I was excited to subscribe to this magazine several years ago, but very disappointed in a few things. The main disappointment saw the editors missing the opportunity in every issue to tout the benefits of native plants and the importance of restoring food webs throughout the country. In addition, the magazine doesn’t take a strong enough stance (for me) on horticultural chemicals.
This month, though, the magazine has started to redeem itself by featuring a couple of articles on native plants.
Like so much of the mainstream horticultural writing, the articles are focused on different areas of the US, but there are good ideasthat can be adapted to our area.
I also did a search on their website (see HERE) and found quite a few articles about native plants.
There’s an amazing gallery on Camano Island (Matzke Fine Art Gallery and Sculpture Garden) that I visited on Labor Day. The sculpture garden is this great garden that incorporates native components with some ornamental non-natives. Having read that nettles are a host plant for some amazing butterflies, I spotted a stand of these stinging natives and approached warily. Sure enough, many of the leaves were eaten. On closer inspection, I saw one culprit–a large black and yellow caterpillar.
I just ordered nettle seeds, along with Oregon grape (Mahonia repens) and some other natives. Will I have a tortoiseshell caterpillar in my yard one year? I sure hope so!