Usually, fall is the ideal time of year to plant -- cooler temps and more rain. As long as soil temps remain in the 50s for a few weeks after digging, most things will have enough time to establish and then leap faster next spring. But man, we're staring at a string of 90s and 100s with no rain. It's been a VERY up and down growing season here in eastern Nebraska, with weeds popping later in a much greater number. It almost feels like gardening as we've known it has really turned a corner in 2023. Well, if you wanted it easy you wouldn't be into plants, right?

Good luck in your autumn goals!

Prairie up! 

Never seen a year like this one, and it's underscoring the critical importance of staying on top of the garden in years 1-2 if we want more of that less-mangement-more-habitat dream. Luckily, most of the weeds we see are annuals (foxtail, crabgrass, prickly lettuce, lambsquarters), so if we can keep them deadheaded they're simply doing us a favor germinating and exhausting the seed bank. Right?

Benjamin's latest for Better Homes and Gardens. It's perfectly sharable to help others consider some core design tenets that help bridge the divide between wildness and traditional urban landscaping. 

There are four new downloadable guides available that we hope make complex ideas even more actionable for you. The first three guides delve into short plants for front yard meadows, shade plants, and natives for winter interest while featuring profiles of over 20 plants each.

The matrix guide (below) is a more in-depth design manual that takes you step-by-step on the why and how. All pair well together and all are over twenty pages long.

If you want max detail, the 18 online classes are the way to go.

Let's discuss goldenrod, specifically Solidago canadensis. This species is one of the more aggressive of our native goldenrods, both by seed and root. It's really not a good option for smaller suburban and urban gardens, but is best suited to acreages (usually). It was recently spied in a field overrun with smooth brome and holding its own -- impressive.

You're likely to see it pop up at home and our recommendation is to remove it because of its sociability as well as height. There are many other goldenrod species that are better behaved, and for a variety of sun and soil conditions, so research your ecoregion. Some we often use include Solidago flexicaulis, Solidago speciosa, and in select cases Oligoneuron rigidium.

NB -- goldenrod does not cause hayfever, that's ragweed. Goldenrod pollen is heavy and sticky, not wind borne. Also, insects and bugs adore it.

9/30 -- Plant Native Oklahoma -- online

11/15 -- The Nature Foundation of Will county -- online

12/18 -- Western PA Wild Ones -- online

All of the images in this newsletter feature the gardens of Benjamin's mother in Minnesota. We hope you find some inspiration in seeing a mix of natives and exotics, shrubs with perennials, and cultivars as well. There's more than one way to go even though our modus operandi is native first and foremost.