We've covered what soft landings are and how to create them around newly planted native trees to provide a landing zone for caterpillars and other insects to transform and overwinter. Now let's look at the situation most of us already have: mature (hopefully native) trees surrounded by lawn. If you have several trees that could benefit from a soft landing, start with your keystone species first. Oaks, cherries, plums, willows, maples, birches, and other keystone trees are alr

In our last blog post, we shared the concept of soft landings: the vegetative layers beneath trees that provide safe haven for caterpillars in their pupal and most vulnerable state (as well as other insects and wildlife species). In this post, we’ll cover how to create this critically important habitat below and around a new sapling. In our next post, we’ll share tips on planting under mature trees. While a young tree may be standing in full sun today, as it matures, the cano

If you've planted a native tree but are still mowing beneath it, you’re missing one of the most important pieces of the habitat puzzle. Many of our butterflies and showy moths spend their caterpillar stage feeding in trees like oaks, maples, and wild plums. When they're ready to pupate, they drop to the ground and rely on leaf litter and native plants below for shelter and cover as they transform and overwinter. That's why nature builds in layers. A canopy of trees, understor

Many of us have tried planting small bare root trees and shrubs in the past with poor survival. There are two main reasons for these...

Chokeberries are a great native alternative to the invasive Asian burning bush, and this is why.

Did you know that the leafy shrubs you see this time of year are likely the non-native Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii)? This invasive...

Potting up: If you've purchased bare root plants in spring, we recommend potting them up and growing them out until fall. First, choose a...

Another tip for maximizing the wildlife you attract when planting native is avoiding ecological traps - these are areas that attract or...

This is the 4th post in a series on maximizing wildlife value when landscaping with native plants. Let’s recap what we’ve covered so far:...

When planting native, following a few specific principles will maximize benefit to wildlife. So far, we've covered the importance of...

In part one of this series, we talked about the importance of including keystone plants in your landscaping for the best benefit to...

Whether creating a new planting space, or adding to an existing one, understanding a few concepts will ensure the best success in...

50% off trees and shrubs this weekend only! It's year one for my new native nursery and I have WAAAAAYYY too many plants to winter over...

Asian honeysuckle are just one of many foreign plants that have escaped cultivation and are destroying ecosystems and causing the...

When planting native, many are discouraged to find that deer are often a little too grateful for our efforts. I think it's important to...

This is a great time of year to make yourself some free plants from those you already have! This works well on every shrub I've tried it on, as well as raspberries and blackberries, and there is an air-layering method that can be used to propagate new trees using the same concepts. (See diagram below for a visual on this technique.) To grow a new bush, simply bend a branch down to the ground and anchor it at a leaf node (where new leaves would emerge), adding a rock or brick

Welcome to Leaves for Wildlife Native Nursery (& developing wildlife preserve)! Don't Miss the Free Cider and Pumpkin Muffins :-) Natives...

Also known as smokey fennel, bronze fennel grows 2-4 feet tall and is an unusually-colored herb in the carrot family, native to the...

Open-grown oak trees may produce acorns are early as 20 years. Most oak trees grow best in full to partial sun. Oaks are more shade...

Lindera benzoin is a beautiful native shrub, 6-8 feet in height that is deer resistant. When planted in partial to full sun, it’s the...