A few monarch and queen butterflies have arrived to feast on the nectar rich flowers. I hope to see more soon. This is a queen butterfly.
This common buckeye perched on a dried coneflower seedhead between meals.
Plano's annual Environmental Community Awards Celebration was held a couple of weeks ago and I was received the award for Community Outreach in the Individual Adult category.
It was an honor to be considered among the nominees in this category and the nominees and recipients in the other categories.
The following is a quote from the program:
Since 2009, Michael McDowell has shared his experiences transforming his front yard landscape from a typical suburban lawn to an environmental oasis of Texas native plants. Michael's Plano Prairie Garden blog, garden tours, speaking engagements and plant swaps have educated and enlightened thousands in Plano and North Texas of the benefits of these ecological landscaping practices.
Congratulations Michael! That's wonderful to see you recognized for sharing your garden and knowledge with the community. It's also worth noting that's pretty much the exact opposite of what you expected when you decided to remove some lawn in favor of native plants!
ReplyDeleteYour liatris and pine muhly look beautiful together. The liatris you shared is also blooming now and is growing larger each year. I recently attended a talk by George Cates of Native American Seed and he said the roots on mature liatris are 20' deep so they essentially laugh at our attempts to irrigate or water. He was fascinating and pulled no punches in describing how developers scrape the land and then call him in to fix the problem after the fact. At least one developer near San Antonio called him first and the results are beautiful.
Thanks Shirley. Yes, I was not sure how my non-lawn landscape would be received. Fortunately, it has all been positive, as far as I know.
DeleteI did not realize liatris roots grew so deep. Even though I do not water mine, the get taller and flop over more than wild ones. That is true of all of my plants. I am going to start experimenting with cutting some back at different times of the year to see if I can keep them shorter.
Congratulations on your award. I love the way you combine your plants. I lam disappointed that the unusual heat meant a short flowering for my liatris. I hope the roots aren't as deep as Shirley says because I need to get some of those bulbs out that are in the wrong place.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rock rose. I noticed that some of my plants appear to be blooming a little earlier this year. My guess is that it is due to the rain and cooler temperature in the last part of August. You should not have any problems transplanting your Liatris. They may have deep roots, but the corm will be in the top couple of inches of soil. They come up pretty easily.
DeleteAbsolutely magical...truly...stunning!
ReplyDeleteScott, we need to see more updates of your magical and stunning garden.
DeleteAnd I wish I had your photography skills so I could capture these scenes better.
DeleteI'm so pleased to hear about your ECA award! I don't work for SEED now, but I know that this is significant recognition for all you have added to the community with your effort. Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteThanks Collagemama. I looked for you at the ECA event. Now I know why I did not see you.
DeleteI'm so pleased to hear about your ECA award! I don't work for SEED now, but I know that this is significant recognition for all you have added to the community with your effort. Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteDitto.
DeleteAnd I love the buckeye photo.
ReplyDeleteMore butterfly pictures to come. There were more of them out this weekend.
DeleteGorgeous garden images, and congrats on the award! That's wonderful, and you certainly deserve it.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your well deserved award. Your garden certainly puts on a special show in the fall. My liatris is just starting to bloom and I would love to get it to grow outside the walls. I moved some last year and, alas, they have been nibbled by the deer.
ReplyDeleteI came across a memory of mine in Facebook where I mentioned you and your blog. I am pleased to see things are going well and you are keeping up with your blog. Congratulations on your award!
ReplyDelete