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

Today it is cold and sleeting so I'm working on an indoor art project. I'm gluing photos of butterflies and their host plant to tiles to make a matching game. I frequently volunteer at plant related events either with Wild Ones, Bring Conservation Home, Master Naturalists, or STL Plant Swap. At these events it is nice to have a game to engage visitors at your booth. I have seen caterpillar butterfly  and also butterfly host plant matching games before. However, since it is usually the caterpillar that is the one that is host plant specific I thought it would make more sense to have the matching game include the caterpillar and plant. So I have included two photos of the insect and two of the plant so that everyone can see the caterpillar, butterfly, flower, and leaves. I picked out a 4 x 4 set of tiles, 16 total, so I can have 4 sets of butterfly/plant interactions. There are many specialist caterpillars to choose from so I limited my list to host plants that are good garden plants. Then I picked 4 that I had nice eye catching photos of. The final 4 were the Monarch and milkweed, of course, the black swallow tail and golden Alexander, spicebush swallow tail and spicebush,  and promethea silkmoth and sassafras. It was difficult to decide which 4 to choose but I guess I can add more tiles in the future. Although, 16 tiles might be hard enough. I glued the photos to the tiles using mod podge. This should make them last for a long time. If it rains at the event I wont have to worry about them being ruined. One problem with the other matching games was wind blowing the pieces away. These tiles will stay put and can even be used as paper weights for other items. I'm excited to take my new game to events next spring. I hope to see you there and you can try your luck at matching the tiles.

I have many childhood memories of going to summer outdoor concerts in the city park with my parents and catching fireflies with the rest of the kids in the field around the lake. Fireflies were also common in my backyard, on camping trips, and along the roads in the evening. Now when I see a firefly it is a rare occasion. I still see them in my backyard but not as many and for only a few nights in the summer. I want to bring them back. Besides being glowy, fireflies have other cool characteristics. First, they are beetles and the only bioluminescent creatures in Missouri. The larval fireflies do not have wings and glow continuously on the ground. A good place to see the glowing larva is along a prairie path after dark. Larva eat snails, slugs, earthworms, and other small things they can get their jaws on. The larva overwinter in the soil and in the spring metamorphose into the adult firefly. The flashing lights of the adults are the mating signal usually from the male in flight to the female on the ground. The different patterns of flashes help the males and females from the same species find each other. Some females mimic the flashing pattern of a different species to lure an unsuspecting male to her and then she eats him. There are many ways to garden for fireflies. Fireflies are very sensitive to light pollution because they can't see their mates flash pattern. Limit outdoor lights to provide dark areas for firefly courtship. Don't use pesticides. Fireflies are insects and can pick up pesticide residue off the plants they land on and from the soil when they overwinter. Check to see if your neighborhood participates in street spraying for mosquitoes. Ask if the insecticide used is harmful to fireflies. Most streets are sprayed at dusk right when the fireflies are emerging. Leave your garden soil undisturbed during the winter to protect overwintering larva. Fireflies appreciate native plantings as various heights for their courtship displays. Provide water and damp areas in the garden since fireflies are most commonly found near water sources. To learn more about firefly research visit https://xerces.org/2018/10/01/fireflies/

Sometimes plants grow too big for their pots before they are planted and the roots fill all the available space. When the pot is removed there are only roots holding the shape of the pot. This is called root bound. It is important to disrupt the circling roots before planting so that they grow out into the soil. Circling roots will get larger as they grow and can strangle the plant. Encouraging roots to grow out into the soil helps the plant have access to more nutrients and anchor in the soil. The roots can be untangled by hand to spread them out. If the taproot is circling it is very important to straighten it out if possible. Small circling roots can be sliced with a blade vertically. It is better to cut the root then to let it eventually strangle the plant. Make clean cuts to cause minimal scaring as the plant heals. Cutting off roots can be stressful to the new plant because it will not be able to take up as much water. Give extra care to a plant that had a severe root bound condition. Wilting may occur. When part of a plants root system is removed, removing an equal amount of the above ground portion of the plant will help with wilting. If the plant is a tree and branches can not be removed each leaf can be cut in half to reduce water loss through the leaves. In many cases even if the root system is damaged, the benefits of being in the soil with access to more water and nutrients will allow healthy growth without disturbing the above ground part of the plant.