Have you noticed a few changes around here? It’s very exciting! The national Wild Ones organization has been working behind the scenes to develop updates to our branding and websites. Our chapter has also been working on adding more information to our website! Our web menu now has more options, including a Volunteer page which […] Continue reading "Navigating our Updated Website"
written by Paul Crosser Perhaps you have similar areas on your property that you have been ‘fixin’ to modify or remove one of these days. My daughter kept looking at the good old sandbox I built for my grandchildren about 10 years ago. They are hitting the teen years now and the old sandbox sadly […] Continue reading "Sandbox Conversion = Native Plants"
The Home Grown Native Plants workshop series is presented by Eleanor Schumacher, Illinois Project Wingspan State Coordinator. Project Wingspan is a volunteer-based native wildflower seed collection and redistribution initiative overseen by Pollinator Partnership. This webinar series consists of eight workshops taking place between January and September. Each is a casual, friendly, hour-long Zoom talk broadcasting […] Continue reading "Take a Look: Project Wingspan"
written by Emma Harmon One of the biggest surprises I experienced when I began gardening was how much I enjoy the garden in every season. Each change in weather brings a new way to view my plants: seeing the vibrant colors after a fresh spring rain, the grasses swaying on a breezy summer evening, the […] Continue reading "Winter in the Native Garden"
written by Jerry McConoughey In the spring of 2017 I was given the opportunity to start a new garden in Riverside Park dedicated to native plants. It was a small area, just 86 square feet, 20 feet long, five and a half feet wide at the east end, and three and a half feet wide […] Continue reading "Starting a Native Plant Garden"
written by Paul Crosser The current discussions regarding cultivars are interesting and those wishing to do the right thing can easily be distracted waiting for an outcome. Thankfully, doing the right thing remains a simple task. Let’s see…..how did our current pollinators get here? They used native plants for nectar, pollen, host plants and homes. […] Continue reading "Cultivars: What to Do While Research Continues"
written by Grant Fessler, originally posted on his website, gcology.net Perhaps nothing embodies Midwestern summer better than a July thunderstorm. There is something magical and humbling about watching enormous, rain-heavy clouds unleash their tumult and violence over the low, rolling hills and river valleys. To hear the distant booms and crashes of thunder gradually approach […] Continue reading "Summer Storms and Silphium at Sunset"
written by Grant Fessler, originally published on his website, gcology.net On the overcast morning of Saturday, April 22nd, 2023, I made my way to one of the Quad Cities most prized natural areas, Black Hawk Historic site. As I descended from Black Hawk Road to the parking lot on the Rock River floodplain, I saw […] Continue reading "Earth Day Wildflowers at Black Hawk Historic Site"
written by Grant Fessler, originally published on his website, gcology.net With a sudden burst of unseasonably warm weather this past week, the spring ephemerals have leapt into blooming here in the Quad Cities region. Our remnant woodlands are now teaming with whites, purples, blues, and yellows, and the early spring pollinators are hard at work. […] Continue reading "Hunting Down the Prairie Trout Lily"
