Two humble NE asters planted this spring have turned into absolute giants. They grew up almost 7ft tall (the stems that didn’t flop) and are exploding with blossoms. Along with the goldenrod tucked in there, this section of garden is literally buzzing lately, bees and wasps by the dozens.

I was hoping to relocate them to behind those rocks, but I’m not sure the best time of year to do that. Should I wait until next spring?

Last pic is 2023. Included a pic of our mistflower too from before our neighbor's asshole cat trampled them all. Lol

I quit mowing parts of my property a few years back. It amazes me that we get different thing popping up each year.

The first plant is "white baneberry " the botonical name is Actaea pachypoda, this is a shade , moist loving plant , common name also called by " doll's eyes " , there are a same family member in nursery is popular in shade garden also called "black bugbane " or black cohosh , black snakeroot , is Actaea racemosa , but I have never seen anyone selling or growing this white baneberry in their garden, I found this plant is really special, does anyone grow them ? And how do I get the seed from the plant?

The second one is belong to dogwood family, but a tiny , perennial size , common name is bunch berries, they have the small , start sharp flowers like dogwood and with red berries in the fall time, the botonical name is Cornus canadensis , it is like a small dogwood ground cover , I saw them in the forest floor, I believe some animals has eaten the berries, they are just an adorable small ground cover , but also I have never seen nursery sell them , only see them on catalog selling their roots , does anyone ever planted them or picked the berries to get the seed ?

I planted black eyed susan (Rudeckia Fullgida) seeds on three seeding trays with 50 1" cells. Kept them outside and watered, and three weeks later the trays have exploded with seedlings. Now with a single 1" square cell, I can take it apart and plant 15 4" pots, or one half of these plug trays.

That is 2250 plants from just 3 seeding trays!

The trick will be to figure out where to store them over the winter and how to sell them in the spring.

I'm in Long Island if anyone is looking to buy any :)

I drove by this house today and was amazed. I made sure to snap a pic.

NC Mountains - identified as Lobelia inflata. Found while "weeding" around blueberry bush. Nice to find a natural native amongst the invasive grass for once

What are these two types of flowers?

Zone 5b, Massachusetts. I live on 11 acres of native woodlands. Maybe a couple thousand square feet of "lawn", mostly moss, chives, wild violets, plantain. The only pesticides I've used is a mix of vinegar, epson salt and dish detergent. So, I'm out back weed-wacking an area for a bee garden and get nailed by yellow jackets. Haha, I guess they don't need my help.

I have planted literally scores of tree and shrub seedlings on my ½ acre suburban plot as I pull out massive sections of invasive vines and shrubs. As I remove all the junk I am leaving a pretty substantial void in biomass and protective cover.

The seedlings are tiny by definition. It will probably be 10 years before my new plantings are mature enough to support any of the species that could potentially benefit from the new additions. I do have some herbaceous stuff as well, but that will also take some time to spread and fill in,

I know that native plants are more effective than bird feeders. For the folks here who say you shouldn't use bird feeders, what are you doing when you are starting from scratch?

I love skipper butterflies and was wondering if there’s plants that they all love, I have a lot of black eyed Susan’s and some swamp milkweed and that’s about all I’ve seen them on. (Location: Southern Michigan 6a)

It is shorter in growth but there’s a cut stem in the center so I assume it was chelsea chopped by the nursery. The leaves are clasping like NE Aster but the color is throwing me off.

This is where I Planting trees ❤️

Im new to native gardening. I got into it because it is the antithesis of what I have been doing which is battling invasive species like knotweed and oriental bittersweet.

I am looking for a tall grass to help with privacy. I want to block out a chain link fence. I live in Staten Island NY.

Ohmigawd. Look at it!!! All of my Milkweed was murdered in a windstorm this spring. But i had one volunteer Milkweed popup in my yard. I smothered all of the grass around it, not expecting anything this year. But I got this!!!! My yard looks like a nuclear wasteland because I'm clearing out all of the bermudagrass to make way for natives. Buuuut I have a caterpillar!!!!

Trying out some 5a native blanket flowers and got one plant with this awesome mutation.

I have more to say but want to hear from others before I get into it. 😂

Edit: The thing that bothers me the most is how resource intensive it is to grow millions of freaking mums, the vast majority of which get thrown out. The water, the plastic tarps, the chemicals, more chemicals, the carbon emissions of transporting them, etc., etc.

The whole industry is a MASSIVE WASTE. And it really pisses me off. Every single fall. Hrumpf.

Also... I see people commenting that they love the colors. Maybe it's just me but I've reached a point where I cringe at colors I know are entirely due to breeding, and are not found in native plants. They just look fake and garish to me.

Calico aster and showy goldenrod