native plants

Frogs Hopping Around Lydick Bog Nature Preserve

Growing up with a forest in my backyard, I thought I knew all the sounds that Indiana spring nights had to offer, from the distinctive hoots of owls to the occasional chirp of bats. Apart from these somewhat rare springtime noises, it seemed like the forest, for the most part, held on to the blanket …

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Invasive Species Awareness Week: Burning Bush

By: Mary Nell Murphy While driving on Hwy 12 near the Indiana Dunes parks last fall, I stopped at a wayside for a stretch break and looked across the road to a sea of watermelon pink under the forest canopy. Delightful? No! As I suspected, and as I confirmed “upon further review of the field” …

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Warren Buckler in his garden

On the 10th Season of our “Bringing Nature Home” Program, a Look Back – and Forward.

By Warren Buckler    When Peg Mohar and I embarked on our Bringing Nature Home project ten years ago, in part as a way for older members to remain active, we had no idea what response we’d get from the gardening public. Our goal, inspired by Doug Tallamy’s book “Bringing Nature Home,” was to recognize …

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Gardening from the Roots to the Treetops – Create a Backyard Food Forest!s

By Christine Maloney Four mature maple trees around my house (two on the south and two on the north) leave only a narrow strip of full sun in the middle to grow my favorite sun-loving garden crops.  To complicate things further, my house and driveway take up the majority of that area in my typical …

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