So, it's the right time of year to plant, and native plants are easier to find than ever before. But . . . something is still stopping you. Hmm. What could that be?

If your property contains a stream, pond, or any sort of wetland, whether its flow is permanent or intermittent in nature, this article is especially for you!

Community associations are positioned to play a transformative role in ecosystem rejuvenation and health, acting on their common land and inspiring residents to do the same on theirs.

Elements of the landscape may pose serious hazards to the very wildlife that we’ve attracted. Are we drawing them closer, only to have them harmed by an avoidable threat to their health and wellbeing?

It’s fall, and most healthy plants are looking rather spent as they go dormant for the winter. But some natives are happily blooming away for the first time this growing season, catching your eye with their intense colors and soothing away year-end gardening blues

Native vines can be terrific additions to your landscape. The most popular one, Coral Honeysuckle, is a hummingbird magnet! Unlike the non-native invasive vines that we see everywhere killing trees, our native vines seldom hurt them.

If you grew up in suburbia, a pristine lawn was a welcome herald of spring. Everyone enjoys the smell of freshly mowed grass and the look of a well-kept, manicured lawn. So what, you might wonder, is the problem with turfgrass?

When planting, most people take into consideration how plants will look in the daytime, but have you ever heard of moon gardens?

It’s fairly common in residential neighborhoods to see trees surrounded by grass or by small mulch beds, often heaped high like a volcano. But did you know that your trees would be healthier and grow faster if you replaced that turf and those mulch volcanos with a 2-4” deep ring of mulch that extends out to the tree’s drip line or even beyond?

Here is an executive summary of eco-friendly yard maintenance recommendations for fall: 1: Watch the pretty leaves flutter down from above. 2: Do as little as possible to disturb those leaves or the flower stalks.

In 2021, Henry David Thoreau Middle School, in Vienna, applied for funds from ASNV to purchase native plants for its courtyard. We recently received an exciting update on its garden. 

Fall is for planting. When choosing what to plant, why not factor in the ecosystem while you are at it?

Most corporate properties have pretty “standard” landscaping, meaning the plants do very little if anything to support the local ecosystem. More and more, though, we are seeing innovative landscape designs on commercial properties that demonstrate the potential for corporations to be leaders in the effort to save the natural world, starting on their own land.

Originality has not been what springs to mind when looking at most front yards, but now people are starting to tweak the conventions by putting native plants front and center on their properties.

I got some bad news recently. I picked up a new edition of “Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas” and found that one of my favorite bulbs, Hyacinthoides hispanica, or Spanish Bluebells, is a new entry, its invasive qualities manifesting in my area.

Some invasive plants are sneaky. They pop up in one’s garden without explanation or obvious origin and force gardeners to take action on the spot, lest they be forgotten and allowed to grow and spread. Some of the sneakiest are the Bush Honeysuckles, several species of Lonicera with Eurasian origins.

One hundred and thirty-five landscape professionals attended a conference on sustainable landscaping on February 15 on the Annandale campus of Northern Virginia Community College.

When it comes to the curb appeal of our houses and other buildings, the difference between starkly naked and softly clothed is the shrubs. What is a shrub, anyway?

Confession is said to be good for the soul, so here it goes: I have, while standing in someone’s garden, wimped out on telling them their Butterfly Bush (Buddleia davidii) is invasive.

One extremely popular plant that has recently been showing its invasive qualities and is on invasive lists in various northern Virginia jurisdictions is Liriope, commonly called Monkey Grass or Lilyturf.