Category Archives: Native Plants

A Miracle of Monarchs

Posted on September 19, 2013 by Randy Tindall

We have seen very few Monarch butterflies in our backyard for the last two years, but that doesn’t mean they are not there.  Caterpillars are showing up on our milkweeds, so it seems that they must be making whoopee somewhere, … Continue reading →

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The Return of the Stinker

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Randy Tindall

Hard to believe but stuff’s coming up!  Not just the ubiquitous daffodils that pop up just in time to tease us about a yet-distant spring, but other stuff.  Like Wild Leeks.  Yeah, smelly old Allium tricoccum. What is this plant … Continue reading →

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Winter Rations

Posted on December 30, 2012 by Randy Tindall

I’ve often thought of our Sweet Gum tree as more of a Bitter-Sweet Gum tree, mainly when I rake up piles of the spiky little balls it sheds with great joy and abandon.  I think I am not alone in … Continue reading →

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Galls Galore

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Randy Tindall

Besides having some spectacular fall colors this year, another thing our drought didn’t seem to hurt was the prevalence of oak leaf galls.  I’m not sure why, but we seemed to have a bumper crop of them this year.

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Fall Medley #1

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Randy Tindall
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Hitting the Trifecta

Posted on September 7, 2012 by Randy Tindall

It’s not often—or ever before, to be honest—that I’ve had the chance to photograph several stages in an insect’s life journey in just a week or so, but I think I nailed it recently. We’ve got some wild senna growing … Continue reading →

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Where have all the berries gone?

Posted on August 12, 2012 by Randy Tindall

This is what the fruiting head of Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana) often looks like after the berries have matured.  What berries, you say?  Ask the birds that ate them all, especially the robins that love to gorge on them and leave … Continue reading →

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No Free Lunch: Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)

Posted on July 6, 2012 by Randy Tindall

Have you got milkweeds around?  If not, why not?  Have you ever noticed how many insects they attract?  Finally, have you ever noticed some of these insects dangling lifelessly from the milkweed’s flowers?  Ever wonder why?  (I hadn’t, until recently….) … Continue reading →

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Scanning Nature 3: Purple Coneflower

Posted on June 23, 2012 by Randy Tindall
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A Bounty of Broom Moths

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Randy Tindall

Have your Baptisia been looking a little ragged lately?  Check for these little guys.  We are certainly having an outbreak in our yard, maybe due to the weirdness of the spring this year (?).  I expect the Indigos will survive, … Continue reading →

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