#1 Use a rain barrel A rain barrel is a large water barrel that is attached to your downspout to collect rainwater. Using a rain barrel gives you a free supply of water for watering your garden. Using rainwater is a sustainable alternative to watering with tap water. Plants prefer rainwater and this also means less water needs to be chemically treated by the water company. If you have a big garden you might need a large rain barrel. #2 Build a rain garden Gardens that are designed to collect rainwater are called rain gardens. Letting the garden collect water keeps the soil moist for longer and prevents storm water runoff. When more water is allowed to percolate naturally into the soil, this help clean and slow down the water. Rain gardens should be planted with moisture loving native plants. #3 Use swales to direct water through the landscape Stand in your landscape during a rainstorm and watch as the water flows across it. If there are areas where you would like to direct it you can build a swale. A swale is a small ditch that can be as small as an inch deep. The rainwater follows the swale through the garden. Swales that are very curvy help to slow the speed of the water and promote infiltration. Slowing water as is moves across the landscape prevents erosion and flash floods. #4 Use less salt in winter Limit salt on your paths, sidewalks, and driveways in winter. To keep your walkways from being slick use an alternative like ashes, bird seed, or sand. Direct water away from your paths using swales. Surfacing your paths with a rough material like gravel or wood chips helps to keep them from being slippery and permeable surfaces allow water to seep away faster. Salt is harmful to plants and soil microbes in your garden and harmful to aquatic life once it reaches the stream. If you have to use salt use as little as possible. #5 Don't use fertilizer It is easy to add too much fertilizer to your landscape and the extra fertilizer flows into the creek and creates an algae bloom. To prevent the risk of over fertilizing, garden with native plants that don't need fertilizers. #6 Safely dispose of yard waste It is a common practice to dump yard waste into forgotten corners at the edge of our neighborhoods. Usually there is a neglected creek nearby which is polluted by all the extra organic matter. Even some municipalities that collect yard waste will dump it near a stream. Make sure that your yard waste is being composted a safe distance from streams. #7 Remove invasive plants Streams are often protected corridors for wildlife to live and travel. Stream corridors can be infested with invasive plants easily from our landscapes because of seeds traveling with storm water or birds bringing seeds from our gardens to the stream. Protect streams by removing all invasive plants on your land. #8 Grow deep roots Trees and many native plants grow large root systems deep into the earth. Deep root systems help to evaporate water in the soil by pumping water through the plant and back into the atmosphere. Roots also improve soil by breaking it up and adding organic matter which helps the soil absorb more water. #9 Stop errosion Soil erosion is a big problem in streams where stream life is smothered by all the mud in the water. When spaces between rocks in the creek bed are filled with sediment aquatic life has no place to attach or hide from predators. Protect garden soil from eroding by covering bare soil with mulch or plants. Slow down storm water flow to allow soil to settle out of the water before it gets to the stream. Lawn is a cause of many erosion problems because the short root system does not hold the soil in place and the short leaves allow water to quickly flow across. #10 Make zero runoff your goal Take responsibility for every drop of rain that lands on your landscape and try to keep it there. Slow down and infiltrate as much water as you can into the soil. Do a small part to protect your watershed starting with your own landscape.

It is garden tour season and there are two tours coming up that I never miss. The first one is the Sustainable Backyard Tour on Sunday June 10 from 11-4. Register here https://sustainablebackyard.org/attend-tour/ This tour has way more yards on it then you can possibly visit in one day so I read the descriptions and pick the ones that sound most interesting and are close enough together to get to easily. The yards range from beginner with big dreams to veteran gardener. I love the variety and the enthusiasm of the homeowners. The second one is the Native Plant Garden Tour on Saturday, June 16 from 9-4. Buy your ticket at Garden Heights Nursery, Greenscape Gardens, Rolling Ridge Nursery, or Sugar Creek Gardens. It is possible to visit all the gardens on this tour but I usually don't make it because I stop and talk too much. The gardens are always high quality with a wide variety of natives. There are several tour guides at each garden to answer questions and most plants are labeled. Garden tours are a wonderful way to find new inspirations for my garden. I always see beautiful plant combinations, creative garden art, and new techniques for solving common problems. When I was planning to put in my rain barrel system it was wonderful to visit several yards with systems and pick the best features of each for my garden. I also love to look at garden paths, how they are bordered, where they go, and what are they made of. I have trouble with mine washing out or with plants flopping into them so I'm always on the hunt for new solutions. The people I meet on the garden tours are always good connections. Everyone is passionate about native plants and gardening for a sustainable future. It is an easy way to make new friends. We commiserate about honeysuckle and gush over a bumble bee. This is where you find another person who has grown a milkweed from seed to a mature plant only to be thrilled when it is eaten to the ground by a hungry caterpillar and they then happily raise the caterpillar on harvested milkweed leaves until it becomes a butterfly and flies off to Mexico. Sign up for both tours now. Look over the booklets and pick your route to see the most gardens. Be sure to make time to stop and get cold drinks and lunch along the way. Bring your camera and your journal. Be ready to have your head spin with all your garden new ideas.

