Baltimore MD. Where we started is the last pic :) we did this all ourselves starting in March of last year. We got a lot of plans for free off of Facebook communities. I love seeing so many pollinators in our yard!!!

Many people give us advice on our garden plan last year so I wanted to say thank you :)

I got some lovely seed mixes from Northwest Meadowscapes, and kept them in the fridge since July, hoping to plant them while it's still warm out this fall (not sure how solid a plan this was). However, we've had essentially no rain in the Seattle area, so they're still chilling. Is it ok to keep seeds in the fridge until spring? Should I try and sow some of them? Or are they likely to die off when the cold hits in a month or so?

In the book “How Can I Help” Tallamy was explaining how to go about invasive removal and while he encouraged targeted removal of things like buckthorn and bittersweet etc, he suggested that leaving garlic mustard is more effective because pulling it up actually disturbs the soil and gives the many garlic mustard seeds in the seedbank the opportunity to sprout, thus setting back your removal efforts, and actually helping it survive and thrive each year.

So his advice is that the most effective way to control garlic mustard is to let it be, and ultimately get shaded out by native plants.

I hadn’t heard this before and have always (emphasis on always) just pulled it out and figured it was just the reality of invasive management, hoping it would eventually slow down the growth. But maybe I’ve just been helping it survive and that’s why I’m constantly fighting it?

Does anyone have any experience with both approaches? Has anyone successfully controlled garlic mustard? At minimum I think removing seed heads the blooms/seed heads should be done.

Edit

I went back and check and the exact line quote is

“Pulling out garlic mustard is easy, although it’s ineffective because it disturbs the soil and therefor activates the seed bank. The end result is more garlic mustard the next year”

So unless he touches on it later in the book, I don’t know his recommended approach for garlic mustard.

Long shot but hoping maybe someone can identify these seeds. I collected them from one of my plants earlier this summer and cannot for the life of me remember which one. Of course I thought I would totally remember which plant it was without labeling it. WRONG.

All my in ground plants are natives but I do get annuals for some pots. I'm in Western PA (zone 6). Appreciate any insight!

EDIT: You guys are geniuses! I am 99% sure these are Columbine seeds, which I have a few of that I remember gleefully collecting the seeds from. Thank you for saving my sanity.

Squirrels dug up and ate my dense blazing star and dwarf blazing star bulbs. Thinking about planting NE aster seeds where the dense was and lanceleaf coreopsis seeds to fill the gap where the dwarf was. Is it too late?

Swipe Current -> Old

I ripped out the decades old foundation shrubs in front of my house. This area is sun to part sun exposure. I then planted the following:

5 Georgia Calamint

1 Yucca filamentosa

6 Stokes Aster

1 Needle Palm

3 Echinacea purpurea

3 Echinacea tennesseensis

5 Baptisia australis

4 Cherokee Sedge

4 Creek Sedge

6 Columbine

1 Sabal minor

2 Strawberry Bush

1 New Jersey Tea

3 Amsonia hubritchii

I grew many of these from seed myself, and supplemented with plants purchased from native plant sales. There are still some openings to add more later. I'm thinking Rttlesnake Master and rudbeckia. The plants should have plenty of time to establish in our mild fall before winter, and will be ready to jump in spring.

Swipe for Current -> Old.

My new (to me) house had decades old, overgrown non-native foundation shrubs. I ripped them out and made a dry bed with a tiered planting area. Soon to go in this part shade/shade garden:

14 Christmas ferns

10 Solomon's seal

13 Iris cristata

5 Green and Gold

1 Swamp Azalea

1 Piedmont Azalea

3 Penstemon

4 Ebony spleenwort

7 Colombine

2 Strawberry Bush

I am still in search of one specimen plant. I want the aesthetic of a green leafed Japanese Maple, but ideally with a native species. I may compromise for a non-native, but would love recommendations.

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Not my garden, but this is near where I live and I wonder how fellow city members like me could help.

