Beguilding Beetls in the Wildflife Garden Article by Heather Holm from Native Plants & Wildlife Gardens

Beetles are a very diverse insect order and many beetles are frequent flower visitors; they are pollinators, beneficial insects predating on problem insect populations such as aphids, as well as parasitoids of other flower visitors. See similar posts about Fantastic Flies and Wonderful Wasps

The two most common flower visitors are soldier beetles (Cantharidae family) and long-horned beetles (Cerambycidae family). Beetles visit flowers to feed on pollen and nectar. Some have hairs on their tongue tip that act like pollen brushes, but typically they use their mandibles for chewing pollen grains.

Beetle Life Cycles and the Greater Food Web – It’s All Connected
Many beetle larvae are wood-boring, feeding on wood fibers or the fungus that inhabits decaying wood. By leaving dead standing trees (snags), or downed tree logs on the ground (nurse logs) in your landscape, you are providing valuable habitat for beetle larvae and the birds who feed on the larvae such as woodpeckers. Many native bee species use the abandoned wood burrows made by beetle larvae as nesting sites. Some examples include leafcutter bees, Megachile spp., mason bees, Osmia spp. and carpenter bees, Xylocopa spp.Banded Longhorn Beetles, Typocerus velutinus

Banded Longhorn Beetles, Typocerus velutinus
Common on coneflowers, this beetle feeds on pollen and nectar, their larvae are wood-boring.

Beetles can sometimes be destructive; some are not delicate flower visitors by any means, their mandibles chew on flower parts and foliage causing damage in some cases. For example, these blister beetles, Lytta sayi, are destructive feeders on legume flowers such as wild white indigo, Baptisia alba.

Many flower visiting beetles have hairy bodies where pollen grains attach aiding in the pollination of flowers. They often show a preference for white, cream or green colored flowers, with a strong, fruity or fermenting odor. The hard wings (elytra) provide some protection to beetles while they visit flowers. They are not easily scared off by other flower-visiting insects and will spend several minutes on a flower feeding on floral resources.

Locust Borer Beetle, Megacyllene robiniae
Locust borer beetles feed on pollen and are found on many goldenrod species in late summer. A possible survival strategy is to mimic wasps with black and yellow coloring, a good bird deterrent. The larvae of this beetle excavate tunnels in the wood of black locust trees (Robinia pseudoacacia).

Blister Beetles, Nemognatha spp.
These blister beetles are common on black-eyed susans, often feeding on nectar. They have strange looking mouthparts consisting of long maxillae that they use to suck nectar, they can also feed on pollen with their mandibles. Females lay their eggs on flowers, when the larvae hatch, they attach themselves to visiting bees and are carried back to the bee nests. The beetle larvae kill the bee larvae and consume the bee provisions of pollen and nectar.

Fire-Colored Beetles, Pedilus spp.
Fire-colored beetles are common flower-visitors in the spring. Larvae feed on fungi in decaying wood. Look for these beetles on flowers near woods often where blister beetles occur. Male fire-colored beetles will climb onto blister beetles, prompting them to release cantharidin, a defensive chemical. The male fire-colored beetles then lick the cantharidin off the blister beetle and use the chemical to attract females. When the male beetles mate with females, the cantharidin is transferred to the female. Her eggs are coated with cantharidin which helps protect them from predation.

PREDATION (BENEFICIAL INSECTS)
Soldier Beetles, Family Cantharidae
Soldier beetles visit flowers for pollen and nectar, they are very common in mid- to late-summer.Their narrow head, thorax, and maxillary tongue allow them to access flower nectar in fairly deep flower corollas.Considered a beneficial insect, soldier beetle larvae feed on aphids, fly larvae, small caterpillars, beetle larvae and grasshopper eggs. Some adults in this family also feed on aphids. One defense mechanism of soldier beetles is to secrete a chemical compound so they are unpalatable to predators.

Ladybird Beetles, Cycloneda spp.
Both adults and larvae feed on soft-bodied insects (mainly aphids) and are utilized in the biological control of aphids. Females can consume hundreds of aphids before laying eggs. These beetles overwinter in groupings as adults and emerge in spring. Look for ladybird beetle eggs laid near aphid clusters, often under the flowerheads.

Wedge Shaped Beetle, Macrosiagon limbatum
A distinctive, triangular-shaped small beetle. Both male and female wedge-shaped beetles are found on native plants visited by wasps (and bees), where the female lays her eggs on the foliage. When an egg hatches the tiny first stage larva attaches itself to a visiting wasp or bee. The host carries it back to its nest where the beetle larva burrow into the host larva and live as an internal parasite.The developing wedge-shaped beetle larva continues to consume its host from the inside and eventually emerges from the host body. It then proceeds to feed on the host from the outside until the host dies.

