Edible Native Plants List

Our intredpid leader Frank Hassler will be giving a presentation tonight with Katie Heiber-Cobb of Sustainability on Stilts, at the Jensen Community Center in Amherst WI on Edible Native Plants and Urban Orchards.

For those of you in attendance, here is the list of edible wild plants:

Lots of interesting stuff here, including native trees shrubs and forbs that you might cultivate on your property as well as various weeds which you can harvest without regret!

Enjoy!

Woodland Restoration By Seed

I recently had a potential client contact us asking about seeding into her woodland. The response I wrote her was pretty involved, so I thought it would be a good educational resource for others as well. Read on:

There are several factors to consider with seeding. If a woodland has a history of buckthorn infestation, it's important to know that buckthorn is allelopathic, meaning that it releases chemicals into the soil that inhibit the growth of other plants. Our understanding of how this works in buckthorn is in its infancy, but we do know that the chemicals affect some plants more than others and that it can take up to 4 years for these chemicals to break down or flush out of the soil after a dense infestation of buckthorn has been removed. It is possible that honeysuckle or other invasive plants are also allelopathic, but the research has not been done yet. Garlic mustard, for example, kills off beneficial soil fungus that form symbiotic relationships with many native plants. At the moment, we are recommending only planting live plants in dense buckthorn areas the first year after removal and waiting 2-4 years to do seeding.

Another factor to consider is sunlight availability. Seeds only do well when there is ample light. As we mention in our recent mailer, the woodlands in our area were originally more open than they are today with much more light to help these ground layer plants germinate, grow and prosper. Some woodland plants can be established by seed but many can only be established by live plants, including the most shade tolerant species. It is likely you may need to do additional tree thinning to open up the canopy enough for seedling plants (and young oaks!) to prosper. Trees we typically target right away are mulberry (also exotic) and boxelder. Other trees we selectively thin out to open the canopy include cherry, walnut, hackberry, ash, elm, basswood and maple.

This "Sugar Maple Deadzone" in a local woodland is much too dark to support productive ground-layer plants and will need to be thinned out before restoration can begin.

Otherwise, for more shaded areas you will have to stick to more shade tolerant, live plants. The more shade tolerant species tend to be difficult to establish by seed for various reasons due to difficulty in collecting, cleaning, storing and otherwise preparing the seeds (the more open woodland species are more often wind-born seeds which are easier to collect, process and store). These plants also tend to only bloom in the spring or not have showy flowers (such as ferns). A healthy woodland should have plants that are green and flowering year-round, so brush removal and tree thinning are an important first step, then a mix of planting and seeding are often necessary to reestablish the biological diversity of the habitat.

Lastly, seeds need good seed-to-soil contact and light to germinate. Most of our woodlands have a layer of leaf litter that prevents these two components from being found in the same place. Naturally regular, low-intensity ground fires would have removed this leaf litter letting the seeds meet the soil and the sun. So leaf-litter needs to be removed before seeding, usually we do this by a prescribed burn, in order to allow for germination.

The Vestal Grove in Somme Prairie Grove has been revegetated largely by seeding, with some remnant plants and some planting as well. Brush removal is the first step and prescribed fire is critical for maintenance. This is one of the best examples of a healthy woodland in the Midwest.

We have a custom seed mix we have developed with our seed supplier that includes many of the species on the below table, as well as some savanna species. This mix does pretty well in open woodlands, and can be planted in late fall or spring. But don't expect immediate results, these take a few years to get established. Also, there are many other species that should/could be seeded into a woodland that are not commercially available. A few that come to mind include white lettuce (a.k.a. lion's foot), yellow pimpernel, wild hyacinth, blue-eyed Mary, other woodland sunflowers, and a wide variety of sedges (Carex albursina, C. blanda, C. jamesii C. pensylvanica, C. radiata, C. rosea, and others depending on specific site conditions), but there are many others. These may need to be collected, with permission of the owner, from local sites.

