| Baltimore Woods Plant Sale |
 | | Spiderwort (Tradescantia virginiana) |
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Just in time for spring planting, Baltimore Woods Nature Center is hosting a plant sale this Friday May 13 (BWNC members only) and Saturday May 14 10am - 3 pm (for the public). They'll be featuring native plants (as well as other plants). More info...TIP: When going to this or other plant sales, to the Regional Market, or to garden centers, bring your plant reference books and lists with you. It saves a lot of trouble later on, and you don't have to rely on vendors, who don't always know about native plants. Don Leopold's Native Plants of the Northeast is a handy reference to take along.
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| Do you have plants to donate to the Library Farm? |
 | | Fireworks goldenrod (Solidago rugosa 'Fireworks') |
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Cicero Public Library has started a Library Farm. They have an edible garden, and now they're planting a habitat pollinator garden, too! ( Here's their photostream...) NEEDED: Native plants!If you have any of the following plants to donate, please email Lora VanDenBerghe at loraev@byu.net. - Moss pink
(Phlox subulata) - Oswego tea/bergamot
(Monarda didyma) - Purple coneflower
(Echinacea purpurea) - New England aster
(Aster novae-angliae) - Swamp milkweed
(Asclepias incarnata) - "Fireworks" goldenrod
(Solidago rugosa) - Golden ragwort
(Senecio aureus)
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| Zoo Crew for Habitat Garden upkeep |
 | | Flora for Fauna garden at the zoo |
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The zoo's habitat
garden has increasingly provided habitat for wildlife over the last few years as the plantings have matured, but unless it's maintained its future is uncertain.
Habitat gardeners to the rescue! Not only is this the ideal service project for habitat gardeners, but it's a wonderful learning opportunity for anyone volunteering. What better way to learn about plants in all stages of growth than to work alongside more knowledgeable gardeners? Soon, you'll be one of those knowledgeable gardeners, too. (And besides contributing service and gaining knowledge, this is also an excellent way to get to know some other people with similar interests.)
Any help is appreciated, but what Flora for Fauna really needs is a core group who can be relied upon to (usually) show up once a week for about 2 hours.
If you're interested, contact Kate Woodle.
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Join HGCNY!
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Becoming an official member of HGCNY is easy: just join Wild Ones! When you're a Wild Ones member, you're automatically an official member of HGCNY. |
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Greetings!
 | Honeybee pollinating beach plum (Prunus maritima)
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Now that winter appears to FINALLY be over, we're looking forward to our annual garden tours. We have some educational and inspirational tours scheduled for this summer, along with some expert commentators.
Stay tuned!
Moving to larger quarters this fall
Sadly, we've decided to move to larger quarters. We've very much enjoyed the hospitality of Le Moyne College Library's Special Activities room for the past few years. A big thank you to Beth Mitchell for arranging this for us for the past few years!
The good news is that our growing attendance is the reason for the move. We'll be returning to Liverpool Library in September. This is a much larger facility, conveniently located for most people in the area, and very well-equipped with needed technology. And Liverpool Library, like Le Moyne College Library, has a friendly bustling atmosphere that always feels good to be part of. (And our whole county's library system is an important part of what keeps our society vibrant!)
Habitat gardening presentations
Pollinators: This Saturday May14th at 10:30, I'll have a presentation on Pollinators at the Edible Gardening CNY monthly meeting. Free and open to the public. Location: Cicero Public Library at 8686 Knowledge Lane off Route 11, north of Route 31.
Habitat Gardening for Life: I'll give a presentation at the Fulton Public Library on Wednesday May 25 at 5:30.
Janet |
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Moss in lawns
 | | Moss |
One of the most common questions people have about lawns is how to get rid of moss. A common myth is that moss is killing the grass. The truth is that the moss is growing where grass cannot.
As Paul Tukey says, "I've learned to love moss even on lawns in the past 15 years. It never needs mowing, watering or fertilizing. The moss-covered area of my property abutting the north side of the house facing the forest never, ever needs attention, except for the occasional branch that blows down. Why on earth would I want grass to grow there that I would only have to mow?"
Read his complete post, which includes environmentally-safe ways to change the conditions so moss won't grow (if you still think you need to).
