Bringing Nature Home with the natives.
Jay 6a Chicago
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
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Jay 6a Chicago
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoRelated Discussions
Why native plants matter
Comments (11)Many so-called "exotics" attract just as much wildlife and beneficials as do native plants. Quite a few of these are merely cultivated forms of indigenous or native plants that have been developed for enhanced attributes - disease resistance may be only one of these aspects. While there are many benefits to using natives in the landscape - greater adaptability to specific locations/climates being one - native plants can also be less than ideally attractive, often appearing somewhat weedy or unkempt. In certain neighborhoods governed by HOA's or covenants, the use of only natives may be discouraged or outright prohibited. It would probably make more sense to shoot for some sort of balance between natives and more exotic ornamentals. The exotics are not by definition considered bad or less desirable, provided one stays away from those that require excessive chemicals to maintain or that pose invasive potential. You will get the greatest benefit from any significant biodiversity in your plant selection regardless of origin and as rhodium has so astutely pointed out, avoiding all use of pesticides and other garden chemicals. And remember, if you restrict yourself to planting ONLY natives, you can pretty much kiss off much of anything in the way of common edibles or basic kitchen garden produce....See MoreBooks about Native plant gardening
Comments (19)I admit I'm an addictive plant book collector and just went to my shelves to see what I had on natives. What I found interesting is that I don't have any books specific to woodland natives, except for some that includes them and some that are about shade but not exclusive to natives. I have lots on prairie plants however. I really need to catalog my books someday - not during planting season though! In addition to the Diekelmann book, these are some of my native gardening books in no particular order: Gardening with Wildflowers and Native Plants published by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Record 1989. -a little book of collected articles, still relevant. Jones, Samuel B. and Foote, Leonard E. 1990. Gardening with Native Wild Flowers. Timber Press. 195 pgs. -My first native plant book, and still one of the best. Ladd, Doug and Oberle, Frank. 2005. Tallgrass Prairie Wildflowers. Morris Book Publishing. 263 pgs. -a very good field guide with excellent photos. Plants grouped by color. Johnson, Lorraine. 1998. Grow Wild!:Native Plant Gardening in Canada. Denise Schon Books. 154 pgs. -Lorraine Johnson is to Canada what Bill Cullina is to the US. A very useful book from coast to coast. Smith, J. Robert. 1980. The Prairie Garden: 70 Native Plants You Can Grow in Town or Country. University of Wisconsin Press. 219 pgs. -charts for habitat, color, and bloom times Wasowski, Sally. 2002. Gardening with Prairie Plants. University of Minnesota Press. 285 pgs. -I consider this the essential book for prairie gardens. Sternberg, Gus and Wilson, Jim. 1995. Landscaping with Native Trees. Chapters Publishing. 288 pgs. -Often we forget about planting native trees. Good info. Daniels, Stevie. 1995. The Wild Lawn Handbook: Alternatives to the Traditional Front Lawn. Macmillan. 223 pgs. -My first book on banning the bluegrass! Funny I live in Kentucky now. Also several local native plant guides and books on planting natives for wildlife habitat. And books on "natural" gardening that showcase natives but include some exotics, I'm thinking of the Druse books in particular. I'm going to have to pick up some of the books you have mentioned. And then get around to cataloging and organizing my library!...See Moredoes native planting intead of lawn bring ticks?????
