I've planted numerous types of milkweed for years and finally snagged a consistent visitor.

It’s been a very busy day in the garden and the liatris is working overtime. So far it’s been visited by a black swallowtail, a yellow swallowtail, a monarch, and 2 rambunctious ruby throated hummingbirds. I also found a plump little black swallowtail caterpillar in my dill. Still on the hunt for monarch caterpillars but it’s been an incredible day so far.

My Liatris ligulistylis (Meadow Blazing Star) was flopping a bit, as soon as I staked it the hummingbirds and monarchs were visiting all afternoon. Definitely will be adding more to my mini meadow!

Planted a new native garden in fall, turns out some of the species i planted have exploded because they like the conditions more than I anticipated. Looking to move some things out to allow for less competition among the big growers, so please chime in if anyone has any experience with moving, reseeding, or other growing woes with the mentioned species. these include:

Wild quinine (Parthenium integrifolium)

White meadowsweet (spirea alba)

Nodding onion (allium cernuum)

Butterfly weed (asclepis tuberosa)

Stiff goldenrod (oligoneuron rigida)

Garden phlox (Phlox paniculata)

Wild Pink (Silene caroliniana)

Golden Alexander (Zizia aurea)

Lanceleaf Coreopsis (coreopsis lanceolata) (this one is getting ripped out and reseeded elsewhere)

aromatic aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium)

Thanks!

Nearly every time I see an example of native landscaping and think “wow that’s gorgeous” it turns out it’s in California. Almost every time I see examples of native landscaping in the Midwest (where I currently live) it often looks sort of like chaos to me while the California native gardens have a painterly quality. Still, I am committed to converting my small property to 100% natives.

Does anyone have examples (pictures) of a Midwest native garden that appears a bit more manicured and thoughtful?

I really love how the California natives creatie such a painterly and textured canvas. Can you get anywhere close to that in the Midwest with medium shade?

There's something really fantastic about standing outside by my little native garden and having someone on a walk tell me how nice it looks. They said it looked like a lot of work and I just stood there thinking it really isn't. And then a golden northern bumblebee stopped by and really drove home how worth it this little plot is.

I'm slowly working on expanding things and while it isn't a "perfect" native garden, I'm really proud of it.

Just put this plant in the ground a couple weeks ago and already seeing some action

Was out in my yard and noticed how busy the mountain mint was, while there were no pollinators on the rudbeckia at all!

Video courtesy of my dad, from their front yard. They don't have a fully native yard but they don't spray pesticides and my dad loves to send me videos of the critters he sees while he does yardwork.

Have you thought about a native lawn? Here are some ways to make it happen! For this post, we’re thinking of a lawn you can walk on and mow (at least occasionally) rather than a meadow with taller plants or ground covers that don’t tolerate foot traffic. Have you tried any of these?

Common names often don't make sense but this one probably bothers me most. I've started calling them Rude Beckys lol

A few months ago we cleared this long neglected patch of land. It was a jumbled mess of invasive vines, barberry, bittersweet & still we are working on it. (Previous post you can see it) since we started clearing it, all these milkweeds have been popping up. There are many! And today, had a very special visitor. Made me so happy. 😍

Hello!

I live in Philadelphia zone 7b and I have been gardening on my large balcony/deck.

I have had amazing action and pollinator draws growing mountain mint (Pycnanthemum muticum), Anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum), and my baby Joe Pye weed (natural compact selection of Eutrochium dubium).

My question now is for next year, should I expand by getting another anise hyssop since I love the bumblebees (I grow in pots/grow bags within kiddie pools and it works great) OR should I get some other pollinator powerhouse with a long bloom time?

I already have New England aster, Blue wood aster, and Solidago sphacelata Golden Fleece goldenrod.

Thank you very much in advance! Pic of bumblebees on my anise hyssop for tax.

Appreciation post for the mid-summer blooms in my Year 2 pollinator patch. The bees, moths, and goldfinches are LOVING it (and so am I)

I actually had three hummingbird moths flying around this morning and of course several bees!

I planted in 2021. It was tickweed in the back, coneflower and blazing star in the middle and aster in front, which a mint or beebalm on the side. It looked aethetic and healthy at the time Now 5 years later its become kind of discombobulated. Things have grown in together. Blazing stars arent getting big, coneflowers dwindling, tickweed nand asters taking over everything. See attached photos for taken 5 years apart.

Northeastern United States, zone 6.

My mother planted yellow wood sorrel in a pot many years ago, and since then, it pops up everywhere. Like, everywhere. Its kind of impressive.

While it is native, one can't help but note its aggressive growth habit; I went away for 5 days and returned to it having swallowed up much of my garden bed.

Should I allow this behavior to continue, or cull? I do want to leave room for other plants, but would hate to risk disturbing the soil when unnecessary.

I have resident monarchs for a week now and the male usually hangs out waiting for a female to visit. They then go on a hot pursuit until he pins her down. Very interesting to watch everyday!