Tiphiid Wasp, Myzinum spp.
These wasps visit late summer natives for nectar. Males have a menacing looking ‘pseudostinger’ on the end of their abdomen. Females burrow into the ground and lay their eggs on scarab beetle grubs which their larvae consume as they develop.

Milkweed Leaf Beetle, Labidomera clivicollis
Milkweed leaf beetles are one of several beetles who specialize feeding on the foliage of milkweed (Asclepias) plants. Overwintering adults emerge in early spring. Females typically lay their eggs on the underside of milkweed leaves; look for bright red to orange egg clusters. Larvae hatch and develop in several instar stages during the summer months and feed on milkweed flowers and foliage. Adults are again active in the fall preparing to overwinter.

2013 Heather Holm Native Plants & Wildlife Garden Website
To Purchase all Your Native Wildflowers & Seeds Visit Native Wildflowers & Seeds from Ion Exchange, Inc.

‘Prairie Therapy’ Soothes Psychiatrist, Autistic Son Article

When psychiatrist Elizabeth Reeve needs to unwind and recharge her mental batteries, she heads to the prairie.

Not the wild prairie, but the one she and her husband have painstakingly restored at their weekend home in southeastern Minnesota.

"It's therapeutic -- an opportunity to get outside and think in a different way," she said.

She loves walking its five gently rolling acres and seeing what's blooming and growing.

The prairie helps Reeve maintain the balance she needs to juggle a very full life. In addition to her practice, which focuses on autism and other developmental disabilities, she recently was named Minnesota's Psychiatrist of the Year by her peers and published a book, a survival guide for kids with autism spectrum disorders and their parents.

It's a subject Reeve knows not just clinically but personally, from raising an autistic son herself. Born during her residency, he's now 24 and lives at home.

"Having a disabled adult child changes your perspective -- it changes the whole plan," Reeve said.

In a way, that changed plan helped lead Reeve's family to the prairie. "We were looking for land to build on when we retired," she said. "My son doesn't drive. He has to live in an urban environment because he takes the bus. The long-term plan is he'll have the house (in Minneapolis) and we'll retire down here."

Reeve and her husband, Mark Conway, alpine-ski-racing coach for the Minneapolis school district, were driving in the rural area when they saw a "for sale" sign. They liked the 1995-built house with its post-and-beam construction, and the 20 wooded acres surrounding it. The previous owner, who built the house, had already started a prairie restoration on what used to be a cornfield.

Reeve, an avid gardener, and Conway decided to buy the land and continue the restoration. Their work includes "burns," torching the landscape to eliminate non-native plants. "The natives have deep roots; they'll come back, but the noxious weeds are superficial," Reeve said.

"You need a crew, so it doesn't get out of control," Reeve said. "The first year I was absolutely terrified. Afterwards it looked like a lava field."

It was hard to imagine that the scorched earth would ever support life again. But before long, native plants began to reappear, denser and more vigorous than ever.

Last year, the couple did a second burn and Reeve took part, donning a firefighter's suit, laying a "water line" around the perimeter, then using a flamethrower to ignite the landscape.

The two prairie burns have transformed their landscape dramatically, Reeve said. They now have 50 to 60 native species, including wildflowers, native grasses and medicinal plants.

"We've worked really hard to expand the diversity," Reeve said.

She also harvests seeds, drying them and scattering them to produce more native prairie plants.

Reeve is fascinated by the variety of native species now thriving on their land. She points out a compass plant, so-named because it orients its leaves to point north-south, and a purple hyssop. "If you smell the leaves, they smell like licorice," she said. When she finds a new one, she marks it with a little flag. "So in theory, I can find them again," she said.

When Reeve isn't tending the prairie, she's tending their large garden.

"We don't buy any vegetables," she said. "There's nothing better than out-of-the-garden fried red potatoes for breakfast."

Does she ever, like, relax on weekends?

"This is relaxing," she said with a smile.

Being outdoors in the natural world restores balance and well-being for their whole family, she said. Her adult son loves splitting wood. Her younger son, Luke, likes playing "Star Wars" on the prairie and helping reseed the native plants, sometimes both at the same time.

Kids, and in particular, kids with ADHD, benefit from being outside, doing physical things, Reeve said, rather than being inside playing with electronic devices all day. "Research shows that lack of (outdoor activity) decreases people's creativity," she said. "It's not rocket science. People who get out and take a walk feel better than people sitting inside all day."

Spending time in her prairie helped her write her book, she said, and she hopes to write a second. "I want to do a book for high-school students and young adults with autism -- helping them live with it," she said.

