Your home outside the city limits.
Who doesn’t love wildflowers? Viewing or even imagining a natural area with an abundance of wildflowers in various shapes, colors and forms is a pleasing activity for most people. But do we ever stop to think about what a wildflower actually is? In the simplest sense, a wildflower is just that—a flower that is wild,... Continue Reading →
It’s finally summer, time to enjoy the great outdoors, but how do we get kids outdoors when there are so many distractions? As adults we recognize the therapeutic quality of unstructured time spent in nature but that’s not a convincing argument to a kid on summer break who would rather be playing video games. This... Continue Reading →
If you want to learn how to garden, plants are the best teachers and the best way to start is to just go ahead and plant. Choose your space carefully, you will want to plant it where you will visit often and where you will enjoy working. Observation throughout the year is a good way... Continue Reading →
Justin Evertson PHOTO: Native Juneberry bears blueberry-like fruits in June that are a favorite of birds as well as humans. With native habitats shrinking, our home landscapes are increasingly important for sustaining wildlife, including birds, amphibians, pollinators and other beneficial insects. In terms of year-round value, the backbone of wildlife habitat is our native... Continue Reading →
In early winter, pollinators are often the last thing we expect to see in the landscape. But as the days start to warm our native bees and moths come out and stretch their wings. On days over 40°F many species of bees, moths and wasps emerge from their winter homes ready to forage. Flowers can... Continue Reading →
“Is there any garden that doesn’t cast a backward glance, gather meaning to itself by allusion to the places in our past” Michael Pollan January is a time for a glance back. Colder weather, the end of holiday busyness and a lull in home and work activities offer time for reflection. It can be useful... Continue Reading →
Justin Evertson, Nebraska Statewide Arboretum Although most conifer trees are considered to be evergreens, all of their needles eventually fall just like deciduous trees. What makes them evergreen is that their leaves/needles persist more than one year before falling. Since new needles are added every year, there is always an overlap between green needles... Continue Reading →
When discussing beneficial critters, it’s easy to forget about the ones we don’t see, especially those below ground. Yet the soil is where it all starts, so they deserve recognition and admiration too. From cycling and retaining nutrients to improving structure, suppressing disease and moving and holding water, air and carbon, soil fauna do an... Continue Reading →
