Native Plants and Wildlife Gardens
Healthy Gardens. Healthy Planet
Master Gardner Sue Sweeney, a life-long naturalist and gardener, specializes in non-chemical, minimally-disturbing conservation area restoration. She is a freelance nature photographer, and author of numerous articles on urban flora and fauna, chemical-free gardening, and similar subjects. A passionate environmentalist, Sue lives in a downtown high-rise, and does not own a car. Her indoor and balcony container garden has shrunk over the years, from a high point of around 500 plants, as her responsibility for Stamford-area conservation work has grown. Currently, she is Volunteer Head Steward of the Scalzi Riverwalk Nature Preserve near the heart of downtown Stamford CT and teaches conservation restoration to Master Gardeners Interns and other interested parties. See Restoring Native Connecticut for more information.
Stamford, CT Nothing speaks more of my childhood than slogging through hay fields on hot summer days in upstate New York. Grasshoppers jumping; clothes wet from spittle bugs; grass cuts stinging from sweat; the never-seen bob-o-links raising their voices… Today, trendy gardens, like the New York City High Line, are often meadows. In addition, there’s a strong ecological [...]
Stamford CT To continue the series on native plants in Southern Connecticut, this post covers native plants for shady woodland conditions. To have a balanced yard and garden, you need some shade and some sun. Sun is for vegetables, fruits, and meadow plants that need sun from 10AM to 4PM in the summer. Cooling shade, though, [...]
In Southern Connecticut, the breath-taking summer color is in the riparian buffer zones. Here, plants crowd each other for water and sun, creating a cheerful, lively mix that supports pollinators, amphibians, water fowl, and a whole host of other creatures. Further, the riparian buffers protect the waterways by filtering out pollutants before they get in [...]
Stamford CT There are a few native vines that get all the press. These are good choices for use as groundcovers and as “drapes” for walls, fences, arbors, and trellises. The good news is that there are several more excellent choices for the garden. In addition, there are some native vines that aren’t as well suited for the [...]
Stamford CT New England is known worldwide for its hardwood forests and brilliant fall color. Last month, I published a list of shrubs and small trees for Southern New England; this is the companion list of 40+ medium to tall local native trees. All are valuable to wildlife, are good shade trees, and most have [...]
Stamford, CT I’m often asked: “I want to go native but what to plant?” I like to start with shrubs and small trees – they provide structure, plus year-round habitat and interest, while maturing faster than full-sized trees. The local list is amazingly long, thus the length of this post (don’t blame me – blame the number of plants). [...]
Stamford CT Right now, New England wild areas are alive with birds and color. No winter “drab” here! This winter, walk in the wilds on nice days, appreciating what we have been given; and consider some garden enhancements that reflect what works for nature – might as well learn garden design from the all-time best gardener. [...]
Stamford CT While our street-wise eastern gray squirrels probably still dream of the ocean-like expanses of unbroken forest where they once lived, gray squirrels are thriving in the sub/urban environment, where many other native species fail. How do they do it? SKILL SET: For starters, squirrels have impressive physical abilities. Squirrels are, admittedly, rodents but they [...]
Stamford CT Story 1: At a lunch-time educational seminar, I overheard some expensively-dressed attendees talking about ridding their property of woodchucks (a/k/a groundhogs, Marmota monax) by, in one case, gassing, and, in another, sealing up the den (with the woodchuck inside? I didn’t dare ask). One of the women said she “had no sympathy” for woodchucks. [...]
Stamford CT The NPWG group discussions are a great benefit, at least to me. Accordingly, this month, I thought, we could address another critical but controversial ecological issue: white-tailed deer. Don’t we all wish that there was a single, simple cure for white-tailed deer overpopulation? Even inner-city gardeners are now experiencing the frustration of deer-destroyed [...]
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