Even the drive back to workday reality, on rural roads vs. a crowded rush-hour freeway, is a relaxing transition, she said. "I'm absolutely fresher Monday after being here. It starts the whole week off completely differently."

Article By Kim Palmer
Minneapolis Star Tribune

Are You Ready To Start Planting Your Own Prairie?
Please Visit Our Website & Let's Get Started!  Native Wildflowers and Seeds

Skullcap: A Summer For Rabies Article

Over time little known plants were often targeted as miraculous cures for one thing or another. Skullcap is one of them. For some time it was publicized as the only cure for rabies, rabies in people, of course, not in animals.

Here Is An Article On Skullcap:  A Summer For Rabies

Article from davesgarden.com Skullcap: A Summer For Rabies

It went by the name of maddog weed when I was small, and it seemed that every summer a new supply of its miracle cure was hastily made to insure the well being of those who might have come in contact with rabid animals. There was a time that I was so young I can barely remember, when a rabies scare turned normal parents upside down. When I think of it, I call it the summer for rabies. I remember only bits and pieces of that summer since I was not quite 5, but it was not a happy time. My dog Pepper, who was approximately my age, had her first litter of puppies. I only remember naming one of them Sandy and it was to be a pet for my uncle and his new wife. There were not many dogs in my life at that time, only Pepper, and she was a beautiful mixed breed of something or other. Long white hair that glistened and a personality that could easily win the coldest heart, that was my Pepper.

Word got around that a rabid raccoon had come close to homes where children were playing in the yard; then we heard that squirrels, opossums, rabbits, and finally my Uncle Dock's beautiful collie, Shep, had to be put down because of the dreaded rabies.  When that happened, dogs were put on a makeshift chain and contained within a fenced area, or they were put in an inside area where no other animals could get to them.  Pepper was given living quarters in a toolroom just off the back porch.  I breathed a sigh of relief because she was safe.   

Publicized as a cure for rabies, Scutellaria lateriflora caused a stir during the mid 18th century. One doctor announced at the time that he had successfully treated hundreds of cases with it. His claims for skullcap were finally discredited, but not before earning the plant more common names referring to its association with rabies: madweed and mad dog weed. It grows in moist woods and swampy areas, and as a native North American plant, can be found across the country. It is a perennial with an erect, smooth branching stem that grows to 3 feet. Broadly lance shaped, toothed leaves grow in opposite pairs. Small tubular blue, pinkish, violet or white flowers bloom in July and August. The blooms have two lips, the upper one is hooded.

The name of the plant, skullcap, refers to the shape of the flower, which resembles a helmet with the visor raised. Skullcap was the word for a type of military helmet that was familiar to earlier colonists. The Indian tribes used it as a sedative, and there were at one time claims for it's effectiveness as a "nervine" or tranquilizer. It has achieved a reputation as a sedative and antispasmodic, properties that may account for its sometimes being effective in alleviating the symptoms of rabies. For years herbalists have acclaimed the plant as an excellent "nervine", and have prescribed it for a gamut of so called nervous disorders from mild anxiety to epilepsy. That achieved some controversy, but less controversial is the calming effect of the tea made from the whole plant.

Skullcap contains scutellarin a flavonoid with sedative and antispasmodic properties. This was probably the active ingredient in the skullcap extract used in 19th century medicine. It is still used in modern herbal medicine for the prevention of epileptic seizures, insomnia, hysteria, anxiety and withdrawal from barbituates. It is currently an alternative herbal medicine to treat HDD. More cautious pharmacological opinion concedes as possible the validity of skullcap's use as a sedative, but only on the basis of animal tests. It is one of those plants that should not be used as a home remedy in any instance, the plant has some effect on the nervous system, and as such should be considered too dangerous to be used in any way without the attention of trained medical personnel. 

The summer for rabies is only a dim, distant memory, and not a very pleasant one at that. Dogs and cats were being put down for no reason other than folks had no place to keep them contained. Somehow I lost the puppy, Sandy, perhaps as a precaution, but my Pepper dog was spared at a time when many animals were not.  People were worried, and children were not allowed to roam freely that year.  And bottles of skullcap infusion lined many kitchen cabinets.   

That's the way of things sometimes, we have to survive a scare to make us more aware, more cautious. It has always bothered me that so many animals were wiped out simply as a precaution. But there again, veterinarians were unheard of in the mountains, and fathers simply did what they had to do to protect their families. 

Ion Exchange, Inc.

Winter and Your Garden

Article from the honeybeeconservatory.org

As the trees finally shed their leaves and our thoughts turn to wintery pleasures and indoor activities, it’s easy to forget about the honey bee. After all, our busy little friends are hibernating out of sight and mind at this time of year. But before the ground freezes, and even over winter, there are still some favors we can do for these important pollinators to support them in their environment when they emerge next year.