Native Woodland/Savanna Plants available by seed in the Upper Midwest
Sci. Name	Common Name
Agastache nepetoides	Giant Yellow Hyssop
Agastache scrophulariaefolia	Purple Hyssop
Allium cernuum	Nodding Pink Onion
Anemone virginiana	Tall Anemone
Aquilegia canadensis	Wild Columbine
Aster drummondii	Drummond's Aster
Aster lateriflorus	Side-flowering aster
Aster sagittifolius	Arrow-leaved Aster
Aster shortii	Shorts Aster
Blephilia hirsuta	Hairy Wood Mint
Bromus purgans Carex springelii	Woodland Brome Springell's sedge
Campanula americana	Tall Bellflower
Dodecatheon meadia	Shooting Star
Echinacea pallida	Pale Purple Coneflower
Elymus histrix	bottlebrush grass
Elymus villosus	Silky Wild Rye
Elymus virginicus	Virginia Wild Rye
Eupatorium purpureum	Purple Joe Pye Weed
Eryngium yuccafolium	rattlesnake master
Geranium maculatum	Wild Geranium
Helianthus strumosus	Woodland Sunflower
Monarda fistulosa	Wild Bergamot
Penstemon digitalis	Foxglove Beardtongue
Rudbeckia subtomentosa	Sweet Black-eyed Susan
Rudbeckia triloba	Brown-eyed Susan
Scrophularia lanceolata	Early Figwort
Solidago caesia	Blue-stemmed goldenrod
Solidago flexicaulis	Zig-zag Goldenrod
Solidago ulmifolia	Elm-Leaved Goldenrod
Tradescantia subaspera	Zig-zag spiderwort
Tradescantia virginiana	Virginia spiderwort
Veronicastrum virginicum	Culver's Root
Zizia aurea	Golden Alexander

Announcing Good Oak's Fall Plant Sale!

Its that time of year again, leaves are starting to turn, and we once again have a few too many plants left around Good Oak World Headquarters. So I'm announcing our Fall Native Plant Sale to clear the shelves an give you a chance to get a great deal on native perennials for your garden! See the list below, which I will do my best to keep updated daily. We're starting out with over 400 plants that have got to go! Save 30-60% off of normal retail price!

Common Name	Scientific Name	Size	Qty	SALE PRICE	Notes
butterfly milkweed	Asclepias tuberosa	2.5” plug	2	$3.00
Bicknell's sedge	Carex bicknellii	quart	6	$2.00	leggy divided plants
ivory sedge	Carex emeryi	2.5” plug	13	$3.00	nice looking, for sedge lawn
turtlehead	Chelone glabra	2.5” plug	6	$2.00
Virgin's bower	Clematis virginiana	quart	5	$3.00
pagoda dogwood	Cornus alternifolia	1-gallon	1	$9.00	~18” tall
pagoda dogwood	Cornus alternifolia	2-gallon	1	$14.00	~2.5” tall
pale purple coneflower	Echinacea pallida	2.5” plug	7	$1.00	small
pale purple coneflower	Echinacea pallida	2.5” plug	8	$2.50
bottlebrush grass	Elymus hystrix	2.5” plug	12	$2.00
bottlebrush grass	Elymus hystrix	quart	5	$3.00
Virginia wild-rye	Elymus virginicus	quart	1	$2.50
white trout lily	Erythronium albidum	2.5” plug	28	$4.00	dormant
purple joe pye weed	Eupatorium purpureum	2.5” plug	26	$2.00
purple joe pye weed	Eupatorium purpureum	quart	1	$3.00
smooth rose mallow	Hibiscus laevis	quart	9	$6.00	wet spots only
common juniper	Juniperus communis	quart	1	$4.00	Possibly virginiana? Great bonsai tree!
Virginia bluebells	Mertensia virginica	quart	1	$3.00
prickly pears	Opuntia humifusa	quart	34	$5.00
solomon's seal	Polygonatum biflorum	Gallon+	33	$5.00	bare root in pot
solomon's seal	Polygonatum biflorum	quart	32	$3.00	bare root in pot
early wild rose	Rosa blanda	quart	1	$4.00
Black-eyed susan	Rudbeckia hirta	2.5” plug	2	$2.00
little blue stem	Schizachyrium scoparium	2.5” plug	7	$2.50
stiff goldenrod	Solidago rigida	2.5” plug	8	$2.50
elm-leaved goldenrod	Solidago ulmifolia	quart	4	$4.00

Fall is the best time to plant perennials. With cooler temperatures as the growing season comes to a close the plants have great conditions to settle in this fall and plenty of time next spring to put down roots before the stressful heat of summer. So take advantage of these deals and get planting!

Availability is limited, so please email me at frank at goodoak dot com, to place an order and call "dibs" on your plants!

UPDATED: 10/14/12 @ 6:45pm.

