Butterfly Habitat + the Future It’s early spring at the wildflower farm, and we’re dreaming of summer. The annual greenhouse potting began last month, building the foundation for all the gardens we’ll create this year. And naturally, doing some new season reflections on the nature of the work happens. Generally, the world’s been in flux […]
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Wildlife Corridor Gardens Wildlife corridor gardens are certainly one of the most powerful tools we have to repair habitat and protect biodiversity. Straightaway, they exist right on our own properties. Without question, these gardens are intentionally planted green spaces that connect fragmented natural areas. Concurrently they allow migrating songbirds, pollinators, and other wildlife to safely
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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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Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) Poison Ivy: A Misunderstood Native Plant with Hidden Benefits Toxicodendron radicans is often much hated by humans, known for causing rashes and swelling. However, it offers surprising ecological benefits. This native species plays a vital role in New York’s ecosystems, benefiting both wildlife and the soil. For many songbirds, Poison Ivy’s
Ease up on the yard work. It’s just kinder. “Yard Work.” This time of year, people wear themselves and each other out with yardwork. There’s raking and activity with leaf blowers. And then folks cut every green, soft tissue stem possible down to the ground. It really needs to stop. The incessant fixation on neatness
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New Construction Landscaping New construction landscaping is the best opportunity for habitat restoration. People need homes. The land is disturbed during construction. As soon as the construction phase is over, adding native species trees, shrubs, perennials and native grasses is the way to bring balance to the equation. A good ecological future is possible when
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Schenectady, NY Butterfly Garden in a nature preserve. A dream came true spring 2017 when we designed and managed the installation of a butterfly garden in a Schenectady, NY nature preserve. This week saw the much anticipated butterfly garden installation at the Woodlawn Nature Preserve in Schenectady, NY. The Friends of the Woodlawn Preserve contacted
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Crow Planet by Lyanda Lynn Haupt is a highly recommended book. It is transformational to read. You get to experience life for a while from a wildlife rehabilitator’s perspective. People who do this kind of work get to see a whole extra world hidden to most normal civilians. A new acquaintance is also a wildlife
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Ballston Spa Nature Preserve Over the past month, we’ve had the honor of being a part of a lovely project. A couple in Ballston Spa, NY (just outside of Saratoga Springs) contacted us around Mother’s Day with an opportunity to build a nature preserve, with native plant gardens on a half an acre of their
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Ecological Landscape Design in Ballston Spa, NY. Sometimes a strategy ecologically savvy landscape designers use to decide what to plant where on a property is to observe what plants are already growing. The observation can be used as an ecological indicator. To illustrate, the new butterfly garden in Malta, NY, installed over the past week
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