A Prairie Garden Journal 2006 It’s official! The state that is the nationally recognized home of Arbor Day is finally celebrating it’s true contribution to our national horticultural traditions—prairie wildflowers. June 3-11 has been officially proclaimed to be Nebraska Wildflower Week, with events and activities ongoing... 

A Prairie Garden Journal 2007 I am often asked if I have favorite plants, and I can answer without reservation that I don’t. That said, I do have a list of plants, or more precisely a list of types of plants that I think are essential to a successful Wyobraska landscape. These are plants that meet two criteria—1. they... 

A Prairie Garden Journal 2008 It’s time for a change. Enough of this preemptive war, torture, spending out of control, and callous disregard of the environment. The time has come for peace, love, and flowers. I’m speaking, of course, of the average homeowner’s lawn care… Click to read full article  Read More →

A Prairie Garden Journal 2008 Much of the content for this column I actually wrote almost 4 years ago when my primary motivation for recommending the use of native plants in Wyobraska landscapes was more philosophical than necessarily practical. But the almost 10 year drought lingers, even though we seem to get a year or two... 

A Prairie Garden Journal 2004 At my house, the reason, “Because I say so,” never has carried much weight. So I’ve also had to do the hard work of coming up with and present actual good reasons why my wife or children should do something that I thought was a good thing to do. I’ve noticed the same is true whenever... 

A Prairie Garden Journal 2004 I grew up in eastern Nebraska, closer to the Missouri River than to the Platte River. By birth I may be an eastern Nebraska native, but after living in western Nebraska for over 25 years, I’d never move back to eastern Nebraska to live—it’s too windy, too humid, too cloudy, too green, and... 

A Prairie Garden Journal 2004 “Beauty is only skin deep”, one well-known and often used saying goes. It may explain why native plants are not more widely used in landscapes. At first look, many native plants just don’t look as beautiful as most traditional non-native landscape plants. But there’s another relevant... 

A Prairie Garden Journal 2003 Why Use Natives? Superior soil and climate adaptability Superior aesthetics Regionally evocative Seasonally syncronized How are Natives Different From Traditional Landscape Plants Primarily “pioneer ecosystem” plants (traditional plants are “climax ecosystem” plants) Primary seasons of interest Significantly...