Ecosystem Gardening Best of the Web #11

Our weekly feature continues with the most fascinating, informational, best-written (or anything else that grabbed my attention) items I discovered around the web this week. There are so many great articles and web sites hiding amidst the clutter. If you’ve seen something great this week, please share it with the rest of us.

The National Wildlife Federation has published a great tool to help you find nature activities to get your family outside and enjoying the natural world. Just enter your zip code and what kind of activity (biking, hiking, fishing, etc) you’re looking for and this neat tool will find activities and events near you, such as Audubon events, NWF happenings, and events at National Parks, City Parks, nature centers, and more. Follow them on twitter @NWF

Want to win a brand spanking new 32gb ipod touch? How about a wonderful app for finding the best trees and shrubs? Botany Buddy is running a contest that ends soon, so enter right away. While there, read some great native tree articles. @botanybuddy

Doug Tallamy, author of Bringing Nature Home, has launched a new website promoting the book and listing upcoming speaking events. There’s lots of great information there. Be sure to check it out. If he’s speaking near where you live, by all means go. Your outlook on gardening will never be the same. Also, Part 3 of Doug Tallamy’s Timber Press interview is now live.

What to do with used coffee grounds? Add them to your garden of course! Robin Shreeves has some great ideas to keep them out of landfills and use coffee grounds in your garden. Follow on twitter @rshreeves

If you’re one of our neighbors to the north, here’s a great resource for Ecosystem Gardeners. Ben Porchuk’s Landscape Native has a lot of great information.

Sustainablog has a great article about Why Organic Fertilizers are not the solution to the Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone. So many people thing that “organic” means “good” Find out why that may not be true.

How about Monarch butterflies in space? It’s true. NASA is sending some monarchs along for a ride on the next space shuttle. Thanks to @klsnature for sharing this odd science item!

See the best native plants for fall color, by Karan Davis Cutler at CSM. She’s got quite a selection for you to choose from.

Now for what else I did this week:

That’s it. It’s time to go out and play in your garden! Before you go, would love to hear your thoughts on any of this week’s best of the web. Did I miss any?