Grow a Garden from Kitchen Scraps
Planting a vegetable garden from vegetable scraps is an easy, cheap and fun way to make a garden in your own home. Use your powers of observations and watch your garden grow day by day from the comfort of your own kitchen. Visit the Black Hill Nature Programs Facebook page to learn about one plant each day and how to plant and grow it in this five-part series.
– Lettuce
– Green Onions
– Potatoes
– Garlic
– Radishes
Naturalist Trail Report
Did you know? To visit one of the park’s best insect habitats, you need go no further than the parking lot! Lots of crawlies make the milkweed plant their home, including aphids, beetles and of course, the monarch caterpillar. Go on a milkweed scavenger hunt and you may also find this… tiny lobster? Visit the Locust Grove Nature Center Facebook page to learn more about the creatures that naturalists see on the trails near the nature center.
Outdoor Nature Challenge – Insects
Many of us may be stuck at home, but it is important to get outside for a while for our physical and mental health!
– In your backyard, find an insect in its natural habitat and identify it. Here is a great guide to help you identify the insects.
– Then re-create that bug using recyclable materials around your house. Empty packages and junk mail are great art materials!
Tag us (@LocustGroveNature) or post your pictures in the comments on the Locust Grove Nature Center Facebook page . Then follow Locust Grove Nature Center on Facebook for more nature challenges!
Outdoor Nature Challenge – Birds
Listen for birds! Try sitting outside quietly with the kids to watch or listen for birds.
– Use your phones to record the bird singing, or take a picture of it.
– See if you can identify the bird using the Audubon Bird app or The Cornell Lab All About Birds guide .
– Record yourselves imitating the bird’s call, or research the plants or trees the bird needs for food or a home.
Tag us (@LocustGroveNature) or post your pictures in the comments on the Locust Grove Nature Center Facebook page . Then follow Locust Grove Nature Center on Facebook for more nature challenges!
Nature Journaling
Nature journaling is a great way to stay connected to the natural world. There is always something to be discovered through journaling. You can identify a new flower in your own backyard or observe the behavior of a newly- fledged bird.
Visit the Locust Grove Nature Center Facebook page each week for a new journaling prompt that you can do at home.
Maryland Native Plants/Trout Lily Foliage
You can take care of wildlife in your backyard by choosing native plants! Native plants provide habitat for native pollinators and other wildlife. Stroll through your yard and make a native plant wish list! Check out this list of native Maryland plants from our friends at the University of Maryland Home and Garden Information Center.
Look Under A Rock
Tiny worlds live in your backyard. Look for rocks in your backyard and gently flip them over. Take a look! What did you find? Gently put the rock back and take care to not squish any inhabitants.
What is Outside Your Window?
It is springtime and nature is moving fast! In our typical, harried lives, we do not usually take time to look out our windows every day. So let’s use this opportunity to make some window observations. Choose your favorite window view, and around the same time each day, document what you see.
Visit the Black Hill Nature Programs Facebook page to see what their staff members are observing outside their window as they work from home.
– Tina’s Window – Katrina’s Window – Katie’s Window
– Jen’s Window – Lynette’s Window
Backyard Nature Surprises – Luna Moth
Meet the exquisite luna moth! This nocturnal creature, with a wingspan of four-and-a-half inches, is hard to miss. During the day, the moth rests and stores its energy for a mating flight that takes place after midnight!
Without the ability to eat, the adult’s life is short-lived, with mating and egg-laying as its sole purpose. Visit the Meadowside Nature Center Facebook page to learn more about the luna moth.
Backyard Nature Surprises – Eastern Bluebird
What an exciting visitor to see at a local community garden! This Eastern bluebird is insectivorous most of the year, flying to the ground to catch its prey. This bird has been known to rid gardens of insect pests!
Eastern bluebirds can be tricky to attract to a yard with feeders, unless mealworms are on the menu. You can increase your chances of enlisting this garden helper with specially designed nesting boxes!
Bon appetit, Little Blue!
