Rally For The Right To A Naturalized Yard

I am lucky I only tend to get one lawn citation a year (or so) and all I need to do is talk my way out of it.

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I really wish the Natural Garden Inc., in St. Charles, IL, had a better website. As it stands, I’m looking at tables of their plant lists, trying to figure out what to plant this fall to restore my lawn to prairie. It’s a long, arduous process. On the plus side, Natural Garden is only about twenty-five miles away from me, and claim their native plant nursery stock is from seed collected within a 90 mile radius sometime in the seventies. We’re talking local genome here folks.

Prairie Nursery has always had an informative and well-organized website. I’ve ordered from them before when I was establishing my woodland garden a couple of years ago, and was happy with the result. The only drawbacks were that the plants reeked of smoke when they arrived and the Virginia Wild Rye (Elymus virginicus) was a bit more invasive and weedy than I would have liked.

Prairie Moon Nursery used to have a somewhat dis-functional site, but they recently re-vamped it and it’s now much better and more user friendly. So far, this is the only place I have found that sells native plants bare root (I haven’t been looking very hard…). This Spring I took advantage of their bare-root clearance sale and, though it was a bit late in the season for it, the unpromising looking twigs they sent me all took off quite impressively. This is the way to establish some really impressive stands of Prairie Blazing Star, Prairie Larkspur, and Sweet Joe Pye Weed. I will definitely be making a larger order this Fall and spend a good weekend in October planting. Spring 2010 should be spectacular.

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Essentially, you should take to heart that you may only choose one variety of rose for your garden, because each type of rose is only for a specific type of climate and zone. When you’ve finally chosen one, then you’re now ready to tackle the requirements that will make a successful rose bed.

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Read the rest of Growing Roses Organically at Suburban Ecology

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Water gardens have recently become very popular and become an integral part of the scenery in American suburbia. They are one of the most refreshing benefits a homeowner can have. The various animals that flutter or swim through the ponds and the charming lilies dotted across the pond surface are enchanting.

Water Gardening Basics

Designs are limitless for the water garden and the planting options are numerous. This type of garden is for keeps as it helps fix our rather imbalanced ecosystem, but to also paint the town light blue and green with its refreshing allure.

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Read the rest of Growing An Organic Water Garden at Suburban Ecology

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The basics of creating an organic butterfly garden is pretty easy because you only have to do one important thing, which it to plant a lot of flowers. If you love a variety of butterflies to visit your garden, then you need to diversify your plant choices, all encompassing the correct taxonomy. You may also have to put a water area or two to make it look and seem more livable for these insects. But these are mainly the basics. Planning is a different story if you want more than just a crowded garden full of random butterflies.

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Read the rest of Creating An Organic Butterfly Garden at Suburban Ecology

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