… My 2-year-old son is a little too young to carve or paint his own pumpkin this year, so creating a “pump-cano” was the perfect fall fun activity for him. This is an entertaining and simple activity for children of all ages and a great way to extend … or other design if you like. Place the pumpkin on a tray or protected surface because this is going to get messy. Pour about ½ cup of baking soda inside the pumpkin. Squirt some dish soap …
Type: Blog
… arrival, one can’t help but daydream about greener pastures, or in my case, lawns. Now is the time for spring lawn maintenance. The main purpose of spring lawn care is to get the turf through the summer months. Cool-season grasses such as Kentucky bluegrass, … metal leaf rake, go through your lawn and rake up any trash, debris, and fallen branches. This is a good time to assess your lawn to see if there has been any damage from the long winter …
Type: Blog
… So we asked some of them: What plant would you most like to see in the wild? The common thread is that there is no common thread. These are not your garden-variety plant lovers. These are people who … related to giant sequoia. In our Elizabeth Hubert Malott Japanese Garden, the Shoin House is mostly built of sugi, which is traditional for this kind of structure, but rather unique in …
Type: Blog
… One of the most recognized lines from Shakespeare is the following: “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” You would have to read Hamlet to get the backstory, but one thing I know as an ecologist, is that we would be in a lot of trouble if there wasn’t a whole lot of rot going on all over the …
Type: Blog
… struggle. They suspect the problem may be solved through soil science. The health of a forest is rooted in soil and the diverse fungi living within it, according to researchers at the Chicago … lead to the deforestation of native natural areas. Research collaborators tour a study site in China. “There has been a lot of deforestation in China and so there is interest in knowing how best to do reforestation, whether we’re using native plants or …
Type: Blog
… Pondering the Prairie Series Life in the prairie in the middle of winter is fairly uneventful; at least for humans who focus primarily on life above ground. Perhaps now is a good time to reflect on the diversity of life in a prairie below ground. All one has to do is drive across the Midwest and view the unending and, to many, boring, miles of corn and soybean …
Type: Blog
… able to handle these growing threats (we refer to them as “native winners”). The ultimate goal is to help make restoration of these plants and habitats as effective as possible in order to … areas that support wildlife and pollinators, and help keep our air and water clean. This is no small task. The invasive species that the native plants are up against are very impressive. For example, Russian knapweed is allelopathic (prevents other plants from growing nearby), and it has roots that can grow more …
Type: Blog
… questions, since they are on the cutting edge of scientific understanding. One such question is: “What are those specs of gold on the monarch butterflies?” The short answer is “Nobody knows!” But there are a few interesting theories. Lepidopterists approach strange … they are very vulnerable to predators like birds, since they can’t move. Their only defense is to display colors and patterns that either signal poison or blend into the environment. That …
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… . Amended terra preta soils created long ago still cover 10 percent of the Amazon Basin. It is important to understand that “slash and char” is different than “slash and burn,” which has many negative environmental implications, like … study showed improvement in plant disease resistance when biochar was used. So what exactly is modern-day biochar? Biochar is similar to charcoal, except that it is formulated specifically …
Type: Blog
… you just can’t wait for that first day when you lose the covers and open the windows. It is that breath of fresh air that tells us summer is just around the corner. Roses under a warm winter blanket of mulch. Our Krasberg Rose Garden is ready for its breath of fresh air, too. All winter, many of our roses have been under their …
Type: Blog
