Holly Walker is a Plant Health Specialist at Smithsonian Gardens. I sat down to talk with her on November 27, 2017 about entomology, her background and some of her current undertakings with Smithsonian Gardens. Could you tell me about your role with Smithsonian Gardens? My title is Plant Health Specialist, but it’s a wide umbrella […]
More than 75 residents, neighbors, and friends gathered at City Hall in Bowie, Maryland in December of 2016 to celebrate the community’s seven year journey to become a Certified Community Wildlife Habitat under the National Wildlife Federation’s (NWF) Garden for Wildlife program. The excitement in the room was palpable as Bowie was awarded its certification […]
I was recently faced with landscaping challenges for a weedy and barren new lawn in a strange new climate. And I was overwhelmed, to be honest. I’ve always loved nature, especially photographing wildlife, so I decided I needed something different when I moved to this new location. Something more and something better than a vast green […]
I would like to share with you a walk through my pollinator garden here in Shawneetown, Illinois. Nature is awesome, it is always fascinating at the things you see if you slow down to look. As we step out the door of the sunroom onto the bricked patio to the left, we have blue salvia […]
When we moved to the south end of Burlington in 2008, I dug up almost all the grass lawn in our yard—keeping only a ten-foot diameter section where we had lawn chairs—and replaced it with native plants and cultivars. Because I was concerned by the decline in numbers and health of pollinators like bees, butterflies, […]
We chose native plants because they provide ideal habitat for countless species of wildlife including birds, insects, and pollinators such as hummingbirds and monarch butterflies. Because they are perfectly adapted to local conditions, particularly compared to turf grass, native plants require far less water, less maintenance, no mowing, and less or no chemical pesticides and […]
A little over 2 years ago I purchased a house in the ‘burbs of Augusta, GA. It had enormous lawns front and back. Most people would see a mowing nightmare—I saw future HABITAT! The first thing was removing all of the grass from the backyard. Then I began installing some raised beds and ground-level beds. […]