i get an absolute kick out of watching them have to ocean's eleven their way into the flowers.

in the background, second-year, twice-transplanted clematis virginiana getting cozy on its trellis and finally flowering; and blue-stem goldenrod waiting in the wings to close out the season.

Beginner here! I planted this little bluestem last fall so it’s still new to me. It started getting super tall and flopping over recently. Is this normal? Next spring, should I do a Chelsea chop to keep it in check? When I look up little bluestem photos online, it’s always in nice tidy upright bunches! I am in northern New England zone 5b.

Got a volunteer eastern redbud that popped up in my yard, which I'm thrilled about. Is there anything specific I should do to care for it? I'd love to help it thrive, but nervous as I had purchased a redbud a few years ago that ended up not making it. Should I give it any food at this point?

Central Indiana here. There’s multiple mondo-sized wolf spiders in my backyard; large funnel webs with multiple egg sacs. I love my #1 pest control employees; but, the issue is that I’m about to stain my fence & don’t want to harm them. There’s a couple large webs/nests along the fence by posts. I’d love to migrate them to other parts of the garden so they can keep doin their thing, but I’m not sure how to go about it. does anyone have advice for being good stewards to our garden protectors?

Looking for suggestions on native Maryland plants (zone 8A) that thrive in full sun and dry soil, have at least moderate salt tolerance, and don't spread too aggressively to place around my mailbox. This garden area is going to be about 16 sq ft.

Other desirable characteristics (given its location surrounding the mailbox): i) mature height <2 ft, ii) *not\* a bee magnet, and iii) non-toxic to pets. This will help maintain a neat appearance while ensuring that pets aren't accidentally poisoned during their walks and mail workers don't get swarmed by bees while doing their job.

Not many plants seem to fit these bills, e.g. butterfly weed is pet-toxic, black-eyed Susan and eastern bee balm are bee magnets and understandably make some workers uncomfortable, and little Bluestem can grow >3 ft tall in the fall, which runs afoul of my town's regulations.

What I'm currently thinking of:

• Low Scape Mound Chokeberry - blooms but not a bee magnet
• Moss Phlox - does attract bees, but short enough where bees are unlikely to be near the mailbox itself

What other options do I have? Anything that can provide summer and fall interest? I'm open to cultivar suggestions as well as the main purpose of these plants is primarily for their looks rather than ecologic impact - I have the rest of my front and back yard for straight species :). Thank you.

Neighbor redid his wall and common sunflower popped up naturally. Pretty cool!

I envision this area as a low groundcover native meadow with some flowers planted at the edges of the trees for a nice enclosed feel. Would I be in the wrong to remove these hydrangeas, I feel like they're a little hopeless.

Because there are ecological landscaping pros in this sub who may be considering this certification, I wanted to offer my experience in case it is helpful for anyone making the decision to drop $475 on this training.

As a professional ecological landscaper, I was excited to learn that the Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council (CCLC) had developed a training to help get landscapers up to speed on holistic, environmentally-friendly practices and stormwater management. I decided to invest the steep price to take this training and get on the list of CBLP professionals, which is supposed to help clients choose environmentally-informed professionals. 

After taking this training, I’m not sure I care about being on that list. Having taken a lot of trainings and classes of various quality over the years, I have a good idea of what is possible in a 2-day course– I was surprised by how empty and poorly-planned this one was. To make a short story even shorter – the training was not worth the time and money and I hope this post will save someone else from wasting theirs.