The Indomitable Hairy Aster

You can tell it's fall because the asters are starting to bloom. There are about 25 species of asters in southern Wisconsin so these species can get pretty confusing (and even more so now that the taxonomists have split this genus into three four genera, none of which are named "Aster".) Most of these asters are relatively rare on the landscape, restricted to remnant prairies, wetland and woodlands. But one species I really enjoy seeing in all sorts of odd places is hairy aster (Symphyotrichum pilosum, formerly known as Aster pilosus).

This scrappy little species is common throughout the landscape. It is a component of high-quality prairies and savannas, rubbing elbows with the most conservative of prairie plants, but can also be found duking it out with the weeds on roadsides, old fields and urban waste areas. It often 'just shows up' in prairie plantings and formal gardens alike. In fact, I have about a dozen in my yard and I never planted a single one of them. It is often considered a weed, and the overall structure of the plant is relatively unattractive with a hairy, spreading stem and long, skinny leaves. But it is a great source of pollen and nectar for butterflies and bees, and once it starts blooming its bright flowers can cheer up any garden. Plus, it blooms from late August all the way until early November. Another great attribute is that it never spreads aggressively like its distant cousin Canada goldenrod, which also tends to "just show up" in a garden or prairie.

So keep an eye out for hairy aster this fall. Chances are, if you see a white aster in full sun or light shade, outside of a wetland or remnant prairie, this is it. You may not know every aster species in our area, but you can be pretty confident that just about every one you will see on a day-to-day basis will be this exuberant species.

SAVE THE MONARCHS! Great deals on butterfly gardens!

Today we're announcing our SAVE THE MONARCHS! Butterfly Garden promotional program:

Though they are one of our most common, and most beautiful American butterflies, the future of the monarchs is in doubt due to habitat loss and other threats. Help us help you SAVE THE MONARCHS! By participating in our program.

At select special events we will be giving away free milkweed plants: Come find out booth at the Atwood Summerfest on Saturday July 28th and Sunday 29th where we will be giving away over 200 butterfly milkweed plants and common milkweed seeds

Special Monarch Garden Packages: We have developed several special “Monarch Garden” packages, both gardens we can install for you and kits for the DIY folks. To encourage people to 'go native' we're offering these kits at 22-33% off the normal retail price of plants and/or installation!

• Standard Monarch Garden: 52 native flowers and grasses, including up to 12 milkweeds. Different packages are available for sun, moderate shade and rain garden sites. Site preparation (weeding, sod removal), installation, mulching and initial watering are included. We can plant this garden in an area to remove a bit of lawn (about 50 square feet) or it can be interplanted into an existing flower bed. Regular Price: $531. SAVE THE MONARCHS! Program sale price: $435!*
• DIY Monarch Garden Kit: 52 native flowers and grasses, including up to 12 milkweeds, ½ cubic yard of mulch and basic instructions. Different packages are available for sun, moderate shade and rain garden sites. Regular Price: $293.  SAVE THE MONARCHS! Program sale price: $221!*
• For additional savings, buy one butterfly garden, get $10 off the second! Double the size of the garden, double the number of butterflies! For the DIY Package, consider a group buy with your friends and neighbors so everyone can save!

Contact us to order a garden for fall installation.
 *Additional travel fee for projects outside of Dane County.
We have put together lots of great info about monarch butterflies, the various threats to their survival and what you can do on our new Monarch Page. Check it out!

Native Plants, and the Drought of 2012

The Drought of 2012

As I write this post, there are cloudy skies above and we're getting teased by a smattering of showers heading in our direction. I'm not getting my hopes up, we've seen this sort of weak storm pattern already a couple times this summer without much to show for it. Its Friday July 13th, and Madison WI has officially received less than 1/2" of rain since June 1st (and I'm pretty sure it didn't rain the last week of May either). On an average year, we would see 6.75" of rain during that period. As you can see below, we're now in a "Severe Drought":

Still, I don't think that image shows the local severity quite as clearly as it could. Check out this map of precipitation totals for the past 30 days, showing a big red bullseye of 'nada' in south central Wisconsin. UPDATE: they updated the map shortly after I wrote this blog post, there was originally a bull eye of red immediately southwest of Madison. I captured this image on July 16th, click here for the current condition.

Here's another "fun" map, showing that moisture in the top 4" inches of soil is as low as it can go in our area. Bear in mind that the counties in central WI and western MI typically have very sandy soil, making it even more remarkable that we can match their low soil moisture in the loamy soils here in southern WI.

Corn is now wilting and dying in the fields. The non-native cool-season grasses that dominate our lawns and roadsides are brown, and almost completely desiccated. We're now seeing several accidental grass fires daily in Madison, which is completely unheard of for this part of the world. Earlier this week I saw two burned out areas in just a 1 mile stretch of I-90.

