Among the most widely cultivated and recognizable plants growing in gardens this time of year are sunflowers, members of the genus Helianthus. The showiest species and hybrid varieties within this cheery botanical club, such as common sunflower, often steal the limelight for their size and color. But it’s worth getting to know the Northeast’s three most common native Helianthus species: woodland, pale-leaved, and thin-leaved sunflower. [Read more…] about Native Sunflowers: Solar Avatars
pollinators
Jewelweed: A Hummingbird Favorite
By midsummer, the deck in our backyard is lined with a profusion of tall orange flowers. Each flower is shaped like a small funnel with a curved spur and hangs from a slender arched stem.
Hummingbirds zip back and forth, hovering in front of the flowers and probing them with their long beaks to sip nectar. [Read more…] about Jewelweed: A Hummingbird Favorite
Wild Oats: A Bashful Spring Bellwort
On a recent walk through a woodland strewn with underfoot color, my rapt gaze floated, like a bumblebee queen on her first foray after winter, from trout lilies to trilliums to spring beauties, all blooming across the forest floor and exulting in the sun shining through the leafless canopy.
Standing out is hard among such a flashy crowd, especially for one particularly understated spring ephemeral: sessile-leaved bellwort (Uvularia sessilifolia), known more commonly as wild oats. [Read more…] about Wild Oats: A Bashful Spring Bellwort
Pollinator Conservation Grants for Disadvantaged Communities
A New York Natural Heritage Program survey from 2017 to 2021 found that at least 40 percent – and as much as 60 percent of pollinator species native to New York, including bees and butterflies – are at risk of disappearing from the state.
These losses are largely driven by habitat destruction, overuse of pesticides, and climate change.
The New York Community Trust and the Office of the New York State Attorney General have announced 2026 grants from the New York Pollinator Conservation Fund, supporting pollinator conservation efforts in disadvantaged communities across New York State. [Read more…] about Pollinator Conservation Grants for Disadvantaged Communities
Capped Adirondack Landfill Becoming Native Pollinator Habitat
In April 2024, AdkAction, a non-profit environmental conservation and community development organization, was awarded a grant through DEC’s Adirondack Park Community Smart Growth Grant Program. AdkAction will use the grant funds to convert an eight-acre grassland located on a capped landfill to a native pollinator habitat. [Read more…] about Capped Adirondack Landfill Becoming Native Pollinator Habitat
Invasive Laurel Wilt Confirmed on Long Island
Laurel wilt, an invasive fungal disease that affects sassafras and spicebush, was detected on Long Island this summer, marking the first discovery of the deadly plant disease in New York State.
Originating in Asia and first identified in the United States in Georgia in 2002, the disease is now present in multiple southeastern states, with the northernmost cases prior to the New York find occurring in Kentucky and Virginia. [Read more…] about Invasive Laurel Wilt Confirmed on Long Island
Turtlehead Tests Bumblebee Mettle
Among the blooming perennials of late summer is one that guards its secrets closely. The lock-box blossoms of white turtlehead (Chelone glabra), a native plant in the plantain family, are an ideal match for the powerhouses of the pollinator world: Bombus (bumblebee) species.
Turtlehead is found along waterways and other wet areas. As the plant’s name suggests, turtlehead’s flowers resemble the crania of their namesake critter. This resemblance is so strong that the genus name, Chelone, comes from the Greek for “tortoise.” [Read more…] about Turtlehead Tests Bumblebee Mettle
Syrphid Flies Puzzle and Pollinate
Survey the insects orbiting a globe of milkweed blossoms or the delicate blooms of a chokeberry, and you might spy an apparent chimera. It looks a bit like a bee, perhaps a tad like a wasp, and it darts and pauses mid-flight like a hummingbird.
These diminutive helicopters are syrphid flies, so-called because they are members of the insect family Syrphidae. [Read more…] about Syrphid Flies Puzzle and Pollinate
Insect Declines: ‘The Great and Merciless Thinning’
The black flies emerged early this year in the Adirondacks, but we should expect to be harassed by another brood before Father’s Day. It would be a matter of concern if we weren’t.
According to the latest “Bugs Matter” report from the UK-based conservation charity Buglife, “the number of bug splatters on vehicle license plates in the UK has declined 63% since 2021.” [Read more…] about Insect Declines: ‘The Great and Merciless Thinning’
Native Plant Spotlight: Bloodroot
It’s the season for spring ephemerals, native wildflowers like bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) that bloom on the forest floor for a short time in early spring. Like other spring ephemerals, bloodroot takes advantage of early spring sunlight, then fades by the time leaves shade the forest floor.
