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Upcoming HGCNY Programs and Events
Our meetings are free and open to the public. We meet in the Special Activity Room at Le Moyne
College's Falcone Library. Directions
April 25 at 10 am
Annual Garlic Mustard Pull at Baltimore Woods Directions (Feature article at bottom left...)  April 26 at 2:00 at Le Moyne College: How to Grow Your
Very Own Amphibians and Reptiles by Jim D'Angelo, Director of Sterling Nature Center. He will explore the
snakes, turtles, frogs and salamanders of our area from a naturalist's
perspective. These sometimes creepy-critters are often an overlooked
but
vital part of our ecosystems. A few ideas on how to make your landscape
more attractive to them will also be discussed. Saturday May 23 Field Trip to Chaumont Barrens -Our field trip this year
is a guided tour of a unique natural area near Watertown, NY called Chaumont
Barrens. Several of our speakers this past season referred to this alvar
grassland (prairie) as an inspiring and beautiful example of a native
plant community. During our tour, we should see the rare Prairie Smoke in bloom,
as well as many other more familiar native plants such as blue phlox, bloodroot,
yellow ladyslipper and white cedar, along with the other creatures that live in
the community. For details and sign-up info ...Other talks and presentations of interest are noted on our meetings and events webpage ... |
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Track their journeys north
When will you see your first hummingbird? Your first monarch butterfly? You can keep track of their journeys north by visiting Journey North. This is a great web resource, by the way, for teachers to engage students in doing science and thinking like a scientist!
You can also track hummingbird migration and learn more about hummingbirds at Hummingbirds.net.
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Growing milkweeds for monarchs
A number of HGCNYers are growing milkweeds from seed to donate to Baltimore Woods' plant sale on Saturday May 16. This benefits not only our local nature center, but also monarch butterflies. Milkweed is the only food the monarch caterpillar can eat, but due to a number of factors, there's much less milkweed than in the past. If the monarch butterfly is to survive, we have to make an effort to plant milkweed! To grow from seed, cold stratify We experimented with various ways of starting milkweed seeds, and we found that to be successful, it's important to cold stratify the seed. It sounds complicated, but it simply means that you store the seed in a damp paper towel in the refrigerator for 3-6 weeks before planting. Divide to multiply Another way to increase your supply of swamp milkweed ( Asclepias incarnata) plants is to divide them. (Don't try this with butterfly weed ( A. tuberosa) because it has a taproot.) Dig out milkweeds that have more than one stalk and and gently tease apart the roots. Voila! Instead of one plant you now have three! A REMINDER: Don't give up on your milkweed plants too soon. They tend to emerge from the soil a bit later than other plants. One way to remember where they are is to leave a few inches of the stalk from last year as a marker. |
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How to have Less Lawn this year
What a waste lawn is! It not only is a biological desert for wildlife, but the typical "industrial lawn" requires high inputs of fossil-fuel fertilizers and pesticides - not to mention our time. It generates air and water pollution, contributes to global warming, and makes what could be a relaxing weekend a continual cacophony of lawn mower noise throughout the neighborhood. (See the excellent book Redesigning the American Lawn by Bormann for fascinating details about the Industrial Lawn - available in the our library system.)
But what to do instead? Obviously, a habitat garden! But to get from here to there, the website LessLawn.com has lots of practical information. Most of us can't convert our whole landscape in one season, but this website will help you take your first steps this year. |
Bringing Nature Home
Now updated and expanded
Bringing Nature Home by Douglas Tallamy explains why native plants are so important. The book has become very popular - so popular that a new expanded edition is available in paperback and now even more affordable. (The original version is in our public library system.)
Highly recommended!
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Native Plants in the Landscape conference
One of the oldest native plant conferences, this conference taking place at Millersville University (in Pennsylvania Dutch country) appeals to the home gardener as well as professionals.
If you're as excited about the book Bringing Nature Home as we are, you'll
especially appreciate the opportunity to hear the author Douglas Tallamy in his
third appearance at the conference. There are lots of other great speakers at
this conference. All in all, a stimulating, but relaxing, vacation.
If
you're interested in carpooling, email us and we can try to make connections. For the conference brochure and to register...
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