So What Does This Mean for Native Plants?

We always promote the hardy, drought tolerant nature of native plants. But conditions like these will impact any plant. Expect to see native plants responding to the drought by wilting back, flowering for shorter-than-normal periods of time (or not at all), and/or partially (or completely) dying back above ground. These are all signs of stress, but they are also adaptive responses. The plants are making a measured response to the lack of soil moisture, much like you might cut your spending if you found yourself temporarily out of work. For the most part, though some native plants may look like they are suffering this summer, almost all will survive this drought just fine and be vibrant and healthy again next year.

Native planet out "in the wild" are similarly effected, which can be easily seen in any walk in the woods or in the prairie. The effects seem worse in prairies and savannas because of the drying effects of direct sunlight and hot/dry winds. Some species do better than others under these conditions. Severe droughts like this can have an impact on the species assembly in natural areas, meaning that populations of drought tolerant plants may increase as a result of the drought, while the populations of other species may decrease. Here's hoping that many of those shallow-rooted garlic mustards just won't be able to hack it!

Hairy wild petunia that I photographed earlier this week is showing no signs of stress due to the drought.
 I notice a new flower budding this afternoon.

Black-eyed susan is also thriving despite the drought. They, and the above petunias have extremely hairy leaves and stems which slows airflow around these surfaces, reducing the amount of water which is lost due to evaporation.

Pagoda dogwood is a woodland species, its growing here in nearly full sun. The leaves are 'flagging' a bit, but you can see this hardy shrub is still finding enough water to develop fruit which the birds are quickly devouring.

Wild bergamont, rattlesnake master and false sunflower are all a little wilty due to the drought, but they are flowering non-the-less. At the lower left you can see some obedient plant which is dying back due to drought stress. No doubt it will be back and bullying other plants around next year.

Situations where you SHOULD water

Overall, native plants should survive, even thrive during this drought. However, there are a few exceptions. Here is when you should be watering:

Flowering perennials and grasses that were planted this year:

These baby plants haven't gotten a substantial enough root system yet to tolerate completely dried out surface soil. Water to soil saturation 1-2 times a week.

Trees planted in the last 4-5 years:

Because we need plants that are a small enough to move around and plant, the root system of container grown and especially balled-and-burlaped trees are much smaller than their wild counterparts of similar size. It takes several years for trees to grow out their root systems after they are planted. So these need to be watered thoroughly for them to survive. They should be watered very heavily 2-3 times a week. Shrubs will need some attention too, but will generally survive better than trees.

Right plant, Wrong Place:

We always talk about planting the right plant in the right place for best success. Sometimes we push the limits a bit because we something we really like should work pretty well in a spot under normal conditions. A good example is rain gardens, my rain garden has a number of wet prairie and wetland edge plants that need more moisture than their more mesic counterparts. Really, for a rain garden, you want plants that can withstand flooding, but are otherwise well suited for the 'normal' condition of your garden. In my case, I have marsh milkweed, cardinal flower, marsh blazing star and culver's root that are all flowering, but they are shorter than normal and less vigorous. I'm starting to wonder if the blue lobelia will bloom, and I have had at least one wetland sedge bite the bucket. The panicled asters on the other hand are doing a little too well... may have to thin those out this fall.

Good Oak Needs Your Support!! - Vote for Us! Mission: Small Business

Good Oak Ecological Services needs your help. We are applying for a $250,000 small business grant from Chase and Living Social, but we need 250 supporters in order to make it to the final judges.

1. Sign in to https://www.missionsmallbusiness.com. You can log in with a Facebook account.
2. Search for "Good Oak Ecological Services" at the bottom of the search page.
3. Click the blue "Vote" button to lend your voice.

This grant will help fund the opening of the Good Oak Sustainable Garden Center here in Madison, featuring native plants and organic garden supplies. We're excited about making hundreds of species of native trees, shrubs and perennials easily available for use on sites ranging from small home gardens to extensive prairie restorations. We'll also offer fruit trees, veggie starters, high-quality tools, books, local stone, recycled bricks, organic compost, locally harvested firewood, and more supplies for your permaculture garden or community garden plot. We're also looking into offering beekeeping and urban chicken supplies, and art and natural products from local craftsmen.

