Roots

10/28/2025

This wonderful guide from the Xerces Society, experts on insect habitat, explains why I do things the way I do, and can help you make your yard even more of a wildlife sanctuary!

https://xerces.org/sites/default/files/publications/18-014_02_Natural-Nesting-Overwintering-FS_web.pdf?fbclid=IwY2xjawNt1kVleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHrXDyB8cZ81GGv-3RzcPVdPiqe_I3DBGw9zI-mjEypRnF-h4tIoYLjr55s8__aem_hQ49OzHTCftxwpR_bvYIVA

09/23/2025

As the leaves turn and eventually fall, and your flowerbeds start to fade and wither, you might be thinking about fall yard cleanup.

If you're eager to do some yardwork, consider holding off on raking or pruning. Less is more for you and more for the pollinators that use leaf litter and plant stems as their overwintering habitat.

Allowing your yard to go through its natural cycle without intervention means less work for you and a win for native critters.

Learn more tips for a pollinator-friendly fall cleanup plan in the latest issue of Wisconsin Natural Resources magazine: https://issuu.com/wisconsinnaturalresources/docs/wisconsin_natural_resources_magazine_fall_2025/s/112042275

05/12/2025

03/26/2025

It's official! The Pasque Flowers (Pulsatilla patens) opened this morning! Happy spring!

01/28/2025

If you have an incoming kindergartner, or want your elementary school student to have the best public school experience, I HIGHLY recommend considering Eagleville Elementary Charter School. Amazing student-to-awesome-teacher ratio, fantastic STEM and environmental educational enhancements, a super supportive small community, constant opportunity to explore and learn from the environmental corridor it's situated on, including a school forest and Jericho Creek... Plus you get to hang out with me sometimes, as we learn in and expand our native Lepidopteran Garden!

09/03/2024

We did some regular maintenance of the Lepidopteran Gardens at Eagleville Elementary Charter School before school started. So much progress has been made with more garden expansions in the future! It continues to be a perfect educational space to learn about ecological interactions of Wisconsin species 🌱🐝🪲🐿️🐸🌿🌻

06/11/2024

Here's something you don't see every day: an actual cubic yard of mulch! 😆

06/02/2024

We still have a few tomatoes left! Organically grown, heirloom varieties, zero plastic! (Except that re-used-a-million-times nursery tray!)
4 Green Zebra (past favorite)
2 Sunsweet (current favorite)
3 San Marzano (THE tomato for salsa!)
$5 each

04/09/2024

Spring has sprung! (for real this time.)
Many little blooms are ready (or just about) to show their lovely faces in our gardens, and I'll be popping up in yards this week, too!
I know the urge to clean out gardens is strong when the weather starts getting warm, and the spring ephemerals start showing up, but be patient! All those bumblebees and other little creatures will still be sleeping until temperatures are consistently above 55, and the dandelions are blooming. Even when you do, try to practice "chop and drop" where you can!

12/29/2023

"Slow and steady wins the race," has been my mantra this season, and so it does. Thank you all for your patience this season as I dealt with injury, illness, and working alone again. You are my allies in this fight for native habitat preservation, and your yards are the front line. Slow I may be, but the fight goes on.
Let us take a much-deserved rest now, enjoy the peace and quiet wonder of winter, and rejuvenate, ready to rise again in spring!

Photo by Crystal Socha Photography

12/29/2023

Take a look at how the invasive Common Buckthorn affects our local ecosystems, like our Eagle Centre Prairie Preserve. Look at the striking contrast between the almost barren soil on the right side, beneath the dormant Buckthorn, and the abundant growth of grasses, sedges, and prairie plants on the left side. This invasive tree is the first to leaf out in the spring and retains its leaves well into our winter, forming a thick canopy that outcompetes native plants for essential resources like light, moisture, and nutrients. This leads to the displacement of native plants and creates dense shade, making it difficult, or even impossible, for our native wildflowers, grasses, and shrubs to survive. With its longer growing season than most of our native plants, Buckthorn also contributes to soil erosion by shading out our deep-rooted, native grasses that stabilize the forest floor.