Once roaming open fields and forests and controlled by natural predators, deer now must make their home near housing developments, office parks, and shopping malls, and their populations are growing. Little wonder then that they treat our gardens like buffet bars. Thoughtful plant choices, fences, dogs, and repellents help to keep deer at bay. Read Deer Deterrents That Work
Plants & Gardens Blog
Pollinators and Birds
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Pollinators and BirdsSustainable Gardening
Deer Deterrents That Work
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Garden DesignPollinators and BirdsNative FloraPlant Choices
Rain Garden Plants
The following are some native plants suitable for rain gardens, listed by region. They are also attractive to butterflies, birds, and other wildlife. Be sure to choose species appropriate for the degree of sun or shade on the site. Read Rain Garden Plants
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Pollinators and BirdsSustainable Gardening
Inviting Caterpillars Into Your Garden
Early naturalists believed that caterpillars and butterflies were separate, unrelated insects. How surprised they would have been by the notion of gardening to attract caterpillars! Yet, to further the cause of butterflies, providing host plants that feed the caterpillars is as important as filling flower beds with bright, nectar-rich blooms that provide nourishment for the adults. Read Inviting Caterpillars Into Your Garden
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Pollinators and BirdsSustainable Gardening
Deer-Resistant Plants: Shrubs and Trees for the Deer-Plagued Gardener
Over the past few decades, plant damage caused by deer has risen to alarming levels in North American rural and suburban gardens. Read Deer-Resistant Plants: Shrubs and Trees for the Deer-Plagued Gardener
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Pollinators and BirdsPlant Choices
Columbines—Elegant Flowers Spurred to Greatness
When folks hear the word "spur," many of them invariably think of cowpokes in the Old West and the jangling metal boot contraptions they wore to urge on their horses. For us plant lovers, however, the word can conjure up something a little more serene. We can think, for instance, of the architecture of a columbine flower, with its distinctive spurs curling outward like the necks of graceful birds in mid-flight. Read Columbines—Elegant Flowers Spurred to Greatness
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Garden DesignPollinators and Birds
Flora for Fauna
Transforming a garden into a wildlife refuge doesn't require a big cash prize; you can do the work gradually. Start by expanding your existing borders with flowers that butterflies, hummingbirds, bees, and other pollinators love. Read Flora for Fauna
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Pollinators and BirdsPlant Choices
Zinnias—If You Plant Them, Butterflies Will Come
These cheerful annuals are enjoying renewed popularity as more and more colorful, compact, and disease-resistant varieties appear on seed racks. Read Zinnias—If You Plant Them, Butterflies Will Come
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Pollinators and BirdsNative Flora
Milkweeds—Easing the Plight of the Monarch Butterfly
Modern agriculture has made much of the U.S. farm belt inhospitable to Monarchs. In the East, industrial, commercial, and residential land use is gradually effacing the habitat that supports them. This is where gardeners come in. We can make a big difference by growing the plants that are most important to the lifecycle of the Monarchs—milkweeds.
Read Milkweeds—Easing the Plight of the Monarch Butterfly -
Pollinators and BirdsNative Flora
Bumble Bees—The Essential, Indefatigable Pollinators
We live on a planet pollinated primarily by bees. Bees fertilize most of our favorite flowers, and pollinate a third of the plants we eat. They are also the exclusive pollinator of several rare and imperiled wildflowers, including native monkshoods and lady's tresses orchids. Without these essential insects, farm productivity would plummet and wildflowers would become extinct. In short, bumble bees and other bees are essential for our own well being and the survival of a good deal of the world's biodiversity. Read Bumble Bees—The Essential, Indefatigable Pollinators
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Pollinators and BirdsNative FloraPlant Choices
Cardinal Flower—Spectacular Scarlet Blossoms That Hummingbirds Adore
In the early fall, as you approach the edge of a woodland stream or the banks of a secluded pond, you may glimpse a flash of red. This spark of scarlet is from what may be the most brilliant of our native blossoms, the cardinal flower. Read Cardinal Flower—Spectacular Scarlet Blossoms That Hummingbirds Adore