Good Host Plants

It's been a while since I've posted on Facebook but I wanted to share a knotweed success story. When the homeowners moved into this property they inherited a thick stand of Japanese knotweed against the white fence in the photo. After a lot of pulling, they gave it one more round and then covered with a tarp around October of last year. This spring, at the end of April, they removed the tarp and removed whatever was still showing signs of life. Knowing the knotweed would even...tually reemerge, we went with a mix of tall/aggressive natives to outcompete it, including cup plant, woodland sunflower, cutleaf coneflower, thin leaf sunflower, and big bluestem. The pics show a progression from planting on May 2 through today. Any knotweed that does emerge is pulled (it's still on the other side of the fence, unfortunately), but as you can see it's quickly running out of room as the native species establish. In your yard, don't let anyone tell you that you can only control something by using glyphosate. With consistent hand-pulling and the right plant selection, anything is possible with organic gardening techniques and native plants. From experience with these species, this should become a pollinator super highway once things start blooming in a few weeks. See more

"Native plants provide more food for native bugs, which feed native birds, native frogs and everything else up the food chain." In April's issue we talk native... plant gardening with John Janick of Good Host Plants #nativeplants https://www.gridphilly.com/blog/urban-naturalist-april-2020 See more

Pandemic Gardening Update #2 - Invasive Removal and Bed Prep: If you've been to the nursery last season, you probably met my helper, John. Since we can't open for retail, he's been doing amazing work out in the field removing invasives and prepping beds for clients looking to plant native. No invasive species too nasty, including what I consider the worst - lesser celandine - as shown in these before/after pics. If you need help creating a blank slate and don't have time to battle English ivy, Japanese pachysandra, or anything else that creates a monoculture, John can come to the rescue! Email [email protected] and I'll put you in touch with him.

Pandemic Gardening Update #1: Been doing a few "drop off" designs each week that are a lot of fun. Great for folks interested in planting native (and spending time in the garden prepping the beds and putting the plants in) but don't have a ton of experience with the plants. Here's how it works: you send me some pics of the area and describe light/soil conditions and any other ideas such as color preference or wildlife/pollinators you want to attract (ex: hummingbirds, Monarch...s, etc.). Next, I bring more than enough plants with me and (from a safe distance), go over options with the homeowner, setting pots in place once decisions are made. Finally, I tally up the plants, send an invoice, and you do the planting. The right plants for the conditions and placement are keys to success and I feel this gets people new to natives off to a good start. I ran out of spaces to plant on my property long ago and I'm running out of space in the nursery demo garden, so I get a lot out of doing these "what would you do" designs.

Availability list just updated (click link) - available for Mt Airy pickup 7 days/week and delivery when possible. Most plants are ready to go at this point. Please email [email protected] to set up an order or to check on specific species availability. If you're looking for something that's not on the list, just email and I may be able to source it.

Getting creative with virtual gardening in our new normal. Last weekend I got an email from a homeowner interested in filling out his font yard with native perennials for pollinators. The demo garden has been great for helping folks come up with ideas, but unfortunately not an option these days. I asked for a pic of the space (pic 1) and came up with some suggestions based on conditions described and what was shown in the photo. I pulled the plants, and the client lived a few... minutes away, so instead of trying to describe pot layout via email/text, I laid everything out when I delivered the plants (pic 2). A few hours later, I received pic 3 once everything was in the ground. It will be fun to see how this fills out over the season, since we went with species that will provide blooms from April through late October. We'll all be stuck at home for at least another month. Let's get creative!

