My traditional gardening friends complain that they have no flowers in bloom in August. They obviously don’t grow Black-eyed Susan. (Rudbeckia speciosa var. sullivantii) View out my front door. This week a Great Spangled Fritillary landed on my front porch stair post–alas, I didn’t get a photo. Great Spangled Fritillary are [...]
Tag Archives: butterflies
Roadsides
Their pervasive fragrance and gaudy color suggests an overdressed matron wearing too much cheap perfume, as these plants often become too much in the landscape. Dick Young Kane county Wild Plants & Natural Areas Roadsides Dick Young was referring to Dame’s Rocket (Hesperus matronalis) in bloom now along partially shaded roadsides, railroad [...]
PLANT MILKWEED
LETS PLANT MILKWEED!!! Recently, Wild Ones posted the following monarch update on the Wild Ones Facebook page: We are trying to harness the power of the Internet and Facebook to help save our Monarchs. Please share this information with your members and ask everyone to send this information to their friends and family. Also, [...]
Through the Year 2011 in My Garden
THROUGH THE YEAR 2011 IN MY GARDEN JANUARY I neglected to take any pictures at my house last January, so I’m showing you a photograph of June’s stone stairway that I did take. Last year, in February, I featured the grass, stone, and snow of the Geneva Riverwalk, but if you have a [...]
More on Butterflies
The caterpillars of Swallowtails eat only the leaves of Umbelliferous plants such as Golden Alexanders (Zizea aurea), Angelica, Queen Anne’s Lace, Coriander, Dill, and Parsley; one year I had 2 caterpillars eat all the leaves off a potted parsley plant next to my back door. (I wish I had taken a picture.) Sulfur [...]
Monarch Butterflies and Milkweed
MORE ON BUTTERFLIES Everyone knows that Monarch butterflies only lay their eggs on members of the milkweed genus and their caterpillars only eat milkweed leaves. There are, however, several species of milkweed that are more suited to gardens than the common roadside milkweed (Asclepias syriaca). If any of you have seen [...]
Attracting Butterflies
One of my greatest pleasures in August is to eat lunch in my screened front porch and watch the Tiger Swallowtails nectar in the Compass Plant, Tall Coreopsis, and Joe Pye Weed , while their now-forming seeds attract Gold Finches. Plant these feeding stations close to your house and within viewing distance of your [...]
What Does Our Ecosystem Provide for Us?
WHAT DOES OUR ECOSYSTEM PROVIDE FOR US? Captures the sun’s energy Makes oxygen Creates soil Infiltrates water Cleans water Cleans air Pollinates crops Recycles garbage Sequesters carbon Provides food and shelter Provides medications We receive all this for free. and we take it for granted. There are 129,000,000 acres of housing in the US 4 [...]
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Wild Ones: Northern Kane County Chapter
Baffling Experiences with Native Plants
January 20, 2013 • Categories: Pat's Comments, views • by PatHill
Baffling Experiences with Native Plants I have good, mesic prairie soil on my property. My Sears bungalow was built in 1927 and the topsoil was saved and put back on the ground when the house was built, unlike nowadays. I should be able to grow any native plant that is found in nature in mesic [...]
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