Moss lawns
Another perspective is to actively create a moss lawn or moss garden. This kind of lawn/garden is beautiful if you're lucky enough to have the right conditions for creating one.
For more info:
Moss makes a lush, no-care lawn
Martha Stewart video
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"Save the Rain" urban forestry
Onondaga County and the City of Syracuse will be planting 8,500 trees in neighborhoods throughout Syracuse. Tree plantings are an important aspect of the "STR" program because they absorb rain water and reduce the potential of run-off to the sewer system. Trees naturally soak up storm water and use the precipitation to feed their root systems.
Here's information about how to request a tree be planted on your property (if your property qualifies).
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Open your garden to pollinator refugees
 | | Bumblebee and scarlet runner bean |
...it is the gardeners of the world who can open their gardens to the pollinator refugees, who can provide temporary or permanent shelter until humans refine our outlook on the natural world.
By actively sheltering pollinators, we gardeners remind ourselves that we have the power to positively overcome some of humankind's more destructive tendencies.
Additionally, our gardens provide a teaching laboratory for young children to connect with an ever-vanishing natural environment.
Our gardens might provide a network of urban and suburban biological corridors that link more protected sites and allow pollinators to move freely from one natural area via our gardens to other natural areas.
And finally, all lofty, Earth-saving notions aside, you might wish to encourage pollinators in your gardens simply because they are more interesting than any television show you can imagine.
~ Eric Grissell, from Insects and Gardens: In Pursuit of a Garden Ecology
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What butterfly is that?
 | | American lady laying an egg on its host plant pussytoes (Antennaria) |
Butterflies are returning to habitat gardens! This American lady butterfly already has been busy laying eggs on its host plant, pussytoes (Antennaria).
Chances are, unless you're a butterfly expert, you'll have some butterfly visitors that you can't identify or that you just would like to know more about.
Butterflies and Moths of North America is a very useful web-based resource for identifying and learning more about butterflies. It's hosted by Montana University and has other partners such as the US Geological Survey.
Here's a list of butterflies and moths verified as seen in Onondaga County generated from the BAMONA website. It's useful to know what butterflies to expect when you're selecting possible host plants since it's not worth planting host plants for butterflies that never venture into Central New York.
The website has compiled identification tools such as this one from Discover Life.
They invite anyone to submit photographs to help build a comprehensive database. |
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For the shady garden: Ostrich fern
 | | Ostrich fern |
Shade can seem like a challenge, but, just as for very wet areas, it's really an opportunity to choose some beautiful plants that thrive in special conditions.
More than hosta
Hosta is everyone's first thought when it comes to shade, but ferns are even more beautiful and are part of our Central New York heritage.
The ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris var. pensylvanica) - pronounced mat-TOO-chee-ah - is a good choice if you want a tall-ish plant since it grows 3-4 feet high. William Cullina in his book Native Ferns Moss & Grasses suggests that it can be a good plant for growing along the foundation of the house. Since it likes lime, it benefits from the lime leaching from the foundation, and it isn't harmed by snow falling on it from the roof.
Ostrich ferns send out daughter plants, so you can start with a few plants and gradually create a whole patch of beautiful green foliage that will be refreshing to see.
These easy-to-grow plants thrive in part-sun as well as in the shade. |
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State of the Birds 2011
This newly-released State of the Birds report used eBird data (thank you, citizen scientists!) to help determine the distribution of birds on public lands and waters. The findings: More than one-third of land and all oceans in the U.S. are owned by the American people, yet until now the importance of these public lands and waters to our nation's birds had not been quantified. For the first time, eBird data revealed that public lands support more than half of the U.S. distribution of more than 300 bird species! The report shows the tremendous importance of public lands for bird conservation and identifies the most important opportunities for public land agencies. The website includes distribution maps of some species in the Eastern Forests as well as other information. An excerpt from the report: Eastern Forests Need Greater Protections from Development Public lands in the East are often the largest blocks of remaining forest in rapidly developing urban landscapes. Expanding the network of protected lands is important for bird populations. National Parks, National Forests, and state-owned forests support core populations of eastern birds. Improved management is key for declining species that require young forests. |
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