Category Archives: Native plants

Lookout, It’s an Ambush!

Posted on August 15, 2019 by

After my walk in the woods today, I stopped to admire the flower garden at my local metropark. It’s a beautiful garden of both natives and non-natives, and I was checking to see if there were any interesting insects hanging … Continue reading →

Posted in Insects, Native plants | Tagged , , , , , | 16 Comments

Native Gardeners: Monkeys in Clothes

Posted on July 25, 2019 by

I’ve been struggling with my transition to native gardening, on a couple levels. The first and most obvious is trying to manage the more aggressive plants while nurturing those that need more space, light, or water.  I’d been told that … Continue reading →

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Tuesday Teaser

Posted on July 23, 2019 by

I realize I haven’t done an update on my native garden for quite a while, so I’m working on that right now. In the meantime, enjoy a close look at one of my monarda fistulosa blooms. It’s gorgeous even after … Continue reading →

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Two-Fer!

Posted on May 25, 2019 by

Dragon- and damselflies don’t often perch on photogenic flower heads, so when I found this one yesterday I was pleased. Of course it’s not a flower, but close enough.  This is a female emerald spreadwing damselfly (Lestes dryas), clutching the … Continue reading →

Posted in Insects, Native plants, Odonata (dragons and damsels) | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Holy Lupines, Batman! (aka Blue Week)

Posted on May 19, 2019 by

Today marks the end of the annual celebration known as Blue Week here in the Oak Openings region of northwest Ohio.  Blue Week is an event of the Green Ribbon Initiative, a consortium of local organizations working to protect the … Continue reading →

Posted in Native plants, Ohio, Toledo | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

A Visual Ode to the Holiday

Posted on February 14, 2019 by

These are Familiar Bluets in their heart-shaped mating wheel. These damselflies belong to the insect order called Odonata, and we often shorten that to “odes” when talking about them among other ode lovers. And below is a photo of one … Continue reading →

Posted in Insects, Native plants, Odonata (dragons and damsels), wildflowers | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Special Garden Visitors

Posted on August 2, 2018 by

At the risk of getting ahead of myself before I catch you up to real time in the new native garden series, I want to share some observations from my garden today. As I’ve mentioned before, one of the primary … Continue reading →

Posted in Insects, Native plants | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Going Native in Toledo — Series Intro

Posted on July 23, 2018 by

In the spring of 2017 I moved to Toledo, Ohio. I bought a house with a lovely yard where I would finally be able to experiment with native plant gardening. I’m beginning a series of posts to document what I’m … Continue reading →

Posted in Insects, Native plants, Ohio, Toledo | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

City Girl Goes Wild

Posted on December 12, 2017 by

You may recall that I recently wrote about my desire to plant native wildflowers in the  yard at my new home. I also mentioned that I had joined my local chapter of Wild Ones, a national organization devoted to preserving … Continue reading →

Posted in Native plants | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Gentian Trifecta

Posted on September 23, 2017 by

I’ve mentioned that this spring and summer have been a time of flower exploration for me. Whereas in past years I  might travel to find certain bird species, this year I traveled around northern Ohio to see our various wildflowers … Continue reading →

Posted in Insects, Native plants, Odonata (dragons and damsels), wildflowers | Tagged , , | 2 Comments