In the late 19th century, the rising fashion of feather plumes on hats and an appetite for wild game had taken a steep toll on native bird populations in the United States. By 1900 more than fifty North American bird species were on the brink of extinction, among them the Great Egret. The Audubon Christmas […]
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Every year I learn more and more about how important leaves are for the ecosystem. We have several blogs about leaves already, (including Scott’s best management practices and my sustainable leaf-raking tips) but this information often needs updating and augmenting. The more we know, the better we can do! And that applies to us too […]
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Another post in my series on some of the gardens I visited while in France, today we are talking about the famous gardens of Versailles. At one time the palace and grounds were the symbol of a nation: wealthy, powerful, and not to be trifled with. The gardens are dizzying in their scope and meticulously […]
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When you look at a virgin prairie (one that has never been tilled), you quickly discover a tremendous diversity of plants. Each square foot has many different species vying for sunlight, moisture, and space. Species change throughout the prairie as well from high to low, wet to dry, sun to shade, and vary even with soils. This diversity […]
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I just returned from a trip to France, and amongst my sampling of wine/cheese/bread, I also toured gardens. From the famous Versailles to unnamed courtyards in every small village, French people have a long history with landscape design. Gorgeous gardens are open to the public in every part of the country. This post is the […]
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Fall is the best time of year to admire the beautiful regalia of native grasses. During the spring and summer, these grasses blend into their surroundings. As autumn deepens, the wonderful fall color and attractive seed heads of these grasses are on full display. One of the most talked about grasses this fall has to […]
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Providing accessibility to the simple beauty of the Kansas landscape was central to our founders’ vision for the Dyck Arboretum of the Plains. Harold and Evie Dyck intended for the Arboretum to be a garden for the community of Hesston and the region. They understood that being in nature heals us. Even as they struggled […]
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This time of year a person interested in plants can get very tired and rundown. I certainly have been dragging. The relentless heat and drought has many plants stressed and prematurely going dormant. We have been watering as we can but we can’t water everything. As we wait for rain and hope that our little […]
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My mom was serious about weed pulling. Especially after she retired, one could often find her out in her yard pulling weeds for hours at a time. Since I didn’t consider myself much of a gardener at the time, I didn’t really understand why she would spend so much time on what seemed, to me, […]
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During the doldrums of late summer, light blue flower spikes thrusting skyward along Kansas roadsides and prairies provide welcome contrast to the yellows of the state’s many sunflowers. Pitcher sage, also known as blue sage or pitcher plant, is a delicate looking prairie native with ironclad constitution. Pitcher sage is a somewhat common plant in […]
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