Hi,
I just want to mention that the plants people often refer to as lawn
"weeds" (I dislike this word) are very useful to wildlife.
For example:
Crabgrass seeds: Juncos love them!
Common Violet: The food plant of our Fritillary butterflies.
Purple Dead Nettle, Gill-over-the-ground or Ground Ivy, Small-flowered
Bittercress, Common Dandelion, and other very early-blooming plants: Vital
nectar and pollen sources for the earliest insects (e.g. wasps, bees, bee
flies, butterflies, flies, etc.) of spring. NOTE: American Goldfinches
love
the seeds of dandelions--the coloration of their plumage matching
wonderfully the yellow of dandelion flower heads. Seeing goldfinches fly up
from a
field of dandelions--some in bloom and some gone to seed--is like watching
the flowers themselves take to the air--honestly! It's a delightful
experience.
If you maintain a diversity of plant life in your yard, you support a
diversity of animal life which makes a static landscape much more exciting and
interesting.
Sincerely,
Marlene
Marlene A. Condon (Author, The Nature-friendly Garden, Stackpole Books)
Naturalist and Writer/Photographer/Speaker
Crozet, VA 22932-2204
E-mail: MARLENECONDON@xxxxxxx
_www.MARLENECONDON.com_ (http://www.marlenecondon.com/)
In a message dated 3/29/2011 7:08:06 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
NLDR@xxxxxxx writes:
Hi Liz:
Corn gluten is a good organic pre-emergent herbicide for crabgrass, and
vinegar or clove-based herbicides are good grass/weed killers once plants
have emerged. _http://www.hort.iastate.edu/gluten/_ ;
(http://www.hort.iastate.edu/gluten/)
Epsoma products are good organic fertilizers for lawn and garden.
_http://www.espoma.com/p_consumer/pdf/products/Esp_ELF.pdf_ ;
(http://www.espoma.com/p_consumer/pdf/products/Esp_ELF.pdf)
Cole Burrell, Free Union, Va
An organic gardners with a tolerable number of weeds and lots of happy,
healthy birds, butterflies, reptiles and amphbians
C. Colston Burrell
Principal, Native Landscape Design and Restoration
Lecturer, Department of Landscape Architecture, University of Virginia
Author, Photographer and Lecturer
PO Box 76
Free Union, VA 22940
434-975-2859
nldr@xxxxxxx
Recent Book:
Perennial Combinations
Great Natives for Tough Places
Hellebores: A Comprehensive Guide
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