Comments (7)It is not true that ticks live on animals, not plants. Ticks live in the environment and feed on animals, and then return to the environment to pupate. The larval stage, or the smallest ticks are no larger than the head of a pin, and they stay fairly low to the ground. They will climb to the end of a blade of grass, and quest for a host, usually mice or small mammals. They feed for a short time and drop off to use the protein from the bloodmeal to transform into nymphal ticks, slightly larger in size. The nymphs will climb a little higher to quest for a bloodmeal. They may end up on dogs, cats, or raccoons. After they fill, they drop off and overwinter until next year. As an adult (the next stage, about the size of a sesame seed)they will climb even higher in the weeds and grass to quest for one last blood meal to make and lay eggs. Adult ticks are usually found on white tailed deer, humans, dogs. After they fill, usually a few days, they will drop off and make eggs, and then die. Its important to remember not all ticks carry Lyme disease, and that there are other diseases ticks can carry. An adult female tick must usually feed for more than 2 days in order to transfer the bacteria that causes Lyme. If removed properly before she has had a chance to feed for more than 48 hours, the risk of Lyme is very low. There is a Tick Identification Service, part of the NYS dept of Health, that can ID any ticks you pull off your body. You can find them on the State website. Ticks are out there, and one ay to attempt to avoid them is to have a buffer zone between the active areas of your lawn and the woods, or weeds. Buffer zones are created by laying down 24 inch widths of gravel between the weeds, or woods, and your lawn. You an use wood chips if you prefer, but gravel or stone is great because it heats up in the sun, and ticks dont like to be dry. Wood chips can hold moisture during a wet year like this year. Other ways to avoid ticks are to do a body check every day, dont wear ripped clothing, tuck you pants into your socks, and wear light clothing so you can see them, and use the personal sprays that are approved to repel ticks. Remember, ticks do not jump, they quest by holding out their front legs and latching on to anything that passes by, then once they are on, they will crawl all over until they find a hole or gap in your clothing, like a ripped jean, above a sock, on your waist between your shirt and pants. You can also avoid them by avoiding brushing up to tall grasses, walking in the middle of paths when possible, and creating a buffer zone on your lawn. Children should also be taught to know what ticks look like, and notify an adult if they have one attached. The proper way to remove a tick is with tweezers. If you need more information, the New York State Health Dept website has a lot of good information....See MoreWorth the cost of bringing Natural Gas to Property?
Comments (12)Crazy - first you say $12k for traditional and then $27k - one seems too low and one too high... Stealing the outside unit - now that is crazy.... Knoxville helps - what elevation are you at? I tend to think you are a little warmer than Asheville. I see these things as 4 options 1 - conventional construction, NG heat. Big variable here is NG pipe cost 2 - conventional construction, geothermal. Big variable is local geo costs. Lots of land means it could be relatively inexpensive and the way to go 3 - Superinsulated construction with air source heat pump. You get the need for heat so low that it just doesn't matter. You are probably looking at $8k or so but you can't have huge walls of windows. Designing for solar gain is free but may not work with view - important in all designs but particularly when not using NG or geo. 4- Conventional construction and air source heat pump - least expensive upfront and most expensive long term. Financially - this still maybe the best. I hate to say it but it might but depends on your length of outlook. If we say the other 3 are equal in running costs, this might be $500 a year more. I live in Raleigh (a little warmer) and have 5000 sqft of conventional construction but energy star and it would be about $500 in my house (I have dual fuel and I used $200 in NG in my worst winter, just $100 last year). Electric resistance as backup would be 3.5 times the cost of NG. Of course if you want gas fireplaces and cooking, you have to price out the propane tank option. A lot of companies give you the tank for free but not if you aren't going to use much - ie not heating the house with it. You also have to either bury it, hide it with vegetation or live with looking at it. You shouldn't forget hot water as a cost differential and plan on how you use it. If you have energy saving appliances and take short showers with the flow regulators intact and you have a small family - the electric cost is around $200 a year but NG would be $100. If you take hot baths nightly and your 4 kids do also, that number could be $1000 with NG being half. Geo can help here but increases upfront costs. The gov says electric resistance for hot water is $500 a year with your rates. But that is on an average house with average appliances. And includes people living further north with uninsulated copper pipes. Locally a Progress Energy study found it to be $300 a year - but it was on people who were interested in solar so it was a skewed population. You have to look at your own lifestyle as the hot water can be a big variable. Propane is a little more expensive than electric resistance for you....See MoreJay 6a Chicago
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoJay 6a Chicago
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agodandy_line (Z3b N Cent Mn)
4 years agoJay 6a Chicago
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoJay 6a Chicago
4 years agoJay 6a Chicago
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoJay 6a Chicago
4 years agoJay 6a Chicago
4 years agoJay 6a Chicago
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoIris S (SC, Zone 7b)
4 years agoJay 6a Chicago
4 years agoJay 6a Chicago
4 years agoIris S (SC, Zone 7b)
4 years agojaviwa
4 years agojaviwa
4 years agoJay 6a Chicago
4 years agoJay 6a Chicago
4 years agoIris S (SC, Zone 7b)
4 years ago
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