Insects – Motivation for Native Landscaping
Increase your enjoyment of landscaping with native plants by motivating yourself to attract insects and increase biodiversity.
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Category Archives: Blog
Plant Profile: Black-eyed Susan
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia sp.) are one of the most recognizable summer-blooming wildflowers. Their bright yellow flowers explode in the summer and are covered with all sorts of pollinator activity. Bees, flies, butterflies, and beetles feed on its nectar and pollen. The fruiting heads also provide seed for birds over the winter. Here is a look at […]
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Plant Profile: Columbine
As I put together lists of plants according to the season that they bloom, I often come up short on spring blooming plants. In a prairie, many plants are slow to get growing in the spring until warmer temperatures spur growth. One of the more tried and true spring blooming perennials I like to include on […]
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Army Worms
The Arboretum is under siege! An army has invaded, demanding we relinquish our lawns! Army worms, that is. These pesky creatures can cause major damage, and they unfortunately have a taste for fescue. Last week we came upon a sidewalk full of worms, crawling out of the lawn in search of more food. The grass […]
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Seeded Prairie Checkup
Encouraging signs of prairie seedling success are apparent in this 8-month checkup of a sidewalk edge planting at Dyck Arboretum of the Plains.
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Coneflowers: A Lesson in Host Plants
Coneflowers are so emblematic of the prairie. I love to include these prairie denizens in many of my designs. They are quite adaptable and I love the yellows, purples and pink colors of the true natives as they bloom during the summer. The new cultivated varieties are attractive too. A mass of coneflowers with little bluestem […]
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Garden Retreat
As much as we love our work at the Arboretum, sometimes the staff need to get out and about! Once or twice a year we take a staff retreat, spending a day in leisure time together. We eat, laugh, and explore new places. We often visit other gardens or notable landscapes on these retreat days. […]
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Wetland Wildflowers
With the recent rainfall, I have been reminded that native plants are a wonderful and underused means to create a natural setting around a water feature or low area in your landscape. Most prairie wildflowers and grasses don’t do well in soggy soil and excessive moisture results in rot and other deadly diseases. However, there […]
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Colorado Cousins of our Kansas Native Plants
Hikers passing through high elevation mountain meadows often catch glimpses of a number of familiar flowers. In fact, many of the mountain meadow natives are closely related to our Kansas native plants. With nearly daily rain showers, the subalpine grassland meadows of the southern Rocky Mountains are bursting with wildflowers this summer. Rocky Mountain subalpine […]
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Wildflowers for Low Maintenance Areas
When you mention wildflowers, people tend to visualize broad swaths of colorful flowers growing in meadows. This effect is often very difficult to achieve because of problems with soil preparation, plant establishment, weed control, and long term maintenance. Finding a solution to these problems usually requires more time and effort than most people want to invest. […]
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