Garden Experiments
For the love of gardening and wildlife habitat
Native plants are well-suited to the growing conditions in your area and are often great nesting habitat, a food source, or a host plant for the wildlife around you. By adding native plants to your garden, you can create wildlife habitat that helps pollinators like bees and butterflies, attracts hummingbirds and songbirds, and provides cover for many small mammals. Learn about native plants and how to grow them in your garden.
Purple passionflower (Passiflora incarnata), also known as maypop, is a relatively quick-growing, perennial, herbaceous vine in the Passifloraceae family. You can find this native vine growing throughout the Southeast from Texas to Kansas, up to Pennsylvania, and down to Florida. In the southeastern U.S., I’ve often seen it growing naturally in …
Continue Reading about How to Grow Purple Passionflower – Native Vine for Butterflies
If you want to add some color to your winter garden and provide food and shelter for songbirds and other wildlife simultaneously, American Holly (Ilex opaca) is a good choice. The berries form in October and persist throughout the winter when many other food sources are gone. Its leaves are evergreen and form a dense canopy. The bright red …
Continue Reading about Plant American Holly for Winter Color and Wildlife Food
If you’d like to see more wildlife in your garden in winter, be sure to include plants that provide food and cover in the fall and winter. Some of these plants are evergreen, providing necessary cover, and some have fruits, seeds, or nuts that persist into winter. Here are some (mostly native) plant suggestions that can be used throughout much of …
Continue Reading about Plants that provide food and shelter in fall and winter for wildlife
American beautyberry is a perennial, native shrub found throughout the southeast that is deer resistant and an excellent food source for birds and pollinators. The rich purple color of the berries adds brilliant color to the shady areas of your garden. When planted in groupings, the color of the berries is a show stopper. American beautyberry …
Continue Reading about How to Grow American Beautyberry Bush (Callicarpa americana)
This native plant has the coolest little red flowers that hummingbirds love. And they bloom in fall! Turk's Cap (Malvaviscus arboreus) is native to the southern United States. It's hardy in USDA zones 7 through 11. It grows in both sun and part-shade, but plant it in more sun for the best flowers. It is a perennial, deciduous, shrub-like …
Butterfly weed grows throughout most of the United States and parts of Canada. It attracts butterflies, bees, and other pollinators and is especially beneficial for monarchs whose larvae feed on the plant's leaves. It also provides a nice splash of bright orange color for your garden. This native plant is drought tolerant and deer resistant. …
Continue Reading about How to Grow Butterfly Weed – Asclepias tuberosa