In the early part of the growing season, flowers and their nectar are relatively scarce – this is also true in very late summer and fall. Nature provides bees with food in their environment of course, but in many areas, native plants have been reduced or eliminated as humans have encroached upon and altered natural habitats. Some introduced and hybridized plants do provide food for bees, but unfortunately, many gardeners favor double-flowered, exotic plants that are more difficult for pollinators to access. Most wild, indigenous plants have open, easy-access flowers, making them more attractive and desirable to honey bees.

So how do you choose shrubs to support bees and integrate these plants into your landscape? Learning a little bit about the plants native to your region is a good place to start, and education can take place at any time of the year. There are a number of good books and field guides written on the subject of native, North American plants.
Many of these titles are available in local libraries and universities.
Some of the best guide books include both photos and detailed information about the required growing conditions of native plants, and their hardiness ranges. William Cullina’s beautiful book, Native Trees, Shrubs and Vines
, is an excellent resource for gardeners.

In addition, many states have helpful native plant societies.
Try Googling your state name followed by the phrase “Wildflower Society”
or “Native Plant Society”. These sites will often list plants, including shrubs, native to your area. When visiting nurseries and garden centers, ask about native plants. The more we ask retailers for native plants by name and buy them, the more likely they will be to continue ordering them and keeping them on hand. All of these actions will help support the honey bee, and the environment as a whole.

Summersweet, (Clethra alnifolia 'Ruby Spice'), is a native shrub, providing easily accessed, late-season pollen for the honey bee.
ⓒ 2010 Michaela at TGE

4th Annual National Pollinator Week, June 21-27

Taken from The Great Sunflower Project
www.greatsunflower.org

This week is dedicated to raising awareness of the value of those hard-working pollinators that account for every third bite of food we eat. Governors of more that 30 states have designated the last week in June as “National Pollinator Week.”
And it is being celebrated in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and around the globe as more and more people are realizing the value of pollinators as part of our food web.
“A World of Pollinators” is the theme for 2010 National Pollinator Week.

What can we do for pollinators? Start with one observation. And from there a whole new world can open up. Each observation you record and report will be part of a growing body of data that we can use to measure pollinator service around the country. But observation is only the start. We can take action, too!

Add a yard to your yard
In a recent study conducted by the National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council, loss of habitat was identified as a major cause of the decline in the number and types of bees nationwide. By planting for pollinators, we can rebuild pollinator habitat and make a significant, positive impact on the survival rates for honey bees and other pollinators. Whether urban, suburban or rural, pollinators rely on “key species” to obtain the vital nectar, pollen, and nesting resources they need to keep thriving. These key plants are critical for survival and can be incorporated easily into your garden. If everyone added another square yard of habitat species to their gardens, just think of all the additional resources that would be available for bees to get what they need to give back what we depend on.
So if you have the room, take action! Add a pollinator yard to your yard and let us know how it goes for you.
Here’s how it works in six easy steps:
1. Select a spot in your yard that gets sun and would look great planted out with more flowering plants.
2. Measure out three feet by three feet and mark it off. You may have to remove turf, large rocks, or lawn furniture.
3. Condition the soil, by adding organic topsoil or compost and working it in.
4. Select plants that offer a variety of pollen and nectar through out as much of the year as your climate supports flowering plants. Check with your local nursery, master gardener group or botanical garden for ideas. Native plants are always a good choice.
5. Plant it out and enjoy the benefits of providing critical resources for pollinators in your garden.
6. And, make sure to take “before and after” pics of your garden- you can post them on flickr We will be awarding a jar of delicious honey from Gretchen’s hives to the lucky photo winner.

We invite you to celebrate National Pollinator Week with us. Take action and add a yard to your yard. We also suggest that you check out www.pollinator.org/TAP.htm for a list of ideas throughout the year. This new program sponsored by the Pollinator Network highlights specific actions that school groups, farmers, gardeners, and others can take to “Take Action for Pollinators.” You can purchase or download this beautifully done poster there, too. Happy National Pollinator Week!