This grant will allow us to meet our goal of creating a sustainable garden center that is truly an environmental role model. A green roof on the building using only native plants will demonstrate the value of these roof top gardens in our community. Example gardens of showy native and edible plants will give people inspiration for great garden projects. Our goal is to have the garden center meet LEED and SITES standards.

Please pass this along to anyone you think may be interested. Thank you for your support!

Dames Rocket: The Overdressed Matron

We're seeing a lot of pink outside these days. On roadsides, railroad corridors, degraded woodlands, stream corridors, backyards... seems like these showy pink flowers are everywhere.

Only a few blocks from my home I found this massive colony of Dames Rocket, likely there's one not far from your home too.

The flower in question is dames rocket (Hesperis matronalis) and though it is admittedly showy, it is indeed an aggressive invasive plant. Dick Young, the author of my favorite plant book, Kane County Wild Plants and Natural Areas, describes them as such:

[Found] in shady waste areas and disturbed waysides, crowding out and becoming exclusive stands. This popular Eurpean perennial is an escaped garden plant that is still sold in wildflower mixes. It has striking white, pink and lavender blossom clusters from mid-May through July that are commonly confused with Phlox. Their pervasive fragrance and gaudy color suggests an overdressed matron wearing too much cheap perfume, as these plants often become too much in the landscape. [emphasis added]

I have always had a great fondness for Mr. Young's colorful and accurate descriptions of wild plants!

Identification:

dames rocket

Many people confuse this species with our native phloxes. But dames rocket, like all members of the mustard family, has only 4 petals. Any phlox, will have 5 petals. Count them: P-H-L-O-X, 1-2-3-4-5, petals.

prairie phlox (Phlox pilosa)

woodland phlox (Phlox diviricata)

Superficially similar yes. But there are many clear differences. For example, dames rocket is typically 3-4' tall. Our native phloxes rarely, if ever grow taller than 2'. Also, phloxes have small, rather slender leaves that are arranged opposite of each other on the stem. Dames rocket has large leaves which are arranged alternately on the stem (one will be on the left, then up a few inches the next leaf will be on the right, and so on). See below: 

More dames rocket.

Elimination:

Its important to note these differences, because dames rocket is an aggressive weed that should be eradicated. I know it's pretty to look at, but in the long term allowing it to persist will lead to disaster. I was at a property this spring where the owner had worked hard for a decade controlling dames rocket's better known cousin, garlic mustard but they had left the dames rocket alone. It got so thick that last year's dead stems were like corn stalks in a field, and there were very few native plants left in the area. Once you know what a terror they can be in a natural area, they seem considerably less attractive.

Dames rocket is a short-lived perennial. They spread more slowly than garlic mustard, but they live and flower for a couple years (as opposed to garlic mustard which flowers only once before it dies), which means that over the life-time of a single plant it will produce as many, maybe more seeds than a garlic mustard plant will produce. They overwinter as rosettes. These ground-hugging basal leaves are variable and can be difficult to identify at first; sometimes they look like dandelions, sometimes like common evening primrose, sometimes like penstemons.

Dames rocket as an overwintering rosette.

Our Weed Identification and Control Sheet about dames rocket discusses control methods in detail, but let me give you a few tips: The first is to spray or dig them out in the winter months. As long as the ground is not frozen and it's above 35° F, these plants are actively photosynthesizing, meaning they can also absorb herbicide. It's easy and relatively safe to do when all of your other plants are dormant. Another tip I have is to dig/pull them out just after they finished flowering. That way, you and your neighbors can enjoy the pretty flowers this year, but you can eliminate them before they can create any seeds. Be sure to bag these plants and dispose of them in the trash so they can go to the landfill, not the compost pile!

Alternatives:

So what can you plant if you want some attractive, showy flowers in late spring? Fortunately, there are lots of native alternatives. Here are three that are hardy, can tolerate shade and sun, and are pretty showy:

Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum): Happy in full shade to full sun, lovely pink flowers.

Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis): Delicate red flowers attract humming birds, full sun to moderate shade.

Golden Alexanders (Zizea aurea): Yellow flowers, good in moderate shade to full sun. Larval host to black swallow tail butterflies. Can be somewhat tall and aggressive in a home landscape.

(with geranium in the foreground)

Prairie phlox and woodland phlox (seen in above photos), for sun and shade respectively, are also good alternatives to dames rocket. They are quite colorful, but a bit smaller. They tend to get lost among taller plants, and are best used along edges or in more manicured native perennial gardens.

We're Now Proudly found at www.goodoak.com !

