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• On the Blog Post The Best of Intentions: How Starlings Arrived in America, Invasive Plant Management, and a Recipe for Garlic Mustard Pesto

  

  Natural Lands Trust

  12:49 am on Wednesday, December 12, 2012

  Did I mention that we can eat kudzu, too? Whole kudzu cookbooks have been developed!

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• On the Blog Post The Best of Intentions: How Starlings Arrived in America, Invasive Plant Management, and a Recipe for Garlic Mustard Pesto

  

  Natural Lands Trust

  12:49 am on Wednesday, December 12, 2012

  Catriona - Members of our staff (we are a land conservation and stewardship organization) are quite knowledgable about plants native our region and stewardship practices that support native species, both plant and animal. We have established a Center for Conservation Landowners to share our knowledge with landowners like you. On the Natural Lands Trust website (I'll include the link below), we have a page full of information about native plant species that we recommend. We also offer many free online how-to guides, including one about managing invasive plants. If you like them, you can also download a free PDF of a 220-page Steward Handbook for Natural Lands in Southeastern Pennsylvania, written by our staff. We also offer workshops from time to time! Learn about native plants and invasive plant management here: http://www.natlands.org/services/for-land-owners/caring-for-your-land/how-to-guides/
  I'm afraid I personally cannot recommend a replacement tree for the edge of your retention basin, but you can get some ideas for native plants. Our land stewardship staff also offer stewardship consultations to landowners, though this is not a free service.

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• On the Blog Post The Best of Intentions: How Starlings Arrived in America, Invasive Plant Management, and a Recipe for Garlic Mustard Pesto

  

  Natural Lands Trust

  12:49 am on Wednesday, December 12, 2012

  Ruth- I haven't heard that dandelion can affect alertness, one way or the other. I'll ask some of my colleagues and tell you if I learn anything. If you hadn't heard of kudzu, perhaps you have heard of mile-a-minute vine. That (along with "the plant that ate the South") is a nickname for kudzu. Kudzu is native to East Asia. Story goes, it was included in a Japanese exhibit at a world fair in Philadelphia in the late 19th century. People here admired its blooms and sought it as an ornamental. Later, a couple in Florida found that kudzu made a great source of food for livestock. Kudzu was also valued for its ability to prevent erosion. Unfortunately, it grows really well in the South, and fast (hence the nicknames). It has spread up the East Coast as far as Maryland. If it reaches our preserves, we'll hope that our goats can keep it under control! Do you have trumpet honeysuckle (the one with the the long pink and orange blooms)? I can see hummingbirds liking that. It's a native species, too! Sorry for the delayed response.

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• On the Blog Post The Best of Intentions: How Starlings Arrived in America, Invasive Plant Management, and a Recipe for Garlic Mustard Pesto

  

  Natural Lands Trust

  2:23 pm on Thursday, December 6, 2012

  Hi, Ruth. Thanks for you post. Dandelions are definitely an introduced, invasive plant species. Europeans brought it over for its medicinal qualities. It's leaves are bitter, but are loaded with vitamins, so it was used in teas. The whole plant is edible, though the roots and stalks should be cooked through first. The flowers and leaves can be added to salads.
  Fortunately, dandelions don't do much harm to native environments besides taking up space (and nutrients) that could be used by native species. The amount of sunlight they they block from reaching nearby plants in nominal, and they aren't known to produce toxins that would make the soil inhospitable for other plant species. Bees and ladybugs find dandelion flowers pretty just like we do, which is great, because ladybugs eat aphids and bees are pollinators.
  Since dandelions do spread so well, last spring and summer, when the dandelions on my lawn turned to seed, I took to plucking the seed heads off the plants (before they opened into the white fluffy balls) as I walked around the yard with my dog. I held them in my hand or put them in my coat pocket and then tossed them in the garbage once I got back in the house. If you were to ask me, I'd say that doing so was a fairly effective way to prevent the dandelions from spreading. Maybe I just didn't have as many has I remembered to begin with. I guess I'll see next year.

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• On the Blog Post Nature Walk at Mariton Wildlife Sanctuary Rescheduled Because of Road Work

  

  Natural Lands Trust

  2:26 pm on Tuesday, October 23, 2012

  UPDATE: This week's Nature Walk took place today (Tuesday) at the Giving Pond Recreation Area in Delaware Canal National Park. There will not be an organized walk at Mariton Wildlife Sanctuary until next Tuesday, the 30th. If you plan to visit at Mariton this week, we advise that you contact Preserve Manager Tim Burris at 610 258 6574 beforehand. He will be able to tell you whether the road to Mariton is clear. Thanks to everyone who joined Tim at Giving Pond today!

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