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Benefits of Planting Live Wildflower & Grass Plant Plugs

The plugs in the 84 Nova trays measure 1 1/8 inch diameter by 2 7/8 inches deep and taper like a cone with a bottom drain opening. The interior ridged design of the plug directs root growth downward & avoids the wrap around growth allowed by smooth sided plugs. As the roots develop & escape through the drain opening of the plug the atmosphere will burn off the protruding root material, in effect pruning them to encourage constant development of fresh root growth. When the plugs are placed into the ground, the roots are ready to rapidly establish themselves down into the soil. It has been our experience with planting both 3” square pots & the 84 Nova plugs that the plugs will compete with & sometimes surpass the growth of the larger potted plants in the first growing season. Some species planted as plugs will flower & set seed in the first year-we had Sawtooth sunflowers that were planted in June reach nearly 8’ & flower in the same season. The size of these 84 Nova plugs makes them easy to handle in planting & transporting. Native Plant Plug

How Plants Protect Us From Disease

ScienceDaily (2009-04-27) -- Everyday foods, beverages, and spices contain healthful compounds that help us fight harmful inflammation. And, in doing that, these phytochemicals—the resveratrol in red wine or the catechins in green, white and black teas, for instance—may also reduce our risk of diseases associated with chronic inflammation, including cancer and diabetes.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090419202029.htm#

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Invasion in the Badlands

On vacation in the Badlands and Black Hills of South Dakota, I witnessed another invasion of beautiful ecosystems. Angry for several days and feeling helpless to do anything about the Yellow Sweet Clover marching over the landscape, I told my wife, Donna that I had to do something to alert people to this takeover of these beautiful landscapes. After several nights, I thought about how over the past 60 years I have been aware of invasive species and have seen the list grow and grow and grow.
What is our place on this planet? Does our labeling of plants as negative aliens and as invaders invite more negative thoughts? What good has become of our waging war on these alien species? Shouting and preaching that this just isn’t right nor nature’s way and getting all fired up and angry at one of God’s creations just didn’t seem to fit well with me anymore. I’m tired of generating negative feelings inside of me. This thought made me start to question the overall picture of man and nature and our relationship to plants, each other and our interaction with all species of our world.

Here are some of my questions that I ponder often:
· Were any species created out of negative thoughts?
· Were any plants or animals meant to remain in one area? If so, why do they do so well when introduced into different areas?
· What is the long-term succession of these so-called invasives or alien species? I mean over thousands of years?
· Can we live with these aliens and make peace or will we always wage war on them?
· Does the attack on the “invasive species” ultimately do any good?
· Are we supposed to sit back and do nothing?
· Can we make any peace with this rapidly changing world of the intermingling of species?
· Is this really a natural event and man truly is a part of nature but thinks that he isn’t because of his ability to choose and reason?
· Is it logical to think that man isn’t a part of nature or is this just another arrogant thought that puts us as the ultimate animal separated from all nature and we stand alone still fighting and compartmentalizing all species.
· Is there a kinder, more positive and cooperative way of dealing with what we perceive as invasive species?
· Does prejudice produce more prejudice?
·
If we are just holographic pieces of the “Great Spirit”, then we are included in this great magnificent process that created the universe and all within it. Are we not programmed to keep creating something different?
·
Does any one thing deserve to be eradicated or is that part of the plan?
·
Are the invasives just signals to us that we need to change our ways and they are just messengers sacrificing their lives for a cause yet unknown to us?
Some of the species that I have come into contact with and waged war over the years are:
· Japanese Honey Suckle
· Kudzu
· Multi-flora Rose
· Crown Vetch
· Yellow Sweet Clover
· Garlic Mustard
These are just a minute number of species that I have allowed to cause stress and negative energy in me. I think that now after decades of fighting, I am ready to accept that these aliens are just part of the cosmic progression to a different place on earth and the universe that is neither good nor bad.
What do you think?

Tired of struggling over this issue,
Howard Bright President Ion Exchange, Inc.
www.ionXchange.com

National Pollinator Week

Did you know that one out of every third bite of food comes to us
thanks to pollinators? From beautiful butterflies to busy bees, it’s
clear that pollinators are essential to life on our planet.

But, declines in pollinators in North America and around the world
pose what could be a significant threat to biodiversity, global food
webs and human health.

Help pollinators in your neighborhood during National
Pollinator Week (June 22-28) by taking one or more of
these five simple actions:
1. Use Native Plants
2. Hang Hummingbird Feeders
3. Build a Bee House
4. Plant a Butterfly Garden
5. Certify Your Yard with National Wildlife Federation

Create Your Own Wildlife Habitat Using Native Plants

Here is an awesome video on building your own wildlife habitat using native plants by the National Wildlife Federation.
http://www.gogreentube.com/watch.php?v=NjQzMzY5
Native wildflowers and grasses are so much easier to care for than other plants, they flourish with little or no effort. There root systems go much deeper than most other plants so they are virtually drought resistant. There are many varieties to choose from. Visit Ion Exchange to look at hundreds of species of native plants.

Thoreau a Climatologist?