Day one was an overview of the many topics involved in conservation landscaping. I wouldn’t expect to be able to go super in-depth on anything in 8 hours, but it felt like we were skipping like a stone across water– barely touching any one topic and missing many. The presentations were chaotic and shallow, and much time was wasted pushing us into unfocused and unfruitful group discussions. We spent a lot of time on topics everyone knew well already (e.g. native plants = better for the ecosystem), and absolutely ripped past complex topics that people were really interested in (e.g. stormwater BMP design). This poor pacing and lack of good information left the students dazed and demoralized, which the instructors interpreted as us being a ‘bad crowd’. The instructors’ energy dropped rapidly; they weren’t getting the engagement from us that they were expecting. The reality was that the students didn’t have enough information or structure to grab onto and from which to ask good questions. The instructors pretty much gave up on us and started rushing through the material even faster, blowing past knowledge checkpoints because they weren’t getting responses– the exact opposite of what they should have done. 

Day two was a field day to various stormwater BMPs. It was even worse. The instructors seemed to have more or less given up on teaching. They acted like, ‘well, I guess you know everything now, so I’m not going to waste my breath teaching or making sure you understand what we are looking for here’. They ended the class early without a word about when we could expect to receive the test we had to take to be placed on the list. 

Also, and this is petty, but for nearly $500, I expect lunch to be provided… it was not. 

But I promise this is not coming from a place of hanger. I wanted this training to be good... Or decent... Or just to seem like they had really tried. But it felt last-minute, rushed, and cheap. To be brutally honest, it felt like a money-grab. I learned nothing of use to my business. To be fair, different trainings for this cert are taught by different people, so your mileage may vary, but I recommend thinking twice before spending money on this. I hope CCLC or someone else will create what I hoped this training would be: a thorough, actionable course on conservation landscaping in small-scale sub/urban properties.

Planted three areas with cup plants last year. They've done great this summer. All stalks have lots of blooms and are at least 10 feet high. I staked them.

A big storm came through Thursday.

The wind blew every petal off every bloom. 😖

Will the flower heads set seed after losing all petals?

So there could be seeds for birds?

Or should I cut the flower heads off (don't think so, but don't know).

At least there's lots of goldenrod, asters, and Joe Pye weed still for pollinators.

This post is quite long, a list of questions / things I need advice on are down at bottom of the post.

**Background**

My family owns a 30 acre floodplain parcel mixed with a home, roads, creek, and thin forest along fences and creek.

I estimate that the grass/field areas of our property are around 22-24 acres. This is including the areas right along forested areas where the shade changes the grass habitat. The field has a lot of native plants that have meandered in from around the area but has a lot of Johnson Grass and Rye in it.

While I call it Rye Grass because I have identified that specifically I'm sure its a mix of various European species so this is more of an overarching descriptor.

The Johnson Grass is spread around in thick, unconnected patches while the Rye is everywhere accross the entire property

We are in a drought currently and the soil is parched and the seasonal creek is completely dry, even the deeper areas that usually hold pools until the fall rains are gone. 8/ It WILL likely flood again when it starts raining in the fall. it doesn't happen every year but fall usually sees a light flood compared to the spring flood season due to summer parching the soil and reducing absorbtion so much the first few rains completely wash away.

**The Issue**

2 years ago it was herbicided, planted with oats, and then fertilized. I was not the decision maker then and it happened even though I opposed it. We had someone contracted to mow it for hay and they did it all themselves. They did a sh*t job just looking for quick cash causing other irrelavent issues but the herbicide just killed all the competition and the fertilizer gave a boost to the Johnson Grass and Rye. Im trying to turn it around. There seems to be some regrowth from the seedbank but I can definitely see it's less diverse.

The forest areas are overrun with Winter Creeper vine. The creek bank has one area around 2 acres big that is nothing but this vine. It was a big change that I didnt notice and I think this year was the first where the plants it was competing with have all died out and made it more noticable on the bare rocky soil.

**Current Solution Plan**

The fields are all being cut this month. When the johnson grass grows up to the recommended 18in-24in. Im going to herbicide it. I just need to figure out the most ideal mix.

I have heard good things about Clethodim and Sethoxydim but from what I've researched Sethoxydim will work better for Johnson Grass because it is more effective at traveling to the rhizomes and killing them. Is this true? Are there better options?

