choosing the right native plants, with uli lorimer

Collaborative post

Do you want to know how so many gardeners have continuous blooms of beautiful roses every season? Well, you might not know about this, but many gardeners use the technique called deadheading. It is a technique that keeps the roses healthy and a rich look to them. Let’s have a look at How To Deadhead Roses the right way!

The study of native plants, the ecosystems of South Carolina, and sustainable landscaping practices form the focus of the South Carolina Native Plant Certificate Program. A partnership between the South Carolina Native Plant Society and the South Carolina Botanical Garden, this program gives participants insight into South Carolina’s rich and complex botanical heritage, and offers ways to bolster the states’ biodiversity. This program began in July 2015, and to-date over 300 participants from all over the state, from all walks of life, and of all different ages, have enrolled in the program.

We talked about the advantages of growing from seed, about extra-cooperative little plants like certain sedges and Erigeron (fleabane) that can beautify even tough spots like at the roots of trees, about using pots to announce garden areas and the signature plants of each of the distinct gardens at Wave Hill, too—like larkspur, to name one.the plants of wave hill, with louis bauerQ. Glad to have you on the show, Louis.A. Thanks for asking me.Q. Thank you for saying yes because I need a little help with my plantsmanship over here. [Laughter.] So for people who haven’t visited Wave Hill, which is a must stop for any keen gardener, do you want to just give us the teeny version of why we need tocome visit—a little bit about Wave Hill?A. Well it really i

Native bees species (like the mining bee above on the wildflower boneset) don’t get as much attention, and other insect pollinators even less, but without our wild pollinators we’d enjoy far less biodiversity, both in plants and animals—because they’re key to the food web, which would otherwise break down. To get to know some of these unsung heroes and the critical roles they play, I spoke with Heather Holm, author of the book “Pollinators of Native Plants,” which teaches us how to identify and attract and appreciate them in our gardens and beyond. (Enter to wi

In the early 1990s, when I was working on a book called “The Natural Habitat Garden” with my friend Ken Druse, we traveled the country interviewing native-plant enthusiasts and photographing their gardens. One memorable stop was the home of Mrs. Lammot du Pont Copeland, outside Wilmington, which today is the botanic garden called Mt. Cuba Center, with more than 50 acres of display gardens on more than 500 acres of natural land.I’d never seen native terrestrial orchids before, or the vivid red and yellow wildflower called Spigelia marilandica anywhere, and that day I learned that some discerning and forward-thinking experts such as Mt. Cuba’s first horticulture director, the great Dick Lighty, were already busy selecting “better” forms of native plants for garden use–a trend that has accelerated and become one of the hottest areas of contemp

10 AM-4 PM: Margaret Roach garden open, plus Broken Arrow Nursery plant sale, Copake Falls; suggested donation at door to the Garden Conservancy, but no reservation required (and no donation to just shop the plant sale). (Directions to the garden, in tiny Copake Falls, NY, 12517, will be on the Garden Conservancy Open Days website.)native plant events with dan jaffe9:30 AM-11:00 AM: “For Us and Them: How Native Plants Can Feed Us and Pollinators,” with Dan JaffeWant to create a garden that is inviting, and delicious, for “us and them” — people, and pollinators alike? Join Dan Jaffe, co-author of Native Plants for New England Gardens and longtime ecological horticultur

Matching the specific variety of edible to its intended use just makes sense, especially if putting up some of the harvest is in your plans. It has always been in Carol’s.“I was born into a family that grew its own food,” says Carol. “My Swedish grandmother planted a garden every summer that was counted on to feed the whole family–my grandparents, their five children, spouses, and grandchildren.”And that meant food year-round, much of it canned over a woodstove in a New Hampshire house that had no running water or electricity. From a young age, she helped carry water from the well 200 yards uphill in a pair of buckets on a wooden yoke over her shoulders at food-preserving time, to get the water baths going.A “rock-reinforced hole in the ground” was their root cellar

You’ll hear me say “wow” and “oh!” and “that’s crazy” and “amazing” a lot in the audio version of this interview—because it all is.I see a lot of birds in my garden, but my experience their offspring is limited, frankly. This year’s phoebe is incubating her clutch on the back porch, atop a stereo speaker as every spring, and when pruning a white pin

Julie and I spoke recently about her eight-month relationship with beloved Jemima. The special bird opened up many subjects for her, such as elusive patterns of blue jay movement and behavior that Julie began to grasp once she learned to recognize individual jays, including Jemima, by the markings on their faces. She got insights into topics like why and when birds molt, what molt patterns reveal about their genetics, and more. Julie even shared her recipe for a winter feeder-bird treat called Zick Dough Improved.Read along as you listen to the September 9, 2019 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on iTunes or Spotify or Stitcher (and browse my archive of podcasts here).Important note: The quality of the phone line for this episode was unusually spotty, and we apologize, but the transcript is complete and includes every detail of my

JOIN US for our fourth annual Moth Night, part of the citizen-science project called National Moth Week, and organized by A Way to Garden and Friends of Taconic State Park in Copake Falls, New York. BYO picnic supper if you please–we’ll provide dessert treats–to enjoy while you learn Moth 101 from top experts, then experience nature after dark with them and just have fun.Note: This is a free event, but if you wish to donate to the Friends of Taconic State Park to help us offer honoraria to more experts to lead more nature programs like this one, there is an extra button on the ticket form for that. Thanks.Brigette Zacharczenko, a PhD UConn-Storrs entomologist, and Dylan Cipkowski, who has been surveying the moths of Columbia County, N.Y., as pa

Wherever you garden, he has advice to help you think about what to look for in a garden-worthy native and more, and how to really define native, anyway. I learned the concept of ecoregions—about choosing plants not because I live within a particular county line on a manmade map, but instead guided by larger forces of geology and natural habitat.Read along as you listen to the July 23, 2018 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on iTunes or Stitcher (and browse my archive of podcasts here). Plus: Enter to win a copy of the new book, by commenting at the bottom of the page.selecting garden-worthy native plants, with dan jaffeQ. I haven’t been to Garden in the Woo