Bloodroot can be recognized by its single white flower with a yellow center and leaves that curl around the flower’s stalk before unfurling as the plant matures. Its name comes from the bright red liquid within its roots. Bloodroot has been used traditionally by many Native American cultures for a variety of uses, including dye and medicine. [Read more…] about Native Plant Spotlight: Bloodroot
A Regional Study of Pollinators in Barrens Habitats
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Forest Health Research Lab Manager Amanda Dillon, recently collaborated with other researchers from universities, state agencies, and environmental organizations across the Northeast to study how barrens ecosystems can support important pollinators like bees and moths. [Read more…] about A Regional Study of Pollinators in Barrens Habitats
Bees at Home in Holes and Hollows During Winter
On a subzero morning, I clip into skis and head out across my meadow, gliding between desiccated husks of sundial lupine (Lupinus perennis) poking up above the snow.
I imagine this spot eight months ago, as I watched bumblebees, mason bees, and sweat bees forage among them. Back then, in June, the world was exploding with sounds and colors, insects on the wing, and birdsong in the humid air. Today, there is silence. [Read more…] about Bees at Home in Holes and Hollows During Winter
State Parks’ Reduced Mowing Program Boosts Nature
Through the ongoing implementation of the Reduced Mowing Policy — part of the New York State Pollinator Protection Plan — grow zones have become a staple at state parks and historic sites.
These zones, where native grasses and wildflowers are allowed to grow tall, benefit the environment and local wildlife, proving to be more sustainable than traditional mowed areas and enhancing visitor experience in new ways. [Read more…] about State Parks’ Reduced Mowing Program Boosts Nature
Digger Wasps: Benefits and Misconceptions
On warm days through early fall, you can find two large species of “digger” wasps flitting about late-blooming flowers. Like many wasps, these species elicit strong, often negative reactions in humans. But digger wasps inhabit a critical niche in invertebrate communities – and can lend a natural hand in pest control.
Two of the most common digger wasps in the Northeast are the great golden digger wasp (Sphex ichneumoneus) and great black digger wasp (S. pensylvanicus). These hefty wasps first appear in July in the Northeast and persist into fall for as long as daytime temperatures remain elevated. [Read more…] about Digger Wasps: Benefits and Misconceptions
Late Blooming Flowers Feed Native Bees
As the height-of-summer floral abundance fades, goldenrods and asters fill the landscape with hits of yellow, purple, pink, and white. Beyond the beauty they provide, these late bloomers are a critical food source for several native species of wild native bees. [Read more…] about Late Blooming Flowers Feed Native Bees
September Native Plants for Pollinators
Just because it’s September doesn’t mean your garden is all done flowering. If you have been trying to encourage pollinators to come to your garden, they still need pollen and nectar. Adding later blooming plants to the garden will help all pollinators. It will encourage migrating monarch butterflies to visit your garden as they fuel up for their trip to Mexico.
If you don’t know where to start, here are a few native plants that can add some splendor to your September garden. [Read more…] about September Native Plants for Pollinators
New England American-Asters: Stars of Late Summer
Before the trees put on their colorful autumnal cloaks, the newly rewilded fields at my home turn to gold and purple. New England American-aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae) begins blooming in August or September and continues to splash the meadows with deep purple color well into October, mixing with the bright yellow of goldenrod flowers. [Read more…] about New England American-Asters: Stars of Late Summer
Beneficial Insects in the Garden: A Primer
A common reaction when you see a bug in the garden is to reach for the insect spray. Not so fast! Are you sure that is a pest? Maybe it’s actually one of the good guys that helps keep those bad bugs under control. Most insects found in the home landscape aren’t harmful to our plants.
There are many “beneficial” insects that pollinate our plants or provide us with bug control services. Still others are the clean-up crew and take care of dead or decomposing things. It is important to learn to recognize beneficial insects, so they can be appreciated and conserved. [Read more…] about Beneficial Insects in the Garden: A Primer
Mountain Mint: A Native Pollinator Magnet
Behind my garden of native plants, one scrappy perennial holds its own among the tangle of goldenrod stalks and blackberry brambles.
Its swaying flowerheads buzz with a throng of insects: golden digger and great black wasps, bumblebees, sweat bees, butterflies, and beetles. [Read more…] about Mountain Mint: A Native Pollinator Magnet
NYC’s High Line Park: Wild by Design Since 2009
During this milestone year celebrating 15 years since the opening of the park, “Wild by Design Since 2009,” the High Line‘s annual and ongoing Horticulture Celebration, is spotlighting the work of Dutch planting designer Piet Oudolf, who translated the magic of the self-seeded landscape of the derelict railway into what you see today. [Read more…] about NYC’s High Line Park: Wild by Design Since 2009