Habitat Restoration Landscaping: Rebuilding Ecosystems One Yard at a Time Habitat restoration landscaping is an effective way to support biodiversity, rebuild ecosystems, and promote environmental sustainability. As urbanization continues to expand, natural habitats are disappearing. By restoring landscapes with native plants and sustainable practices, homeowners, businesses, and communities can help reverse this trend. What is […]
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Climate Change + Gardens. Climate Change + Gardens: Future-Proofing with Biodiversity and Soil Health. As climate change intensifies, environmentally conscious homeowners are facing new gardening challenges. Extreme weather patterns, shifting plant hardiness zones, and emerging pests, novel invasive plants and diseases are reshaping landscapes. But by taking proactive steps, we can design resilient, future-proof gardens.
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Save Yaddo Gardens via Modern Sustainable Methods. Yaddo Gardens, nestled at Exit 15 in Saratoga Springs, is a beloved landmark. Designed by Katrina Trask—a visionary artist, philanthropist, and poet—the gardens are an ornate masterpiece tied to deep history and emotion. Katrina, a true Enneagram 4, channeled her grief and passion into these gardens. Her vision
Low Maintenance Modern Front Yard Landscaping Low maintenance front yard landscaping is a new communication tool to indicate who’s cool in neighborhoods, in recent years. People have learned that landscaping doesn’t need to be high maintenance and involve chemicals at all. The earth wants to express beauty. Steering it is possible if you hire professionals
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Native plant landscape designer. What Is a Native Plant Landscape Designer? (And how Jessecology became the premier incubator space in the NYS ecology/horticulture industry to introduce new native plant landscape designers to the field.) Jesse Peters’ Formative Years. Jesse Peters, the founder of Jessecology, was born in Vermont. Certainly, growing up immersed in the wild
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Calico Aster (Symphyotrichum lateriflorus) – A Late-Season Pollinator Magnet Calico Aster (Symphyotrichum lateriflorus) is a charming native perennial that blooms in the final act of the growing season. Common across eastern North America, it thrives in woodland edges, meadows, roadsides, and other semi-shaded habitats. This small-flowered aster is an essential part of the native fall
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How to Attract Dragonflies to Your Garden. How to Attract Dragonflies to Your Garden If you’re looking for a natural way to reduce mosquitoes in your yard, attracting dragonflies is one of the best strategies. These graceful insects are not only beautiful—they’re also powerful pest controllers. A single dragonfly can eat hundreds of mosquitoes and
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Buying Native Plants. Why Buying Native Plants from a Local, Organic Nursery Sets Your Garden Up for Real Success. When you’re planning a native plant garden, where you buy your plants matters—a lot. Sure, mail-order catalogs might seem convenient. But if you’re looking for true success, resilience, and long-term beauty in your landscape, there’s no
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Common Landscaping Mistakes and How to Avoid Them. Common Landscaping Mistakes. Common landscaping mistakes are not common-sense events. Landscaping is an art and a science. A well-planned outdoor space enhances property value, supports biodiversity, and provides long-term beauty with minimal maintenance. However, many homeowners and even some professionals make common landscape mistakes that can lead
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How to Create an Indoor Herb Garden for Year-Round Freshness Indoor herb gardens are a wonderful way to source fresh, organic ingredients into your kitchen all year. Whether you’re an experienced gardener or just starting out, creating an indoor herb garden is easy and rewarding. Additionally, it’s a great step towards sustainability by reducing food
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Pine Tree Gardens A recent rainy Monday found the Jessecology team on a break near a Pine Forest in the Albany Pinebush Nature Preserve. This nature preserve is a 2-minute walk from the garden we were working in; a 10-minute drive from downtown Albany and 20 minutes from Saratoga. This particular wildlife habitat is a
Permaculture Design: When Weeds Talk. Continued from the invasive plant series. Part I. II. III. Permaculture Design re: plant interpretation. Plants spontaneously show up on land and colonize a micro-region sometimes. Usually this is viewed as a headache at best. And yet, using permaculture principles, a weed colony can be interpreted as a communication about
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Why are Dandelions Bad (Or Are They?) Dandelions (Taraxacum officinale) are one of the most recognizable plants in lawns and gardens across North America. But are they truly bad, or just misunderstood? Let’s explore the history of dandelions, their impact on the ecosystem, and why they’re not worth waging war against. The History of Dandelions
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Monarch Butterfly Garden Creating the Perfect Monarch Butterfly Garden: Beyond Milkweed Monarch butterflies are one of the most beloved pollinators in our gardens. Of course, they are famous for their epic migration and striking orange and black color schema. To support these beautiful creatures, many people plant Milkweed (Asclepias sp.), which is the essential larval
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NY Ironweed (Vernonia noveboracenis) NY Ironweed: A Bold Choice for Native Gardens NY Ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis) is a must-have for anyone restoring habitat and adding stunning beauty to their landscape. This tall, sturdy plant can reach up to 7 feet. Its vivid purple blooms create a bold pop of color in late summer when other flowers
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Do Deer Eat Roses? Yes, let’s cut to the chase: deer eat roses. Because of course they do. But that’s the good news- now you don’t have to plant roses. All of a sudden, you’re freed up to do something much cooler in your garden space! Basically, there are much more interesting perennials than Roses. Additionally, most
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Pollinator Garden Kit. Unquestionably, nonprofits in NYS are doing a lot of volunteer work on behalf of the environment right now. Obviously, it’s an exciting time to work in the green industry. We were delighted to be approached by the Niskayuna based Environmental Clearinghouse last year for a successful collaborative effort. Jessecology’s Pollinator Garden Kits
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Invasive Species in NY + Kindness PRISM At Jessecology, we’ve been conscious of the environmental destruction and devastation that invasive species plants can cause for almost 2 decades. And so, we admire and have huge respect for community resources like PRISM, based out of Cornell Cooperative Extension. All things considered, helping educate the public and
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DIY Planting Native Plants. Every year our company receives more and more, and more requests for design plans for DIY planting native plants gardens. The excitement for the growing environmental movement is thrilling. We love all the energy and effort towards healing our ecosystem and eco-renewal! And we’d love to respond to all the new
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Garden Stewardship. The Key to Eco-Garden Success: Good Garden Stewardship Practices. The first 3 years are everything. Creating an eco-garden filled with native plants is an essential step toward restoring biodiversity and supporting local ecosystems. However, successful native species landscaping projects do not end at installation. Rather, intentional and skilled stewardship is the key to
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