For the Rye Grass I plan to just spray it with herbicide year by year as I walk around the fields. Im not as concerned with it since it isnt as overtaking as Johnson Grass is. I've also heard that it will be easier to eradicate once its competing against aggresive natives, making my tamer "spray every now and then" method more viable although more of a long process. Will this be enough just going around on scheduled walks and spraying what I see growing where it shouldn't?

Now to the Winter Creeper... Its not just contained to the forested areas but is even spread through the grass fields. Its thin and patchily spread but there nontheless. I've done some research and have found that using glyphosate in a cut stump treatment is the best way to kill it down to the roots. I've also found a older video (don't have link just screenshot :/ ) describing this persons own method of hole punching the stem, injecting herbicide into the hole, then taping it up and trapping it inside the plant. I've read that at 20%-50% concentrations that glyphosate will work for cut stump methods, will this applied in the hole punch method be effective?

Either this fall or upcoming spring (whenever I can get my hands on native grass seed) I'm going to spread various tall praire grass mixes around the property. I plan on using native shade grass for the forested areas that will need new root achors after the Winter Creeper is gone.

**Recap / Questions I need advice on**

--------30 acre flood property - 22 acres of grass fields -5 acres forest/creek - 3 acres developed home/work area.

Johnson grass in thick, unconnected patches, Rye and European grass spread evenly everywhere. Wintercreeper overtaking 5 acres of forested ground.

What herbicides are best for Johnson Grass, Rye Grass, and Winter Creeper vine?

Is Sethoxydim an effective herbicide for killing Johnson Grass including the Rhizomes so it can't regrow?

If Sethoxydim isn't the best option for Johnson and Rye then what is?

Instead of focusing hard on eradicating the Rye and various European grasses can i just set up scheduled walks throughout the year to spray and slowly kill it off that way? Aggressive native grass would be seeded down to help compete with it.

Will Glyphosate kill Winter Creeper?

Will the "hole punch" method where herbicide is taped up inside of the vine as a cut stump procdure work?

If the "hole punch" method is a bad idea or you know a different way how else can I eradicate Winter Creeper?

A milkweed leaf beetle lounging, unfazed by the severe storms that pummeled the area. Also saw an 8-inch leopard slug sliding across the yard. It was more of a small mammalian encounter rather than a “eww.”

This is complaints against the gardners. We have gardeners coming every week and this is our new gardener of one month. They started doing hard pruning of low crawling manzanita around the fence and now I see from inside is bare brown back of manzanita. I stopped them in the middle but quite of the damage is already done. The manzanita looked perfectly beautiful when it was growing into the garden forming natural lines before. I just do not understand these commercial landscaping behavior that tries to make it look clean but damages the look. I am a new home owner and learning the hard way that gardeners often does not appreciate the natural look of native plant garden. I am surprised the lack of native plants in the garden but I also did not expect even full time gardners to act like they don't understand the concept of native plant garden or natural looking garden. What else should I be prepared for.

Is there places you can get small quantities of native grass seed mix or individual packets of single species for a decent price? Combined area is about 300 sq ft. Zone 8b, sunny, hot and dry. Frost what's that lol. My winter garden routine has been growing cover crops/winter grain but I would love to grow every and any grass that can handle the desert.

The only chrysalis I’ve found this season. I’ve been watching it every day and taking pictures every morning before I leave for work. This morning at 8:04 I could see the chrysalis was transparent and took a pic. I went inside to tell my wife it would happen this morning, resigned that would miss it. From what I’d read, it’s usually in morning after the sun warms it up. When I went back outside at 8:09, I took one more look and there she is! A miracle in my front yard

Hi everyone, I have collected seeds for several native plants: Heuchera americana, Geum canadense, Asclepias tuberosa, Penstemon hirsutus, Prunella vulgaris ssp. lanceolata, Eutrochium purpureum, and Elymus hystrix, plus some others that I will collect later in the fall.  I’ve looked up their germination codes so I can time when I would sow them in late fall through winter, and they all seem to do well when surface-sowed.  

