These three columns focus on nature in the fall. How squirrels play an important roll in planting oak trees, how lazy gardeners are good for mother nature and why goldenrod doesn’t deserve its bad rap. Help pollinators overwinter by putting down your rakes and letting your garden look like a bit of a mess.
Fall nature series:
Enjoying Fall Colors? Thank a Squirrel, by Bonnie Jean Feldkamp
As a gardener who also likes to feed the birds, I have a love-hate relationship with squirrels. They dig up flower bulbs, steal my birdseed and bury nuts in my herb box.
Prepare Your Garden for Winter by Leaving It Alone, by Bonnie Jean Feldkamp
It’s tempting to want to tidy up your garden now that blossoms are starting to fade. Dry flower stalks and leaf litter look unsightly, so why not prepare the bed for winter’s blanket of snow? We see the city’s reminders for yard waste pickup and think it’s time to hack it all to the ground, scoop i…
Why Goldenrod Doesn’t Deserve Its Bad Rap, by Bonnie Jean Feldkamp
Cooler weather has finally arrived here in the Midwest. It’s time for trips to your favorite pumpkin patch, u-pick apple orchard and corn maze.
In this article for Subaru Drive magazine I take the reader through our backyard conservation projects to remove grass, establish pollinator gardens, install rain gardens, and turn our turf lawn into a clover lawn.
I like a lush, inviting yard. Grass? Not so much. Grass isn’t “green” – it’s wasteful, costing homeowners time, money and energy in an endless cycle of planting, watering and cutting. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that landscape irrigation accounts for nearly one-third of all residential water use, totaling almost 9 billion gallons per day. Grass is actually considered America’s largest irrigated “crop,” beating out even corn.
Read the full article below.
Subaru Drive
Substituting clover for grass, along with a few other eco-tweaks, can turn your outdoor space into a paradise for birds and bees.
For a simple step-by-step guide to install your own pollinator garden click the link below!
Subaru Drive
How To Create a Pollinator Garden in 5 Steps
Read more articles by Bonnie on the environment HERE
My daughter and I walked through the local garden center trying to find a plant we had admired on a front porch in our neighborhood. It had beautiful magenta and blue-green leaves that spilled from a hanging basket.