Nadia’s Backyard- Two-Marked Treehoppers: It’s Complex December 21, 2023
- Birds of a Feather? October 3, 2023
- The Promise of Disorder in a Winter Yard February 11, 2022
- Rerun: Men of Rice December 7, 2016
- Where the Words Live November 30, 2016
- Going Native October 16, 2016
- Backyard Gooseberries are Saucy Little Things June 17, 2015
- Spring Rerun: Kimchi from your backyard to you April 27, 2015
- A Seagull Named Emma January 27, 2015
- The Long Travelers: Leaf-cutter Bees, Part II September 29, 2014
Tag Archives: Gardening
Going Native
Our yard—front and back—is a curious place, located at a cultural and environmental crossroads. Depending on one’s point of view, our yard is a treasure, an eyesore, an oasis of biological diversity, a blight on the neighborhood, something to be … Continue reading
Posted in Gardening, Landscaping, Musings, Native Plants, Society, Uncategorized, Wildlife
Tagged Birds, Gardening, Insects, Landscapes, Missouri, Musings, Native Plants, nature, Plants, Pollinators, Wildflowers, Wildlife, Yard work
10 Comments
Backyard Gooseberries are Saucy Little Things
The gooseberries in our backyard try to get our attention with their tart little green offerings every year in the mid- to waning days of spring, but mostly they end up being overlooked as contributors to our partly wild larder. … Continue reading
Posted in Cooking, Edible Native Plants, Foraging, Native Plants, Photography, Recipes
Tagged Cooking, Food, Gardening, Native edibles, Native Plants, Photography, Recipes
6 Comments
Columbine Time (Aquilegia canadensis)
When the spring columbines began popping up and blossoming in our backyard, we know it’s time to keep our eyes open for the arrival of the hummingbirds. Sure enough, after several days of gorgeous blooms, we have now spotted at … Continue reading
Posted in Gardening, Landscaping, Native Plants, Photography, Seasons
Tagged Aquilegia canadensis, Columbines, Gardening, Hummingbirds, Native Plants, Photography, Pollinators, Spring, Wildflowers
4 Comments
Butterflies and Beer: Get Ready for Spicebush Season
Spicebush is leafing out! Normally it would be blooming by now, like this: But it seems that the hard winter and long spring have slowed it down like everything else, since ours aren’t blooming just yet. At any rate, you … Continue reading
Posted in Cooking, Edible Native Plants, Foraging, Gardening, Landscaping, Native Plants, Seasons
Tagged Butterflies, Cooking, Food, Gardening, Insects, Lindera benzoin, Native edibles, Native Plants, nature, Photography, Spicebush, Spring
2 Comments
Backyard Food of the Gods
Still catching up on backyard native plants articles, and the latest is this unseasonal look at the American Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana), whose Latin name is often said to mean “Food of the Gods”. Some disagree: “…Linnaeus called the persimmon tree … Continue reading
Posted in Cookies, Cooking, Edible Native Plants, Foraging, Fruit, Gardening, Recipes
Tagged Autumn, Butterflies, Cooking, Food, Gardening, Insects, Missouri, Native edibles, Native Plants, Photography, Recipes, Trees
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Pawpaws, Mastodons and Zebras
Snowed in today and dreaming of warmer times. A good time, it seems to me, to play more catch-up on the backlog of articles on the native plants we have in our yard. This time it’s Pawpaw (Asimina triloba)! What … Continue reading
Posted in Cooking, Edible Native Plants, Foraging, Fruit, Gardening, Landscaping, Photography, Recipes
Tagged Art, Butterflies, Cooking, Evolution, Food, Gardening, Insects, Missouri, Native edibles, Native Plants, Photography, Plants, Recipes, Trees, Zebra Swallowtails
2 Comments
Looking Ahead: Plant Your Peas
I know it’s unseasonal, but it’s way past time to start catching up on our Native Plants pages. The latest entry is here. It’s in our yard. It should be in yours!
Posted in Gardening, Landscaping, Native Plants
Tagged Gardening, Insects, Landscapes, Missouri, Native Plants, Partridge Pea, Photography, Pollinators, Wildflowers
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A Swallowtail Odyssey: Life among the Spicebushes
It’s Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus) time in our backyard, which is good for us curious yard-watchers, but a bit hard on our spicebushes (Lindera benzoin). We’re watching the little ones grow up and they do it fast! Now, I am … Continue reading
Posted in Insects, Photography
Tagged Butterflies, Gardening, Insects, Missouri, Native Plants, nature, Photography, Spicebush swallowtail
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Pests and Parasites
A very effective agent of biological pest control, this tiny wasp in our backyard is preparing to lay an egg on (or in) the little green aphid.. When the egg hatches, it will live inside the aphid, munching happily away, … Continue reading
Posted in Gardening, Insect pests, Insects, Photography
Tagged Gardening, Insects, nature, Parasitism, Pest control, Pests, Plants, Wasps
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The Return of the Stinker
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
Posted in Cooking, Edible Native Plants, Foraging, Gardening, Native Plants, Recipes
Tagged Cooking, Food, Gardening, Missouri, Native edibles, Native Plants, nature, Photography, Recipes
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