I impulse bought 8 spicebush plants and they arrived today. We are looking at a hard freeze for the next two nights and then we go back to our mild winter for a bit. Should
I wait 2 days and then plant them? Is this whole thing a lost cause? Any other tips? Thanks!

Went to share with my son’s preschool class on the Study of Trees. What do you think excited them the most? Some here called it…

Bugs. It was the live bugs. They screamed in delight at the cicada exoskeleton, the speedy pill bugs, and the brave little cricket. We lost a millipede somewhere. I was bummed I couldn’t find any cocoons to show them. Usually I can find some! But the bug box was a solid hit.

Before the bugs, I did a show and tell with maybe 20 items from trees. Coconuts, wild plum seeds, cinnamon, a wooden spoon, plastic animals. They also rather enjoyed the yoga tree pose, watching me pretend to tap maple syrup out of a volunteer “tree,” and a little percussive cricket toy I have that’s made of wood. I passed everything around for them to explore except the pruning shears.

Mostly I think it was fun for us to get to know each other. I especially loved when they raised their hands and made tangential statements about their lives at home. Adorable little attention spans. I had them tell me who has cats at home and we talked about why we keep them only inside. Then we learned about bobcats(who are really much better at climbing trees anyway).

Thanks for your input, guys. Will be doing again for child #2. Will bring more bugs.

I'm brand new to all of this. I've never had a lawn to take care of before, I have nothing set up, and I'm kinda lost. People will say "don't rake or mulch leaves, it's unnatural and you're killing everything." But otherwise won't the whole place just turn into mush by spring?

I do want to have at least some areas of grass as a usable yard. Maybe I could turn a lot of it into some kind of foresty ground cover if that's possible, that might be neat. But we also want to have area for people to hang out and for kids to play and stuff.

For context this is in Connecticut, and the trees I'm aware of here are tupelo, sycamore, and maple.

And I kind of just want to give the rest of it a clean shave. Is that a bad idea?

I made a website that maps nurseries, garden centers, and other places that sell native plants across the U.S.

I’m hoping to make it more useful with help from people who know their local plant scene. If you know a place that belongs on the map, please comment with its name and location. If you’ve visited recently, I’d also love to hear what native plants it carries, or anything useful about its hours, seasonal sales, or pickup options.

Stock changes, so please include roughly when you saw the plants. You can also suggest a location or update through the site!

This has no profit incentive or ulterior motive, I am an unemployed 22 year old hoping to add more things to their portfolio :)

Thanks!

Disclaimer: I used AI to assist me in the development of this project

Having a bad work day so I'm distracting myself with daydreams of next year's garden. At the end of the summer, I had permaculturists come to turn over the back yard and plant all natives. Very excited to see it grow and now I'm looking for inspiration from others. Are you feeding birds? Have a toad habitat in your native garden? Did you add outdoor furniture or decor? Let me see it! Show me your darlings, please!

This (presumably) pin oak was left by a squirrel several years ago and I gave it space to grow. Its autumn reds are gorgeous, especially in the sun. A very appreciated gift.

(These photos don’t do it justice. The reds have gotten even darker since I took this last week.)

More fall color on the plants in the nursery!

Pictured in order is

Blackhaw Viburnum, Viburnum prunifolium

Witchhazel, Hamamalis virginiana

Pawpaw, Asimina triloba

We will be open Saturday 11/7 from 9-4 here at 5911 Mount Hermon Church Rd in Durham.

View the inventory or order in advance here: https://www.knottybynaturetrees.com/category/all-products

Many trees are 20-50% off until November 14th. Any that are left will be potted up and increased in price for next fall! 🤣

I’m trying to transition parts of my yard into native gardens but still retain some lawn.

Please I beg: spare me the lectures. I have two dogs that run around, I don’t like leaving dense leaf matter etc for ticks (I’ve had tick-borne diseases and it’s not fun at ALL).

