Planning a Nature Garden

resources to help you plan all kinds of nature [...]

Red Berries You Don’t Want!

Lonicera maackii by D. E. Herman

Here is a shrub with red berries you DON’T want in your garden or nature area. Looks pretty, don’t it?

What Is That Shrub With Red Berries?

Maybe you recognize the photo as Amur Honeysuckle, or Loniceri maackii. On the other hand you might be like me and have a hard [...]

Beautiful Fall Berries - Kansas Natives

Fall is the perfect time for Mother Nature to show off her beauty in our nature gardens, fields, and woods. The dogwood trees in my neighborhood are sporting red leaves and beautiful, shiny, red berries.

Dogwood Tree – Cornus florida by Fuzzy Gerdes

Flowering dogwood Cornus florida is an attractive small tree with white spring flowers [...]

The Cost of Prairie Restoration

Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) by earlycj5

Most of Kansas was once covered in prairie. Only 4% of North America’s original prairie remains today, with 80% of that in Kansas (1). But what of the costs of prairie restoration? How is prairie brought back, assuming we want to? Let’s look at an example of Kansas prairie [...]

Natives vs Invasives

This is the natives vs invasives debate, or maybe the flower gardeners vs conservationists debate! Should you be allowed to plant whatever you like in your own garden? Are plants on sale at garden centers and in home gardens causing a problem with invasive plants? Back in July a hot debate was raging over at [...]