Fall: A Great Time for Native Planting
Cooler mornings, yellow-tinged leaves—the first signs of fall are in the air. As summer’s blooms begin to wane and the warm hues of goldenrods and grasses take their place, it… Read More →
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Native Plants That Grow in Maple Shade
Maple trees can be wonderful denizens of the urban landscape, growing quickly to provide shade in the summer and glorious colors in the fall. But many home gardeners are challenged… Read More →
Snags: The Life-Affirming Role of Dead Trees
Environmental educator Nick Voss ponders snags and life. (Photo: Nick Voss) As winter becomes a not-so-distant memory, gardeners, greenhouses, and landscapers are thrilled to return to a celebration of life.… Read More →
Trees and Shrubs in a Pollinator-Friendly Yard
Insects are among nature’s more industrious workers, ensuring generations of bountiful and useful plants. We can help them do their work by creating a more pollinator-friendly yard. And when we… Read More →
American Goldfinch: Joy on Thistles and Quilts
The following essay is by environmental educator Nick Voss, Education & Outreach Coordinator at the Vadnais Lake Area Water Management Organization. Photo by Nick Voss. The American Goldfinch is a… Read More →
Evolution of a Yard: Conventional Turf to All Native Plants
For Dana Boyle, a Twin Cities metro resident, a Lawns to Legumes grant was part of a yard transformation which had been percolating over several years, and which she writes… Read More →
Pursuing the Cosmos with Youth and Owls
The following essay is a personal reflection by environmental educator Nick Voss. Voss is the Education & Outreach Coordinator at the Vadnais Lake Area Water Management Organization Photo of Fort Snelling… Read More →
Mobilizing Minnesotans to Protect Pollinators
In 2020 many Minnesotans enthusiastically rose to the challenge of protecting pollinators in their yards through Lawns to Legumes, a state Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) program to… Read More →
A Pollinator Project That Soaks in Rainwater
A Lawns to Legume Story Another participant project from Lawns to Legumes, a Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources program supporting residents to create pollinator habitat in their yards… Read More →
Creating My Pollinator Garden
A Lawns to Legumes Story A recipient of a state Lawns to Legumes cost-share grant shares how she came to plant her pollinator garden. Lawns to Legumes, a program through… Read More →