Benjamin Vogt's Blog, page 30

Garden Picture Time

Indian grass rocks



In person, ironweed seed heads glow when backlit



Liatris mucronata among aster



Looking west



Native to Alaska, burnet is too unique to pass by



View from my office window







'Wichita Mountains' goldenrod



A surprisingly good crabapple year



A wash of amsonia about to turn bright yellow, orange, then rust











Sometimes, the right tree goes in the right place

Diversity = More & Stronger Plants, & People

Here in the Plains I'm always thinking about grassland diversity, and how areas of my garden that are thicker and more varied seem to perform better on average (this from a casual observer with no scientific training). Of course, I often think about diversity because there's a corn field over there, one over there, and another right there. Monculture mecca.



A recent University of Minnesota study proves that a diverse plot of grassland species has 2.5 times the biomass of a single-species plo...

My Prairie Dream

I want to restore farmland to prairie. It may be better to find some remnant prairie and preserve it, since those are turning into crops at a record pace the last few years. But either way, land in the farm belt is pricey--averaging $8,000-$10,000 an acre or thereabouts. So if a person wanted to restore 100 acres--a very very small prairie that could only support a fraction of the native wildlife--it'd cost one million buckaroos.



But here's the dream that's building, and how I hope to sustai...

Hear Me at Vegfest or the Radio

It'll be 48 and chilly, but this Saturday I'll try to talk native plants for backyard wildlife at Vegfest, which is at Holmes Lake in Lincoln. I'm speaking at 3pm, and I'll give away seeds and maybe some plants. There'll be lots of stuff to see, do, hear, eat, etc.



Also, I'll be on the radio program How's It Growin' next Wednesday (10/10) from 11am-noon cst. KZUM, 89.3 on your FM dial. Talking native prairie plants and probably getting into a lot of trouble. I do believe they have a live int...

Take My Hostas and Anemone

The Deep Middle's front garden is getting a total redo, because when Mr. Deep started it 5 years yonder back he had no idea what he was doing, now he does.



Please come take my hostas before the compost pile does. Take divisions of my anemone, too. Monarda as well, a purple / magenta job. You have a few days, maybe a week. Message me asap.



Mr. Deep will be building a bench and sitting area in the shade, and creating a super mini mixed grass prairie in half sun. All for $100. (His wife isn'...

The Prairie is Our Amazon & No One Cares

A recent feature in the Minneapolis Star Tribune about the loss of prairie on the Great Plains has, of course, poured salt on an open wound for me. The last few years I've read book after book, article after article, about the loss of this critical habitat--and it is critical, as much as the Amazonian rain forest, but you don't hear fundraising songs or see national tv ads or billboard signs funded by "Save the Prairie." So, here are some highlights of the article with stunning maps of how mu...

Not My Birthday

But it's my mom's, a big one that I'm sure she'd rather just ignore for a myriad of reasons this year. But seeing as she planted a seed 'o' nature in me--or it's at least convenient to think so--this blog post will honor her. Really, I think when my parents moved us up to Minnesota is when nature opened up to me, especially as I was on the edge of my teenager moody years. My solitary nature, penchant for introspection, and USDA hardiness zone four's distinct seasons collided and turned me int...

An Absence of Prairie

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Life Returns to the (Dry) Autumn Garden

Yes it's been a long, hot summer, and I'm just now getting out into the garden as nighttime temps reach into the low 40s. Dividing plants, moving seedlings, setting up pots for winter sowing. The garden is coming to life though as the temps cool--hoards of insects, masses of blooms (I do garden for fall). I love fall. The different blooms remind me of family and specific memories--for instance, the scent of zigzag goldenrod is my grandmother's perfume. I wish I could bottle the goldenrod, the...

Do You Have Any Butterflies?

I remember last spring, which feels like last week, when a million red admirals and sulphurs descended on my blooming ninebarks. Then the two weeks of spring we had ended abruptly when it was 90-105 every day for a good two months, with 0.7" of rain since mid June. I haven't spent much time in the garden this summer because I'm a fairly heat-sensitive guy. But I've seen very very very few butterflies this year and perhaps 50% of the normal amount of insects. Right now certain species of joe p...