Create Wildlife Habitat. Protect the Environment
Several weeks ago, my friend Stacey Cornelius and I were having a discussion on twitter about how we could control invasive plants if we just started eating them. We know that the top reasons that wildlife are declining are habitat loss due to human action and the spread of invasive plants. Humans are really good [...]
Most people I know would find the statement that “Pizza is Great Bird Food” ridiculous. They would know that just because a bird is eating it doesn’t mean it’s good for them. And they would know that pizza has no real value for wildlife. And yet we see similar ridiculous statements about the value of [...]
We’ve been talking a lot about invasive plants due to a recent rash of research proclaiming that invasive plants are actually beneficial. This has given nurseries the idea that they can continue selling these plants with no responsibility for any damage to natural ecosystems because “the scientists gave them permission.” Some nurseries have even taken [...]
[Guest post by Debbie Roberts as part of the Most Hated Invasive Plants series] I have a confession to make. Almost two decades ago, when I was a first time homeowner and newbie gardener, I actually bought and planted Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii). Not only did I not know any better, I was encouraged to [...]
There’s a well-known strategy for getting attention online by causing controversy. You just say the most outlandish things that you can think of, whether or not you really agree with it, and whether or not it’s true, and people will come crawling out of the woodwork to defend their side of the argument. Each “side” [...]
I don’t think I can say “Happy” Invasive Species Awareness Week, because it’s not really such a happy thing to make people aware of, but it is Invasive Species Awareness Week, so I thought I’d bring it to your attention. We’ve been having quite a debate about invasive plants here at Ecosystem Gardening, and to [...]
I asked for your opinions last week about an article that proclaimed that invasive plants can have beneficial ecological impacts. And boy did you have opinions! Thank you for sharing them. The article was a study of Japanese Honeysuckle in areas of Pennsylvania in October. The short version is that these researchers concluded that since [...]
I’m about to dash off to the airport to speak at the Wildflower Preservation and Propagation Committee of McHenry County’s Natural Landscaping Seminar, but I came across a very troubling supposedly scientific article and I wanted to hear your thoughts about it. Ironically enough this post appeared the week prior to National Invasive Species Awareness [...]
[Guest post by Ursula Vernon] I have occasionally wondered why people are so protective of their invasives. I first noticed this when I was fighting silk trees—mimosa—which are a weed-tree down here in the Southeast, and I blogged about how awful the bloody things were and how I felt like I was fighting a really [...]
[Guest Post by Gail Eichelberger. This post originally appeared at Beautiful Wildlife Garden] Bush honeysuckle has been my gardening nemesis since I decided to let my suburban yard revert to the oak/hickory forest that was here 60 years ago. Our back yard was filled with tall canopy trees, what passed for lawn and a small [...]
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