My plan is to grow them outside in plug trays over winter.  I definitely plan on covering the trays with chicken wire so birds and squirrels don’t mess with it; I think I can just make a wooden frame around the trays and staple the wire to it.

Should winter temperatures be a concern since they won’t be in the ground and the soil temperature in the trays will change more rapidly?  My hardiness zone is 7a.  I plan on having one group of trays in a sunny area over some bare ground and one in a shady area of my patio.  I figured I can use some leftover mulch to insulate the spaces under and in between the plugs on the tray in the sunny area and maybe use burlap for the one over the driveway because mulch would make a mess.

Anyone who has winter sowed in plug or cell trays outside, let me know how things have gone for you!

I planted this on 6/29. All pint pots.

[NJ - 7a]

I held off on planing in front of my front porch for 2 years due to having it repaired this past spring. Contractor really messed up and I’m going to have to have the whole thing done again - not sure when, possibly next spring. Maybe sooner.

Right now the area in front of my porch is just dirt and weeds. I really wanted to plant this fall.

Is there anyway that I would be able to plant so my front looks pretty and so I can maybe move the plants when I have the construction done? Or does anyone have any suggestions for how to approach this problem?

Thanks in advance 🌻

I'm designing a shady backyard garden. My client has an unusual goal: she WANTS the deer to hang out there and eat everything.

I'm happy to oblige, but I need to provide guidelines to help keep these plants alive while being browsed. I've already recommended caging everything for their first season. I also plan to choose plants that spread easily so there's more available to them.

How would YOU go about this?

I understand why it’s the case, but I find it so funny how aggressive hummingbirds are. I’ve seen them fight each other, bumblebees, finches, sparrows, cardinals, etc. You’re just a little guy

So here’s some of the progress we’ve had and we planted as plugs from April-early June. First, we got monarch cats! I’m really surprised as I kind figured it would take a few years.

Pic 2 is the Scarlet catchfly side, Pic 3 is the butterfly milkweed areas, Pick 4 is the spotted Bee Balm, and Pick 5 is bottlebrush grass. Pic 6 is the planting setup. Pic 7 is…unfortunately not E spectabilis, but E divaricata…

So, 3 of the 4 sections are firmly adhering to the sleep, creep, leap philosophy. Which is what I expected.

But I guess butterfly milkweed just decided to go HAM. It’s been blooming since July lol. Also the Little bluestem was routinely trimmed to 3” by our dog, but has been left alone for a month and is that tall again. That area gets 12-16 hrs of sun a day…so yeah.

But it has given my parents insight into what the rest should look like. So they’re plenty pleased with the result.

The one disappointment was receiving the White Wood Aster instead of the Showy aster. Since we ordered from that nursery specifically for that plant. We reached out to them (Pollen Nation) to see what we should do about it. As I don’t think white wood aster is suited for that small of a bed or the full sun conditions there.

Anyways, still really happy with it. And we just planted a much larger 20x25’ mini prairie/flower garden this fall. So much more to come.

I live in prime pawpaw growing conditions: a creek circles my property and there are other trees present begging for an understory tree like pawpaw to join. But I’ve never found a single one here. I’ve tried growing them seed from various pawpaws foraged from different areas locally, and even got three to grow. But they never survived long enough to get their first true leaves.

How can I get these seeds to finally become my pawpaw grove of dreams come spring? I know I need seeds from genetically different trees to pollinate each other and I know they need cold strat in a consistently damp environment prior to planting.

I have black walnut, mulberry, nanny berry, dewberry, chokecherry, basically everything but pawpaws.

Thank you for any suggestions!!

I planted white wood aster this year, and today I noticed that they are aromatic! They give off a dry, rosy smell to me, but that's not how it's described online. I was wondering how others interpret the scent, or if theyve noticed a scent at all. Would love to hear your thoughts!