So... long time, no posts! Despite the circumstances, I've been busier than ever on weekends and evenings growing plants, putting in wildlife ponds, cutting back the nursery demo garden, watching plants and wildlife wake up from winter... all from a safe distance or in complete solitude. I figure pollinators, plants, wildlife - pretty much the majority of species on Earth aside from humans - have been facing a global pandemic for a good century now when you consider extinctio...n rates. I'm more driven than ever to take advantage of the opportunity to act while most of life's day-to-day responsibilities are put on hold. That, and working with plants is my meditation. If my hands are in the Earth, I'm lost in the task at hand. I'm able to do most of this because I have unlimited access to plants. While I'm not optimistic that the nursery will open for retail this spring, I'm doing whatever I can to get plants to folks in a safe manner. We got back to typical March weather over the weekend and it's sloppy and cold today, but the rest of the week looks like planting weather to me. If you need plants, contact me at [email protected] and I can arrange for pickup in Mt. Airy w/ online payment and any interactions kept at a safe distance. Delivery options available if needed. Planting isn't the only way to make an impact while we navigate this uncharted territory. Taking hikes in the woods? Spend 15 minutes clearing English ivy from the base of a few canopy trees. Hand pull all those invasive in your yard that you've been trying to keep back but never had the time to keep up on. Take a bag with you and collect litter you find on a trail. We're all stuck at home or limited to walks outside. We all take about climate action and doing things to reverse what we started. Now is the time to put some work in! Let's make the most of a bad situation.

I've been trying to put a positive spin on our current situation of being homebound with limited social interaction for the foreseeable future (our preschool is closed, kids' school is closed, and I'm working from home at my day job) and I can tell you this... my yard will be in better shape than ever this season! Being outside and getting my hands back into the Earth makes me whole again, and I've been taking advantage of this warm weather. Here are some of the things I've b...Continue reading

Updated spring 2020 species availability list is up on the website. A lot depends on the weather, but hoping to have plants available by mid-April or first week of May. Email [email protected] if you need anything before the nursery opens and I may be able to arrange pickup in Mt. Airy.

Attention Delco residents (and Philly): the Pennsylvania Master Naturalist program is a few applications short for their Spring 2020 training at Tyler Arboretum. I went through this training in 2016 out in Bucks County and it was well worth the drive. The application deadline is February 3, so click the link for more info if you're interested!

I purchased my ticket and passing this on in case anyone's interested. In 2010, I was given a copy of Bringing Nature Home. I opened it, couldn't put it down, and a few days later I started a new path in life. I've been to one of Doug Tallamy's presentations in 2011, so excited to be in attendance again, especially with the new book coming out in February. If you're just getting into natives and need clarity on the "why" and the urgency, I highly recommend heading to Narberth (Municipal Bldg.) on March 25. Just a warning though... you can't "unsee" the Matrix.

New year = refreshed logo! Big thanks to Guy Radcliffe Fine Art - https://www.facebook.com/guy.radcliffe.fine.art/ - for helping me turn a vision into scalable vector art. Guy and I have worked together for over 10 years (at our day job, not the nursery) and we have shared passions in wildlife and environmental stewardship. Give his page a follow to see some amazing wildlife pieces using paint, pen & ink, and Adobe Illustrator (and then try to distinguish which is which). If... you ask me to pick a favorite plant, I’ll give a different answer each week... but if it’s the first week of June in the demo garden, I’m going with #asclepiastuberosa #butterflymilkweed when it pops. Amazing color, short stature, and reliable year after year once it gets established. Adding a #monarchcaterpillar to the logo was a given. Truth be told, I find more monarch caterpillars on swamp, common, and purple milkweed compared to tuberosa, but they devour whatever #asclepias I put in the enclosure when we raise them. Monarchs aside, butterfly milkweed is also a pollinator magnet, attracting honeybees, leaf-cutter bees, digger bees, wasps, butterflies, and #halictid #bees - like the #greenmetallicsweatbee #agapostemon. Tried snapping a pic of one visiting the milkweed in the demo garden last summer but fumbled my phone. Ok, that’s the new logo. Temps near 70 over the weekend got me thinking spring will be here before you know it.

Thinking spring... and about making this space an expansion of the demo garden this season. Anyone interested in attending a planting workshop?