Although it is not what Thoreau was noted for he kept very precise records of plants in 1851, he started recording when and where plants flowered in Concord, he was making notes for a book he planned to write. Recently researchers at Boston University and Harvard are using those notes to learn patterns of plant abundance and decline in Concord and New England as a whole. They are linking those patterns to changing climate. Their conclusions are clear common species are flowering seven days earlier than they did in Thoreau’s day. Conservation biologists and Evolutionary biologists from Harvard and Boston University have determined that 27 percent of the species documented by Thoreau have vanished from Concord and 36 percent are present in such small numbers that they probably will not survive for long. Those findings appear in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Of the 21 species of orchids Thoreau observed in Concord, the researchers could only find 7. Researchers are busy studying the archives for any records of this nature to try and understand what is going on with our planet today. There hasn't been much interest in spending the money to record and find these old writings however maybe now with these kind of findings more interest will be sparked to find and preserve them.

Storm Water Run-Off, It's Everyones Problem!

By Vera Pappas
Storm Water Run-off is a problem in every section of the United States. Some areas of course are worse than others. Every time it rains there are massive amounts of chemicals, oils, heavy metals running off our roof, through our grass and flower beds, down our driveways and into our storm drains which leads out to our natural waterways, and streams which lead to lakes and rivers.
If our ground cannot absorb the water efficiently and effectively and perk back down into our underground water supply it ends up in the storm drain. The chemicals, oils, voc's, etc. break down the beneficial bacteria and micro-organisms that keep our lakes and streams healthy. What we end up with is an over abundance of algae which believe it or not is harmful to our eco-system. It cuts down on the oxygen levels in the water and the beneficial bacteria cannot do its job to keep the water clean and healthy for fish and fowl.
This is not something the average American sees everyday. We don't think about where the water goes when its rushing down the street and into the storm drains. For us...it stops there. But it is actually just beginning.
We can make a difference one yard at a time. If every homeowner made simple changes, we could save our lakes, streams and rivers. Our eco-system depends on it. Not only does storm water run-off affect fish, it affects water fowl, birds, and all the animals that eat the fish, and drink from the lakes, streams and rivers.
There are many ways to reduce the amount of water that runs from your property into the storm drain:
Install Rain Barrels -Thousands of gallons of water can be captured off the average roof each year, and clean rainwater is better for plants, shrubs and lawn, washing the car, the dog etc.
Go Organic!- The use of traditional chemicals to feed your lawn and garden leach into the water every time it rains. Chemical fertilizers and controls do the most damage. Organic fertilizers and control products do not leave residual effects in the soil. Organic products come from the earth. They will not damage it.
Use Native Plants- Native plants are plants that are naturally indigenous to your specific area. You can get a list of native plants for your area by doing a web search. They are usually put out by the state. Native plants will grow better, require less water and fertilizer (organic of course), and they provide a natural habitat for our wild creatures.

Why Use Native Plants For Landscaping?

Native plants are grown from their wild relatives; their color, size, nectar, pollen production, and everything about them are authentic and have not been changed except by natural evolution. The benefits of native plants compared to hybrid and otherwise man cultivated species include a longer life span, less need for fertilizer and insecticides, increased aroma, drought resistant ( due to the very deep roots), easy to overwinter, generally disease free and the native birds, butterflies and bees love them.
Native plants are plants that have been growing here for many hundreds of years. Each area has its own native plants so in planting native plants you will want to make sure they are native to your area.

The prairies were self sustainable until the advent of plows and urban development removed most of them, leaving just a remnant of their former glory. Because native plants are so hardy they are also slow growing and require some patience to grow and establish. However as their root systems take hold (some roots go as deep as 20 feet) they will out shine any non native. Once established they will require much less maintenance than any traditional landscapes.

Some of the key benefits of using native plants:

· Provide habitat for native wildlife
· Beautiful view of waving grasses and blooming flowers
· Helps clean the air
· Helps clean the rainwater and runoff that goes to our aquifers
· Provides something of value for the next generation
Native grasses are also being tested as a possible bio fuel that would be economical and readily available. The research on this application of native grasses looks very promising and could be grown throughout the Midwest.
Ion Exchange Inc.

Help Create A New Book of Childhood Memories About Plants

Hi folks, we are very excited about creating a new book filled with childhood memories of learning about a plant or plants! We have compiled comments from the Iowa Native Plant Society members and those will be included in our book but before we complete it, we thought we would open the door to include comments from you if you care to be included in the book.By creating this book and offering it through our web site, we hope to generate more interest in the plant world and at the same time contribute25% of any net proceeds to the Iowa Native Plant Society.Now let me give you an example of what I am talking about. As a very young boy growing up in the foothills of the Appalachian Mtns. in Tenn., I was very much intrigued by all the plants around me. I wanted a slingshot in the worst way so I asked my Dad if he would make me one. As I watched him cut a limb from a huge tree with big leaves and many white blooms my excitement soared. He debarked the forked branch and trimmed it to fit my hand and then scored the upper part of the forks to attach the two strands of rubber inner tube which was left over from a Goodyear Double Eagle tire.He stained and varnished this master piece and handed it to me the next day as he said, "son be careful with that thing". From then on, I never forgot the name of that tree that brought so much fun into my life, the Catalpa.Won't you please consider sharing your story with us and join us in contributing to this fun and worthy venture? By participating, we assume we will have your permission to publish your comments and give you full credit..-- Howard Bright, President Ion Exchange, Inc.http://www.ionxchange.com/800-291-2143“Helping you create your own natural beauty”