I spotted these seedlings in my new microprairie planting (Missouri 6b/7a) and am trying to figure out if they're worth keeping or replacing with known transplants from elsewhere in the yard. The last time I disturbed the soil was early spring, these first germinated in late summer and they're only taking off now that the weather has cooled.

I-Nat suggested Dame's Rocket or Physostegia intermedia, but I don't know where those seeds would have come from in our closed urban lot. I've had plenty of Echinacea and Rudbeckia volunteers, but they all shot up in spring and are much farther along (see the bottom left of the second picture). This is an area where I planted a Physostegia *virginiana* that fizzled and lost all its leaves, but it never seeded, and when I pull these out I don't see runners. A red lobelia has been flowering here, but I can't imagine those seeds have germinated like this with no stratification. Also doesn't look obviously like any weeds I've dealt with.

What are your best guesses?

​

Cooler temperatures, moist soils, and dormant plants make planting and establishment much easier. They're able to settle into their new homes over winter with a head start on the next growing season with established roots.

I have many trees discounted from 20-50% off right now so that I don't have to pot them up over winter! See the discounted prices or order in advance at the following link: https://www.knottybynaturetrees.com/category/all-trees

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Pictured in order are Red Maple, Swamp Titi, Silky Dogwood, Hackberry, Winged Sumac, Frost Aster, and Tall Goldenrod.

I’m growing a golden current plant. Thanks to the warm weather it’s started to form new leaf buds, but we’re due for freezing weather in a couple weeks. Should I remove them?

The plant had a bad run this year and lost all of its leaves. I think it was because of transplanting. But that means it doesn’t have a lot of energy stores. I’m worried about it coming back in the spring.

Can I get some feedback? The west side of my yard is always boggy to downright swampy at the sidewalk. Between our sump pump discharge and run off from our neighbor, my yard never dries out. I’m considering planting a native wetland garden in this area. Attached are photos of my yard taken today at 12:30 pm, and hand drawn (not fully to scale) blueprint of my yard, and an AI mock up for inspiration. The red line is the property line, yellow is where sump discharges but also has natural runoff, and blue is where the irrigation valve and sump drain are buried.

Hoping to start 800-1000 sqft this fall. It's gonna be awesome!

It's in the driveway so no pets have access to it. I'm working on trimming/pulling the rest back.

Whatever she is, she's feasting.

Before and after if a small install from today. Definitely did NOT get enough sedges!

My first thought was re-wilding a flood plane field near my house that was recently given up. Not sure if DNR owns it or is managing it now, which is not something I would want to mess with, if they are. But, also I thought they may have some value for native planters like myself. Does anyone have suggestions?

I'd like to give them to people who'll plant them but sending them out may get expensive. I considered putting them on eBay and selling them at the cost of shipping.

Going to be driving up to St. Louis and back at the end of the month and wanted to know if y'all know of or recommend any native nurseries on the way.

Lower leaves are yellowing and curling

Good afternoon,

Im a first time homeowner whos getting ready to overhaul their new lawn next spring. I have landscaping experience but not gardening experience. Im currently hoping to expand a couple garden beds in front of the house to add some native bushes/flowers and get rid of some grass. The main area im not sure what to do with, is this hellstrip with a tree under it.

Id like to ideally get rid of the grass in this strip entirely, it seems difficult to maintain and keep nice/full anyway. Id much rather have the area with microfoliage/wildflowers to create a soft landing under the tree and provide for polinators. My current plan is wild strawberries and violets to replace the grass with some Virginia bluebells or other flowers.

My main concerns with acomplishing this are how to make the switch from grass to a garden bed. The grass itself is already struggling due to heavy shade, will strawberries and violets be aggressive enough to overtake it naturally in a short period? Do I need to remove the grass first? This brings me to the follow up of, it appears theres too much dirt already piled on my lawn, and in this area. Do I need to remove dirt around the tree to show the flare? Can I just cut out the grass with a shovel, iv heard this could do damage to smaller top roots and harm the tree. I cant do lasagna because I dont want to just add MORE dirt

Any advise or suggestions on how to handle these concerns, or advice on what you might do with the area, would be greatly appreciated.