When I'm planting a new bed I like to set all my plants out before I start planting. I start by setting out my trees and shrubs. Then I place the plants that go around them and work outwards from there towards the edge of the bed. When you set the plants out first it gives you a chance to look over the layout before you get anything in the ground. Be sure to place the plants far enough apart to allow them to grow to their mature width without being crowded by their neighbor. This is also a good way to look at leaf texture since plants only bloom for a short part of the season it is good to have contrasting leaf textures and shades for year long visual appeal. I like to put down mulch on the bed first before planting. When I plant I have to pull back the mulch and remove soil and then plant the plant and put the soil and mulch back without getting it all mixed together. An alternative is to plant the plants first and then cover each one with it's pot to protect it while you put down the mulch. Either way be careful to not cover the new plants over with mulch and to not have the mulch piled up against the stem of the plant. After planting water everything really well. When placing the soil back air pockets are formed around the roots which can dry out the plant. When the plant is watered all the air pockets will fill up as the soil settles. When planting in hot weather you may see that the plants have wilted. Herbaceous plants can have some of their leaves removed to keep them from transpiring so much of their water and wilting. As the plants establish their roots they will also grow more leaves.

As a child one of the first wildflowers that I learned to identify was the spiderwort. The bright clusters of blue, purple, and pink flowers are at the perfect height for a child to examine carefully for bees. Spiderwort is a flower for the morning gardener. If you only enjoy your garden in the evening all you will see are tightly closed buds. I would always try to pick them to bring in a bouquet but spiderwort is a defiant plant.  It wilts if you pick it to bring it indoors and it can't be pressed in a book. You have to enjoy it outside in it's own space. Picking spiderwort also gives you the most beautiful shade of purple smeared fingers. Jan Phillips says that spiderwort leaves and stems can be eaten in a fresh salad but it is kind of gooey for me. When you break the stem a clear slimy sap runs out. When you garden with spiderwort be careful to pick the right one, each species has different needs. The most common, Tradescantia ohiensis, grows tall in the prairie garden in summer. The blooms are blue from May-July and the plant needs the support of other plants to not flop over. You may also see this one on roadsides. In my yard I have Tradescantia ernestiana which is short and grows in the woodland garden. It blooms earlier with pink flowers in April and May and grows in multi-stemmed clumps. There are several more spiderwort varieties to choose from so pick the one that is best for your space. The name  Tradescantia was given to the genus in honor of the botanist who introduced it to England in 1629. Spiderwort is now naturalized there. In Missouri spiderwort can also be a little weedy but is easy to hand pull. In my garden it likes to come up in the path and in the compost pile.

The Star of Bethlehem wins March's least favorite plant of the month award. I first saw the Star of Bethlehem (Ornithogalum umbellatum ) at Emmenegger Park on a trip to look for spring flowers. When I looked it up in my wildflower book I was surprised to see that it wasn't a native flower. Soon I recognized Star of Bethlehem in a garden I was caring for and decided to be a benevolent gardener and let it be to see how it grew. This flower is one of the first green shoots out of the ground in late February and is a very welcome sight, soon after that it has a simple white flower. The leaves wither away in the summer heat and then there is no sign of the plant until next spring. Well, it spreads quickly! The patch of flowers was doubled in size the next year with a few small patches in other parts of the yard. Star of Bethlehem grows from a bulb that creates bulblets and can form dense colonies. The bulbs are very hardy and if you dig them up and put them in the compost you will grow the evil plant everywhere you spread your compost. The most effective way to remove Star of Bethlehem is to dig out each little bulb in March as soon as they emerge. They must be dug out carefully to not break off the leaves or leave any bulblets in the ground. When taking the dirt off the plants do not put the dirt back into an unaffected area because a small missed bulb will start a new population. Ineffective methods of removing the Star of Bethlehem that I have tried include; composting, repeated pulling or mowing of the leaves, burying it a foot deep, outcompeting with aggressive plants, and solarizing. Digging out each bulb and removing it from the garden is the only way I know to kill it and pieces will be missed so infected areas will need to be cleared for several years. Learn to recognize this spring ephemeral and take early action when spotted. It is so much easier to remove it now than when it is completely tangled up with roots of other garden plants. March is a great time to get out and look for many invasive species and take early action.