Floating Islands

We are very excited to announce the addition of Floating Islands to our on going endeavourers to beautify our natural world. The Floating Islands are not only beautiful they are constructed of recycled materials and they remove pollutants from the water. Here are some interesting facts about the Floating Islands.

Floating Islands is an innovative water stewardship tool… BioHaven floating islands do five things:

1. They remove pollutants from a waterway, including nitrates, phosphates, ammonia and heavy metals

2. They provide critical riparian edge habitat – in fact, new land mass for use by all kinds of creatures, from microbes to humans

3. They sequester carbon and other greenhouse gases

4. They provide wave mitigation and erosion control

5. They beautify a waterscape Made from layers of recycled plastic “matrix” which are bonded together with adhesive foam, BioHavens are planted with sod, garden plants or wetland plants and launched onto a water body.

There the plants are allowed to grow naturally, and, as they develop, their roots grow through the matrix and into the water below. Over time, a natural eco-system evolves. The model for this is Nature herself - BioHavens “bio-mimic” Nature. We are part of a new branch of science, Biomimicry, or Biomimetics.BioHavens provide surface area for microbes to thrive. Microbes remove pollutants.

BioHavens are a concentrated floating wetland – the huge surface area of fibers provides many times more surface area than an equivalent stretch of bare wetland. Surface area is the key factor for microbial activity to take place, and microbes (bacteria) are the key to removing contaminants from the water. Plants and their roots are also important, but more for the extra surface area the roots provide than for any nutrient uptake the plants themselves account for.BioHavens were invented eight years ago, have been successfully trialed for five years and have been on the market since July 2005. They represent a natural, convenient and cost-effective solution for some of the most intractable and expensive problems on the planet:
· “Polishing” wastewater and storm water of nutrients and heavy metals to return it safely to the watershed.
· Sequestering carbon dioxide and methane from effluent ponds to reduce global warming
· Wave mitigation and protection of levees in the event of severe storms
· Extraction of salt

Mining nutrient loads from any waterway and reducing algal blooms
· Restoring wetlands without the need for new land
· Restoring habitat for endangered species such as the trumpeter swan.They can be made in any shape and size and offer some fun uses to balance the more serious side:
· Creating walkways, piers, docks, jetties

Supporting recreational uses, such as picnic tables, floating stages, gazebos….
· Floating vegetable gardens which never need watering!
· Restoring a natural look and balance to any waterway of any size
· New land mass for human habitation.Not only are they natural, aesthetic and functional, they are cost-effective, “green” and virtually maintenance free. Why not add a Floating Island to beautify your world?
Contact Howard at 1 800-291-2143

