Benjamin Vogt's Blog, page 24

3 Monarch Caterpillars

It's the latest I've ever gone by well over a month, but found three eggs on Asclepias sullivantii and brought them in. I thought for sure I'd have none this year, after I raised 25 in 2012, 150 in 2011, and 200 in 2010. If it weren't for Liatris ligulistylis, I'm sure I wouldn't have any monarchs dashing through the garden.



People call me a "nativist" and "native plant purist," and my defense is sitting in a plastic container on the kitchen table. Morality just emerged from an egg casing. B...

My Other Garden Writing

If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, my articles below will be redundant to you, but I wanted to share with you the writing I'm doing in other places that connects to what I do here.



I recently began expanding my writing at Houzz, and my fist foray was a piece entitled "3 Ways Native Plants Make Gardening Better." You know how I feel about using native plants -- it's a moral imperative going far beyond simple aesthetics. This piece practically went viral on Facebook, much to my shock (an...

Dream Talking Out Loud

Last week my wife and I visited an acreage for sale that's 20 minutes west of Lincoln. It's 80 acres of rolling land, with two tree stands, some CRP restored prairie, some hay, some corn. I'm not saying I want to move there -- the massive power lines are a health concern and eyesore -- but I'm trying to imagine myself living in such a space. And if I imagine, perhaps the reality of it is that much closer.



I liked the land because of the CRP, because it has differing terrain, because it adjoi...

Prairie Rescue

Last week I was invited to a surprising space in the country club area of Lincoln, a typical older home on a small lot. As one would expect in this portion of town, each home nestled among mature tree-lined streets has perfectly manicured landscapes full of lush green lawn. Certainly picturesque, and certainly high maintenance and of less value to wildlife.



When I stepped around back of a home on 30th street, made my way around the secluded sidewalk hugging a detached garage, I was amazed at...

Musings

I've been in a musing mood this week on my personal Facebook page, and thought, hey, I'll share them here -- because sometimes leftovers taste better when they have a day or two to soak in the fridge.





Tell
me, is there anything more wonderful than walking the garden path as
bees, wasps, moths, and butterflies travel parallel alongside? They are
like close friends keeping you company in the silent cacophony of a
morning meandering. Wake the world. Break into blossom.



Watching
bumblebees on...

Wheat Harvest -- From the Memoir

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The Activist Garden Sign is Up

I actually felt nervous digging this in, wondering if neighbors will be offended, what someone might say, if it will be vandalized for what it says or just because it's there. But I had to say something. I have this learning lab out back that no one sees. I had to do something. What do you think?







I've found, and assumed, that those living in new subdivisions like mine are much more militant about what landscapes should look like -- namely, lawn, lawn, lawn, and a few super bland foundatio...

Suicidal Lawns

I live in a young suburban development, and most of the houses have nothing but lawn right up to the foundation walls. A few homes have thin planting beds filled with the following overused, non-native, big box junk plants: barberry, hosta, spiraea, boxwood, rose (that's right, I went there), japanese maple (good luck in zone 5), and a host of others. These plants do very little to nothing for native wildlife.



I have a neighbor who just yesterday essentially scalped his lawn, making the burn...

Come Talk (and Hold) Butterflies

Monarch Gardens, my native plant garden coaching business, will have an educational tent at two farmer's markets this month, August, and September. As the season goes on I hope to actually have monarchs, but right now it's all black swallowtails. Come play a game and win a prize, see native wildflowers that attract insects, touch a caterpillar, and learn about organic butterfly gardening.



7/21 -- 10am-2pm -- Old Cheney Road Farmer's Market



8/8 -- 4:30-8pm -- Fallbrook Farmer's Market


9/8 -...

Happy Birthday to Me and the Garden, 2013

Time for my annual self love festival. It's always amazing to see how the garden looks from year to year on the same date, and to do it here on the blog for easy reference (here's a 16 month daily timelapse vid). The 1,500' garden started in July 2007, and looked decent in 2009, then came into its own in 2010. Since then, each year plants shift, fade away, reseed and come back. Natives crowd out non natives, because in the early days I did not know what I was doing (fyi, come get my iris next...