In many conservation efforts there is a poster child species that is photogenic and beloved that is chosen to represent the campane in the public eye. One of those species that has been doing a lot of work recently is the monarch butterfly. The monarch is an amazing species with an international footprint but here at home it represents natural prairies and meadows across the midwest. A world saved for the monarch is a world with road edges covered in native wildflowers that are never sprayed with insecticides or mowed during the summer. This world would also have backyard gardens shared throughout neighborhoods with continuous blooms for nectar and lots of milkweed plants. When we make an effort to save the monarch we are saving an entire ecosystem of plants, insects, and birds that need these continuous tracks of native flowers and grasses. We are making safe spaces for plants that are declining from loss of habitat in the wild by bringing them into urban spaces and giving them value and a place in our lives. Insects and birds will find our native gardens to be a wonderful oasis to thrive. Life causes more life and the monarchs are just one little piece. When we make a place in our heart for an orange and black butterfly there will soon also be a space for the milkweed flower, the crab spider hiding in the petals, the tussock moth with the crazy hair, and even the orderly row of tiny aphids along the plant stems. Remember the big picture when talking about monarch butterflies and all the species represented when we say "Save the Monarchs!" Here is another blog post I recommend about insects on milkweeds http://driftlessprairies.org/insects-and-milkweed/

The Grow Native! program offers many resources that native gardeners can use to learn about natives and educate others to promote natives, most of which are available at www.grownative.org.  These resources include: --the Native Plant Database, which is searchable --numerous Top Ten Native Plant lists, with recommendations from native plant expert Scott Woodbury of Shaw Nature Reserve. These can be printed off and are useful for educational programs. --native landscaping plans --on-line Grow Native! Resource Guide to Native Plant Suppliers and Services -- arranged by type of product or service (a print version is available; chapters may request quantities to give out at events). --map of Grow Native! professional members who are native plant retailers, for quick reference --Milkweed and monarch fact sheet in Spanish --Resources about native shrubs and trees --Fact sheet on why songbirds need native plants I didn't write this, it is just info about a resource. Besa

Seedbox Ludwigia alternifolia Seedbox is a raingarden plant that provides good texture when planted with red and blue Lobelias and sedges. Ludwigia has excellent fall color and winter interest. It grows about 2 ft tall and 3 ft wide. It will self seed but does not crowd out other plants in my experience. I plant seedbox because of the seed head. It is a tiny box with a small hole for the dust like seeds to sprinkle out of. The seed heads will persist through the winter and look very cute with their snow caps. It also provides structure for a raingarden to keep the soil covered. The red fall color is amazing. I see many tiny bees visiting the yellow flowers in June and July. The humming birds will also use it as a perch when they are visiting the cardinal flower. Ludwigia grows best in raingardens and swales. It likes to have moist soil but not standing water. Plant it in full sun for best fall color. You can see seedbox at Shaw Nature Reserve in the raingarden demonstration. http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=e113 It is for sale at most native plant retailers.

The native plant garden tour was last week. I volunteered at one garden demonstrating honeysuckle removal. I didn't have any takers to learn the great art of digging out honeysuckle, mostly polite smiles and saying that they have plenty of their own.  I was surprised by a few people who assumed I was offering to dig up a honeysuckle for them to take home and plant in their own garden. That was a great opportunity for education about this willy shrub that is invading our native landscapes. In general at these events you are surrounded by seasoned native plant gardeners with years of experience but then to happen upon a new person just starting on the great native plant adventure. Native plants can quickly become an obsession after you see a beautiful flower, ask a few questions, meet the right people, and fall head long into dreams of having your very own prairie. It is a wonderful experience. 2017 Native Plant Garden Tour Album