Backyard Nature Surprises – Poison Ivy
Altho ugh poison ivy may cause problems for humans, this plant has numerous benefits for wildlife. Many birds enjoy the berries of poison ivy! Also, white-tailed deer, black bears and rabbits will eat the whole plant.
Let’s leave this plant for wildlife and become experts at identifying and avoiding it along the trails. University of Maryland Extension has a great guide to help you identify poison ivy and it’s neighboring look-alikes.
Backyard Nature Surprises – Pinecone
T his pinecone-resembling plant, Conopholis americana, has many common names, including “bear cone.” This plant is a non-photosynthetic plant, with the bulk of its body underground, feeding off the roots of beech and oak trees.
The “cones” we see growing above are the plant’s flowering stems. The seeds and stalks are eaten by deer and black bear, perhaps one of the reasons for the name “bear cone”.
Backyard Nature Surprises – Pondhawk
W e love hawks here at Meadowside Nature Center! However, this is one we do not talk about as much–the Eastern pondhawk.
The pondhawk is a type of dragonfly and is known for eating insects as large it is. The insect has a special adaptation for hunting, large spines on its middle and hind legs that help it grab its prey… maybe similar to the talons of its avian namesake.
Red in the Garden
Red and green are complementary colors. The high contrast of red flowers and green foliage demands attention. Here are some red beauties we found in the garden this week (pictured below). What have you found in your garden? Show us in the comments on this post on the Brookside Gardens Facebook page !
Plant of the Week
Lycoris
Lycoris is a genus of 13 to 20 species of flowering plants in the family Amaryllidaceae (Amaryllis). They are native to Asia and the Middle East in countries ranging from China, Korea, and Vietnam to Nepal, Pakistan, and Iran. These perennial bulbs are also called “Naked Ladies” because their flowers bloom on leafless stalks in late summer and fall.
These plants are winter hardy to USDA Zones 5b – 10 and do well in a garden spot with full sun to part shade. Lycoris are long-lived and attract butterflies and hummingbirds, while rarely being eaten by deer or rabbits.
Rudbeckia
Rudbeckia (black-eyed Susan) is native to Eastern an d Central North America and naturalized in the Western part of the continent. Rudbeckia is a member of the Asteraceae family, featuring over 30 species that attract a range of pollinators from skipper butterflies and syrphid flies to metallic green bees and scolid wasps.
Rudbeckia hirta (black-eyed Susan) has been the official state flower of Maryland since 1918. This flower is a great plant for a well-drained and sunny spot in the garden, where its peak bloom arrives in late summer when the rest of the summer blooms are on the decline.
Canna
The canna is native to the Americas, from the southern United States to Central and South America. It is one of the earliest domesticated plants in these regions and has been cultivated by indigenous communities for thousands of years. The edible root is high in starch, the leaves can be turned into paper, and the seeds are used for jewelry.
While cannas are not hardy to our Mid-Atlantic region, they are wonderful additions to the summer garden, growing well in containers or in bright sunny spots.
Echinacea (Coneflower)
This colorful plant is native to Central and Southeast United States and supports a range of pollinators, including native bees, wasps and butterflies. Additionally, the flowers serve as a winter seed source for many bird species, like the goldfinch.
Echinacea does well in a dry and sunny garden spot and pairs well with plants. like Achillea millefolium (yarrow,) Salvia (sage), Coreopsis (tickseed) and Agastache (hyssop).
Coleus
C oleus are members of the mint family (Lamiaceae) and are native to Southeast Asia, Africa, India, and Sri Lanka. This plant has traditionally been used in Hindu Ayurvedic medicine for respiratory and asthma conditions. Coleus made its way west in the 1800s, when Karl Ludwig Blume brought the plant back from his travels to Java. It quickly became popular in Victorian gardens, where new cultivars were widely hybridized.
The heat-loving plant offers a diverse range of interesting shapes, sizes and intricate leaf edges. It also features a variety of patterns and colors, ranging from pink and neon green to bright orange and purple.
Found in local nurseries and easily grown from seed or cuttings, try them out in your summer containers or enjoy them as a houseplant!