Native Plant Landscaping

Reduce yard work. Save money. Help save our natural resources. Read through the material below to learn how to transform your yard into a native plant sanctuary. Full details in Sara Stein's informative and entertaining book, Planting Noah's Garden: Further Adventures in Backyard Ecology . Using the Native Plant References section learn what plants are native to our area as well as what plants are invasive or alien to our area. Invasive plants should be removed from your property to enable native plants to thrive and prevent alien plants from further disrupting our ecosystem. Consider replacing unused areas of your lawn with native plants. Start with a 10 foot by 10 foot area. There are various methods of removing the grass. Click on the links below to select appropriate native plants for your site, in other words, plants that are suitable for the light exposure, moisture, and soil. Light exposure refers to how much sun a site receives each day; less than three hours would be a shady site, 3-5 hours would be partial shade, and 6 or more hours would be full sun exposure. Dawn of a New Lawn is an informative article on Audubon website giving many reasons why we should reduce our lawn size. Attend a gardening class. Contact LAN to visit a native plant garden as a "work in progress." Join the PA Native Plant Society to hear informative speakers, attend educational field trips, support native plants in our region. They hold a native plant sale each May in State College.

Gardening for Wildlife

Attract birds, butterflies, and toads to your yard using plants native to our area to create a biologically diverse habitat.
Join the Bluebird Society of PA to learn how to protect and propagate Eastern Bluebirds and other cavity-nesting birds. Read the Planting for Bluebirds section to find out what plants bluebirds prefer.
Read Landscaping for Wildlife:Trees, Shrubs, and Vines and Neighborly Natural Landscaping: Creating Natural Environments in Residential Areas, PA Wildlife No. 7 and 10 by PSU.

Creating a Healthy Yard

In-depth information by National Audubon Society.
Certify your yard as a Wildlife Habitat site through the National Wildlife Federation.
Top ten native plants for the Northeast recommended by National Wildlife Federation: Eastern red cedar, black tupelo, Northern red oak, Winterberry, Sweet pepperbush, Red chokeberry, Blue vervain, Rough-stemmed goldenrod, Cardinal flower, and New York Ironweed.
Dr. Doug Tallamy - Professor & Chair of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at U. of Delaware. Click here to read Dr. Tallamy's poignant explanation of our need to use native plants in our gardens. One of his research projects includes the Impact of Invasive plants on Terrestrial Food Chain – quantifying the degree to which alien plant species are reducing populations of native insect herbivores and the animals that depend on them. Research title, Do Alien Plants Reduce Insect Biomass? News review here. Bringing Nature Home by Dr. Tallamy is published by TimberPress.
EPA GreenScapes "program provides cost-efficient and environmentally friendly solutions for landscaping. Designed to help preserve natural resources and prevent waste and pollution, GreenScapes encourages companies, government agencies, other entities, and homeowners to make more holistic decisions regarding waste generation and disposal and the associated impacts on land, water, air, and energy use." qoted from EPA website.

Meadows and Prairies

Meadows and Prairies: Wildlife-Friendly Alternatives to Lawn, PA Wildlife No.5. by PSU.

Meadows, ACH 180 by Ricky Kemery, Allen County, IN Horticulturalist.

Butterflies and Moths

Butterflies and Moths of North America provided by Montana State University. Distribution maps, photos, species accounts. Click Map Search to find in-depth info specific to your PA county.
Butterflies and Moths Index - Kansas State U. Johnson County Extension.
Dr. Doug Tallamy - Professor & Chair of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at U. of Delaware. Click here to read Dr. Tallamy's poignant explanation of need to use native plants in our gardens. One of his research projects includes the Impact of Invasive plants on Terrestrial Food Chain – quantifying the degree to which alien plant species are reducing populations of native insect herbivores and the animals that depend on them. Research title, Do Alien Plants Reduce Insect Biomass? News review here. Bringing Nature Home by Dr. Tallamy is published by TimberPress.
Create and maintain a Monarch Waystation - program offered by University of Kansas, information online or via mail.

monarch emerged

Honeybee Alert

Honeybee colony die-offs for unknown reasons, currently called Colony Collapse Disorder. Nationwide studies underway. Honeybees are key pollinators for our apple crops. Scroll down link to read latest info. Penn State Live info: Bee researchers close in on Colony Collapse Disorder, 9-7-07.

Project Budburst

National citizen science field campaign to document the timing of leafing and flowering of native tree and flower species across the country. Scientists can learn about the prevailing climatic characteristics in a region over time. Pilot project ran in 2007.
2008 Project Budburst starts in January. Click here to learn how to participate.