I made some native bee houses to sell at the Shaw Wildflower Market and have a few left over if you would like to purchase one for your garden or as a gift. They are about 6" square cedar and will attract many species of solitary bee to lay eggs, insuring a future generation of pollinators for your garden. I'm selling them for $15 each plus delivery fee if that is necessary. Below is a bee house I made last year. I set it on my front porch next to my house plants and just left it alone. Soon I noticed the bees filling in the holes with flower petals and mud. The mother bee selects a hole and lays an egg in the back, she then provides the egg with a ball of pollen for it to eat when it hatches. After that she seals up the hole with leaves, mud, or other materials from your garden. It takes several trips so it is fun to watch. Each hole will have several egg chambers. After the baby bees hatch they chew their way out and start pollinating your garden. The bees that like these houses are not honey bees and are very unlikely to sting you since they don't have a hive to defend. You can also make your own bee house by following these instructions. http://www.xerces.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/nests_for_native_bees_fact_sheet_xerces_society.pdf

Liriope, also called monkey grass, is commonly used as a ground cover between the sidewalk and the street. It is almost indestructible and will march forward until it meets a barrier.  Even though it looks like a grass or a sedge, Liriope is in the lily family. It grows similarly to daylily with tubers and sprouts from the roots. The best method of removal is to dig it up and do not compost. When removing  Liriope pick a day when the soil is easy to work because the root system is dense. Every piece of the roots needs to be removed and many small pieces will break off as it is wrestled from the earth. Check this space often throughout the next season for any resprouts. Good native alternatives to Liriope are sedges. Oak sedge is the same height and does well in shade. For a sunnier area Pennsylvania sedge can be used. Plants that fill in well and can tolerate being stepped on next to the street are the native wild strawberry or a solid crop of violets will also do the trick. If a short dense ground cover in the shade is desired try wild ginger.

To attract more wildlife to your yard you can plant a native shrub hedge. This plan furnishes shelter for wildlife while also providing fruit for birds and nectar for butterflies and bees. This plan includes 100ft x 25ft of space with 27 shrubs of 16 species. To attract the widest diversity of birds to the garden provide fruiting trees throughout the year. Fragrant sumac, golden current, fringe tree, service berry, and wild plum all have fruit during the summer months. In fall spicebush, pagoda dogwood, and sassafrass will attract migrating flocks of birds. For winter resident birds plant beauty berry, winter berry, and blackhaw viburnum to contribute fruit that lasts through the cold months. Providing sources of pollen and nectar throughout the year for insects will attract more butterflies and bees. Early nectar sources are spicebush, fragrant sumac, service berry, and wild plum. Wild hydrangea, New Jersey tea, and pagoda dogwood bloom in summer. Vernal witch hazel blooms in the middle of winter on warm days to produce necessary food for early insects. Hummingbirds will find nectar from golden current and red buckeye. Native shrubs are also valuable host plants for butterflies. The spicebush is the host plant for the spicebush swallowtail butterfly and the wafer ash is host to the giant swallowtail butterfly. The fragrant sumac is host for the red-banded hairstreak butterfly and the regal moth. On wild plum look for caterpillars of hairstreaks, viceroys, cecropia, and sphinxs moths. A landscape design is never one size fits all. Notice on this design that the plants that like a wetter environment are on the right and drier on the left. The plan can be adapted to fit the space available. Be sure to purchase shrubs that are the true native and not a cultivar that might not provide the same ecosystem services. Plant list: 4 beauty berry, Callicarpa americana, plant on 3ft centers 3 fragrant sumac, Rhus aromatica, plant on 3ft centers 2 wild hydrangea, Hydrangea arborescens, plant on 3ft centers 3 New Jersey tea, Ceanothus americanus, plant on 3ft centers 2 golden current, Ribes odoratum, plant on 4ft centers 1 vernal witch hazel, Hamamelis vernalis, plant on 6ft centers 2 winter berry, Ilex verticillata, plant on 10ft centers 2 spicebush, Lindera benzoin, plant on 10ft centers 1 red buckeye, Aesculus pavia, plant on 10ft centers 1 blackhaw viburnum, Viburnum prunifolium, plant on 12ft centers 1 pagoda dogwood, Cornus alternifolia, plant on 15ft centers 1 fringe tree, Chionanthus virginicus, plant on 15ft centers 1 service berry, Amelanchier arborea, plant on 15ft centers 1 wafer ash - Ptelea trifoliata, plant on 15ft centers 1 sassafrass, Sassafras albidum, plant on 15ft centers   1 wild plum, Prunus americana, plant on 20ft centers