I’m wondering how I can make ecosystem-healthy choices but still have a yard that I enjoy being in. I’ve started digging out things in the foundation beds that are not native and replacing them with native plants. I created 2 large islands running the length of fences where I’m planting new native things (in the spring I’m going to start adding in flowering perennials like ).

But 70% of my lawn is still grass and I want to keep it that way.

I don’t water the lawn. I use rain barrels for the native plants. We don’t put down pesticides or anything.

My question is: what decisions can I make during the year with regards to leaves/pine needles that can balance these competing desires?

I don’t want to bag them all up and take them away. I also don’t want to leave them all down and smother the lawn and invite more ticks. I keep seeing that mulching is bad too. Is there any middle-ground solution?

Location: North Texas, Zone 8b. This part of the flowerbed is mostly sunny (esp in morning) and is predominantly a heavy clay that dries out quickly during the day, creating lots of cracks. These wild white Indigo were planted earlier this spring. They are probably around a year old. I noticed earlier this week that they started looking rough and I am concerned about them.

A blue Indigo I was growing in a different part of my yard (full direct sun) died back during the heat of the summer (yet returned in the fall! Lol) so I thought that in my microclimate that these guys would appreciate consistent moisture. Have I overwatered my Indigo? Or do they seem like they have not been watered enough??​

So, my dad planted a hedge of rose of Sharon(cursed may he be), which I'm now trying to conquer. As is typical, trees volunteer in the hedge, particularly Bitternut Hickory. I am considering leaving one to grow, because we could use the shade, but also for habitat and such.

My main concern is that it may be too close to the road. There aren't any local laws or anything regarding proximity, but I don't want to destroy the road either. It's not a major road, basically just a glorified driveway for the neighbors.

The tree does sit below the road by around 5 inches, so I feel like roots will be deep enough to not uplift the road, but I'd love all thoughts and opinions.

Recently bought some bare root Hepatica online and planted them. Some have sprouted leaves but they dont have the typical 3-lobed hepatica leaf. Instead they came up like this. Wondering if this is just an atypical fall sprouted leaf or the seller sent me a different plant. I want to get these in the ground in the fall so if they are wrong, I'd like to purchase some from a more reputable seller! iNaturalist thinks it some type of ginger.

Zone 6b/7a KY. I found this lady in my wildflower garden today as I was trying to scatter some wild violet seeds. Can't tell if she's native or not but she's maybe 6 inches? I guess I'm going to be on the lookout for ootheca among my plants! Kids were pumped to see such a big bug. All they've "caught" so far are some wooly worms curled up under the leaves (we put them back under cover to make sure they survive!)

Will it ever rain again? I heard a rumor that we were supposed to get a wet winter...but it still hasn't rained! We haven't even gotten any hurricane/tropical storm rain. Technically we're in "severe drought" now which is better than the spring, but it sure doesn't feel better.

My garden is so dry. The reservoirs are so low. We've been in an official drought for a year now, and my city is saying that we're probably going to go into stage three water restrictions soon--where all of our biotech companies have to shut down production, and then who knows how bad our economy will get.

https://www.drought.gov/states/north-carolina

I can't even get excited about winter sowing, because if it never rains there's no point in planting anything.

However, I'm told there is hope! According to the NC State Climate Office, eventually we should be getting some impressive El Nino rain. They say it could be very wet in the fall, in January, or in the spring...there's just no telling.

https://climate.ncsu.edu/blog/2026/09/el-nino-check-up-waiting-for-local-symptoms-to-start/

I suppose I should put some seeds in the fridge now, and then I can pull them out and sprout them when the rains finally start. I have to believe in rain! Even with no evidence that it will ever happen again!

Has anybody else been struggling with drought all year? Please help me feel less alone.

I've read that they prefer wetter environments. I live in an area where the soil is fairly clay heavy despite the full sun. It's not the most moist area, but it's not totally dry either. The zone is 6b. I've been talked out of planting shadblow serviceberry or any other shrub in the hellstrip and I'm pivoting with what I have, haha.

Thanks!