not eating your plants, then your garden is not a part of the ecosystem."
It’s been a great year in the garden! Watching diversity return to the ecosystem as I get rid of the grass oasis and add native plants.
For the record, I live in the suburbs near a few parks - I’m not in the country. If I can do it, you can!
#gardening #garden #PlantNative
Birds that nested on the property:
Robins
Wrens
Notable birds seen on the property:
Red shouldered hawks
Downy woodpeckers
Mourning doves
Crows
Not much notice, but Deep Roots KC is hosting a lunch and learn webinar today at noon (central.) It's about identification and management of one of my favorite invasive species to hate: Winter creeper.
Live, free. No camera or audio on your side so more like a livestream though you can interact in comments q&a.
You do need to register though: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_EubPB422QCaSzXj07UAMUA Hope to see you there!
#InvasiveSpecies #WinterCreeper #KC-ish #Missouri #conservation #plantnative
This guy's video gave me the warm fuzzies
last night. He's literally doing what I want to do... with the land we don't even have yet. Turn your waiting room into a classroom, I guess.
Love to see other folks doing it b/c our dreams are dependent on a lot of things falling into place. And there's no promise they will. Anyway, check it out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LvaX748pVI #wildlife #conservation #naturalist #masternaturalist #missouri #plantnative #birding
This past spring, @Jillianmarisa snagged us a small Eastern Redbud sapling from MDC, which I happily planted in the front yard at the end of April. It died.
A few weeks later, a shoot popped up eerily close to the dead stem, I was sure it was a weed, but decided to wait.
WELL. We now have an almost 6 ft tall tree. In like 4 months. Holy smokes!
Yes, I'm sure it's a Redbud, and not a weed. 
#PlantNative #Missouri #KC
Had a great evening at a Native Shade Plant class hosted by my local extension office! If you haven’t already found your area’s extension office, I highly recommend it. They do some great stuff, and most of it is free or affordable!
Find your state’s here: https://www.uaex.uada.edu/about-extension/united-states-extension-offices.aspx
Got to go enjoy the garden at a friend’s house. She’s a few year into chaos flower seeding so I helped ID a few of them and got to enjoy lots of pollinator friends.
CW: photo of a bee on a flower. There may be other bees in some of the photos too.
Some new native plant joy 
Late boneset and early sunflower for a friend working on a wildflower prairie in her backyard, and early sunflower, bergamot, and black eyed susans for my pollinator patch.
Every single year I'm amazed at what happens in these backyard nature spaces. New species are visiting and my iNaturalist gets new listings.
Plant them and they will come.
My parents are in the process of building a house for their retirement. I have been informed that I am in charge of the landscaping beyond the patch of grass my father insists he needs (we’re working on that.)
Feel free to send me your favorite Michigan natives! I’ve got a whole yard to work on.
This HOA is saving their stormwater retention ponds with native plants and learning to let go of some harmful practices. “Some of the loudest skeptics and critics have turned into vocal proponents through this process.” #gardening #plantnative
Dear internet: For my ambitious weekend project I needed to level my giant, HEAVY 2x6 planters, secure the light posts in the middle, dig up the ton of dirt to fill them, string the guy wire, and hang 100 ft of string lights.
Somehow I did it all today. 
I am BEAT. But accomplished.
Later this season once the dirt settles I’ll refill and plant with #virginiacreeper and #passionflower.
So, just a #naturalist thought… If we want people to #PlantNative, perhaps we should drop the word weed from some of our best native plants. Joe Pye Weed, Swamp Milkweed, Butterfly Milkweed, I could go on and on… The muggles aren’t keen on planting weed.
Well… I guess some are keen on one weed, but that’s a whole different plant, and topic. 