Is Iron a Tonic For Climate - Saving Plankton

I ran across this news article as I was reading my weekly email from Plant Ark. Not so surprisingly we were just having a similar discussion at Ion Exchange. While it is a good thing to plant native plants and seeds one must be careful to plant with discretion. Sometimes in trying to do a good thing we inadvertently create another problem. For instance about 40 years ago our country gifted the then ruling Japanese Prince with two fish. At the time the Japanese leaders were concerned about getting enough protein in the diets of their people. The Japanese Prince turned the fish over to a research facility to see if this species of fish would meet the demand for a higher protein diet. Well to make a long story short some of these fish bred in captivity made their way into the rivers and streams. This gifted fish has since killed off most of one species of fish native to Japan and is endangering another species of native fish.
With all the problems that are going on with our planet we must be cautious in our haste to help that we do not create an even bigger problem to mother earth.
Having said that here is the news article to ponder over.
Iron Is a Tonic For Climate-Saving Plankton
MIAMI - From the deck of the research ship Weatherbird II, a California company hopes to prove a controversial theory that putting iron dust in the ocean can produce enough plankton to help save the Earth.
The mission of the company behind the ship, Planktos Corp. is to research whether "iron seeding," or "iron enrichment" -- dumping tons of pulverized iron ore into the ocean -- can catalyze the growth of microscopic algae that will then suck carbon out of the atmosphere.
If the research goes well, Planktos aims to make money by fertilizing the ocean, measuring the carbon its plankton forests sequester and selling carbon credits for cash on emerging world carbon markets.
Weatherbird left Florida this month on a mission that has caused consternation among scientists and environmentalists, many of whom do not think the theory has been sufficiently tested to try out on such a large scale.
Oceanographers, who unlike scientific colleagues in fields like pharmaceuticals have not been heavily exposed to business motivations, also appear uneasy about Planktos' aim of making money while fighting climate change.
But the company says it is interested in the potential greater good of iron-enrichment -- taking tons of carbon dioxide, a critical greenhouse gas blamed for global warming, out of the Earth's atmosphere, in the same way a rainforest on land works for the health of the planet.
"We might actually be able to save the planet from the ravages of fossil fuels," Planktos chief executive Russ George told Reuters.
DUST AS A VITAMIN
The theory of iron enrichment was proposed 25 years ago. Iron acts as a vitamin, oceanographers say, enabling plants to take up nutrients.
The theory was greeted as a joke. But it has gained traction since, and adherents.
The emergence of carbon markets, especially in Europe, in which polluters can offset emissions by buying carbon credits from countries or companies that plant forests, has given the proposal commercial allure.
In addition to Planktos, Silicon Valley-based company Climos intends to pursue iron enrichment.
Planktos' plans to seed a patch of ocean, 30 to 60 miles (50 to 100 km) in diameter, with 50 to 100 metric tonnes of raw iron ore in an area 200 miles (320 km) west of the Galapagos Islands, one of the world's most unique ecosystems.
Weatherbird's mission, delayed for months by the late arrival of high-tech equipment, is steeped in secrecy. In a recent phone interview, George said he could not reveal details because of what he said were threats from "radical environmental groups" to halt the mission.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, which patrols the Galapagos Islands to protect them from ecological threats, has pledged to stop Planktos.
George said the area near Ecuador's volcanic islands, which lie 625 miles (1,000 km) west of the coast, is a perfect place for a test because iron from the islands feed a vast, natural plankton bloom that can serve as a biological control for the experiment.
Environmentalists fear that the test could go awry and threaten the islands, which served as the inspiration for British naturalist Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.
But George said the natural Galapagos bloom drifts west, and so would the one that Planktos hopes to generate.
The iron ore to be used in the test is the same as dust blown naturally by the wind into the ocean, George added.
"Hundreds of millions of tons of dust are landing in the ocean every year. How can anyone suggest that our 50 tonnes of rock dust will provoke some cataclysmic result?"
NOT ENOUGH PROOF?
Oceanographers critical of Planktos say scientists have simply not yet done the work needed to prove that phytoplankton blooms can sequester carbon safely and for the long term.
They also say that while surface water moves westward near the Galapagos, deeper currents go east, toward rich fishing grounds off South America.
"Many scientists think we should try to establish the facts and the downstream consequences of iron enrichment and there are a few non-scientists who think if it can make money we should do it now," said Kenneth Coale, a researcher at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories in California who has conducted leading work on the subject.
Few of the researchers who consider themselves experts in iron-enrichment appear to know who the scientists are that Planktos intends to take on its experiment.
"It seems more an effort to impress shareholders," Coale said.
There are also questions about whether decaying blooms might produce other, more powerful greenhouse gases.
INTERNATIONAL LAWS?
The legal situation on the high seas is unclear.
Scientists advising signatory nations of the 1972 London Convention on Dumping recently issued a statement of concern, and the members of the convention are expected to try to draw up regulations for iron enrichment.
The US Environmental Protection Agency shares the concerns but was told by Planktos that it would not use a US flagged vessel, an EPA spokeswoman said.
"At this stage to have companies out there already wanting to press ahead with commercialization is deeply unhelpful," said David Santillo, a scientist at the Greenpeace Research Laboratories in Britain. "I think that from the last 15 years of science we know enough to say, 'don't do it.'"
Despite the controversy, even the skeptics agree that something must be done to counter global warming, and that cutting pollution levels is no longer enough.
"The overarching thing is that there is definitely a panic about climate. If someone could come up with a quick band aid fix to this problem they would be a hero to humanity," said Greenpeace research director Kert Davies. (Editing by Eddie Evans)
Story by Jim Loney and Michael Christie
Story Date: 20/11/2007
Tell us what you think. Click on the comment link below this article and add your two cents. Till next time. Kay at Ion Exchange

"History of the World Through Botanically --colored Glasses"

Throughout the eons of time we can move forward from ground zero to where we are today. In this very descriptive text, we can find out some interesting dates and facts about native plants. I highly recommend this reading as it was forwarded to me from a friend. She labeled the reading as “History of the World Through Botanically-colored Glasses”.

Howard www.ionxchange.com

http://www.huntington.org/BotanicalDiv/Timeline.html