Spring has come more than a little early this year, we hope you're taking advantage of the warm weather and early green-up! For our part, we are SWAMPED as we struggle to keep up with the early and rapid progression of this spring, but we're catching up quickly, and with a couple new folks coming on board we'll be back on schedule in just a week or two. But anyhow...

We are excited to announce that we are now the proud owners of the goodoak.com domain name! As a result, all of our email addresses have changed as well. Our old (goodoakllc.com) email addresses and web URL will forward to our new accounts for a short time yet, so worry not if you make a mistake in the near-term, I know my fingers are having a hard time getting used to the change! Here is our new info:


Good Oak Website: http://goodoak.com/

Frank Hassler
Owner/Ecologist
Contact for: Ecological restoration, consulting, public speaking, business opportunities
new: frank@goodoak.com

Joy Follendorf
Native Landscaping Specialist
Contact for: All landscaping inquiries
new: joy@goodoak.com

Allison Eyring-Green
Independent Landscape Designer
Contact for: Landscape design
new: allison@goodoak.com

Doug Chien
Advising Ecologist - Illinois
contact for: All consulting, landscaping and restoration needs in Illinois
new: doug@goodoak.com

Athena Salzer
Ecosystem Restoration Technician/ Office Admin.
Contact for: Billing, invoicing, plant orders, general inquiries
new: athena@goodoak.com

We'll be updating our website with some of our new(er) staff and contact information shortly stay tuned!

We're Hiring!: Ecological Restoration Manager

We're looking for some new leadership for our ecological restoration division. Its a great opportunity for someone who enjoys working with property owners to restore and enhance their natural areas.  See the job announcement here. (PDF) Act fast, applications are due March 15th!

Garden Expo 2012 Handouts

For those of you who were not able to get a hand-out at my talks this weekend, or want to share the information with a friend, the links below will take you to PDF files that you can download.

• Edible Wild Plants 
• Native Plants for Any Garden Plant List 
• Native Plant Sources for Southern Wisconsin 
• Native Landscaping Resources: Books and Websites
• Weed Talk: Weed Management Books and Websites
• Weed Talk: Controlling Weeds and Invasive Plants Slides

Weed ID sheets for a number of invasive species can be found under the knowledge center link on our website. Search for your own problem weeds on our weed ID sheet page.

Enjoy!

Visit Us at Garden Expo 2012!

If the unseasonably warm weather has you itching to get your hands in the dirt extra early, the Garden Expo is a great place to discover new plants and ideas for your spring gardening plans!

The Garden Expo is this weekend, February 8-11, Friday evening from 4-9 pm, Saturday 9-6 and Sunday 10-4. We'll be manning booth #231 where we'll have some great information available and would love to chat with you!

Frank will be hosting the following inspirational and educational seminars:

• Native Plants for Any Garden at 12:00 pm Saturday

• Weeds and Invasive Plants in Our Landscape at 2:00 pm Saturday

• Edible Native Plants in the Home Landscape at 3:00 pm Saturday

• Establishing a Woodland Garden at 3:00 pm on Sunday

Also check out the following seminars for more inspiration!

• Make Your Garden Landscape Sustainable by Barbara Larson from the UW-Extension in Kenosha County at 9:00 am Saturday

• Birdscaping in the Midwest by Mariette Nowak at 10:00 am Saturday

• The Basics of Permaculture by Kate Heiber-Cobb from Sustainability on Stilts at 1:00 pm Saturday

• Energy Efficient Landscaping by Roger Reynolds of Infiltrating Landscapes at 4:00 pm Saturday

• Going Green in Landscaping by Debbie Paul from Midwest Decorative Stone at 12:00 pm Sunday

• Designing Attractive Native Gardens by John Gishnock from Formecology LLC at 2:00 pm Sunday

These are just a few of the many seminars and demonstrations where you can learn anything from how to make a gourd birdhouse, to cooking locavore foods on a budget!

For more details and a complete list of all the exhibitors, seminars, and demonstrations you can find at this year's Garden Expo, go to www.wigardenexpo.com

Backyard Wildlife Gallery

As I'm getting ready for The Garden Expo I'm sorting through some photos to use in presentations and at the booth. I decided to fix up Good Oak's "Backyard Wildlife" album. I tend to focus a lot on plants and flowers, so I thought I should have an album of the critters that these native plants attract. There are over 50 photos in it now of critters that for the most part found there way in to my own yard, but a few photos are from clients properties as well.

Here is the album on Good Oak's Facebook page. And below are a few select photos for you to enjoy as well.