Why Are Some Wild flowers Highly Scented with Brightly Colored Petals?

Thought You Might Enjoy this Q&A From Ask.com regarding Wildflowers

Question: Why Are Some Wild flowers Highly Scented with Brightly Colored Petals?

Top Answer: Some wild flowers are highly scented with brightly colored petals so as to attract pollinators like insects and birds. The pollinators feed on the nectar and help in distribution from pollen grains from anthers to stigma of the same plant or another plant. This enables continuation of reproduction.

To Purchase Your Native Wildflowers & Seeds Visit Our Nursery Website At Native Wildflowers & Seeds From Ion Exchange, Inc.

Sand Dunes Video Explained by Earthyman From the South Padre Island in Texas

Earthyman views the relationship of Sea Oats in the stabilization of sand dunes on the South Padre Island in Texas

To Purchase Native Wildflowers & Seeds Visit Our Nursery Website at Native Wildflowers & Seeds

The Birth of a Butterfly You Tube Video by jamesmenful

This is not intended for infringement, sound track used and copyright still belongs to the owner.
Background music by longzijun

The Birth of a Butterfly You Tube Video

To Purchase The Bird & Butterfly Attractor Station Plant Starter Kit Visit Our Website At

Ion Exchange, Inc.

Ion Exchange Inc., A Native Seed & Plant Nursery Was Quoted In The Wall Street Journal

Howard Bright co-owner with his wife Donna of Ion Exchange Inc. http://ionxchange.com/

was recently quoted in The Wall Street Journal. For anyone who is interested in wildflowers, earth friendly solutions for using native wildflowers for landscaping this article is a must read. In the article you will see and learn how to plant a meadow of wildflowers

The Wall Street Journal Article

Ion Exchange offers easy starter kits Click Link Below To Visit There Website

Ion Exchange, Inc.

  

Celebrate Earth Day

April 22nd is Earth Day everyone. Is your community doing some Earth Day celebrations?  Now as never before we all need to make a commitment to do more to protect and nourish our planet. It's in our best interest. If you know what I mean. Plant a tree or start a wildflower garden, even if its a container garden. We can make a difference one person at a time.
Log into http://www.earthday.org/2012 and see what other people are doing to celebrate Earth Day.

CRP Offers Pollinator Habitat Incentives

For Immediate Release

August 2, 2010

CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM OFFERS POLLINATOR HABITAT INCENTIVES

New rules passed by the USDA now offer financial incentives for the establishment of pollinator habitat through the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). The limited time program sign-up, which opens today to new enrollment, provides one of the largest pollinator conservation opportunities ever in the United States.

The CRP program, first established in 1985, is the largest private landowner conservation effort in the United States with up to 32 million acres eligible for enrollment through the USDA’s Farm Service Agency. Program participants take highly erodible land out of crop production, and establish permanent vegetation to protect topsoil and provide wildlife cover. Contracts which run 10 to 15 years provide annual rental payments on enrolled land, and cost-share assistance for establishing vegetative cover.

New rules which go into effect today offer priority ranking for land enrollment that include pollinator-friendly wildflowers and shrubs. Under the current CRP enrollment system, landowners who want to participate are ranked against one another to prioritize enrollment that offer the most conservation benefits. To receive a higher score on the pollinator ranking criteria, participating farmers must plant at least 10% of the CRP acres in wildflower parcels (or at least one acre for CRP enrollment less than 10 acres in size).

The addition of a pollinator habitat incentive for CRP has been promoted by numerous wildlife and pollinator conservation groups in recent years, and the new ranking system now offers one of the largest potential habitat creation opportunities of its kind ever for native bees, butterflies, and managed honey bees, all of which have experienced significant decline in recent years due to habitat loss and other factors.

In developing the new CRP technical requirements, the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) worked closely with Dr. Marla Spivak, a leading honey bee researcher based at the University of Minnesota, and the California-based advocacy group, Partners for Sustainable Pollination. Now, as the enrollment period for new CRP contracts begins, the NRCS is working with the non-profit Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation to develop wildflower seeding recommendations for states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Oregon. Those recommendations will focus on selecting native wildflower species that are abundant pollen and nectar sources, and that are most likely to thrive in their respective regions.

Rural landowners interested in more information about CRP, including the current sign-up period which ends August 27th, should contact their local Farm Service Agency office. For location information, visit their web site at http://www.fsa.usda.govhttp://www.fsa.usda.gov/> .

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Iowa Insects Mailing List
IOWA-INSECTS@LIST.UIOWA.EDU
http://atmos.cgrer.uiowa.edu/herbarium/MailingList.htm
IOWA-INSECTS@LIST.UIOWA.EDU

The Iowa Insects Mailing List provides a forum for those interested in Iowa’s insects and,
more generally, invertebrates, their identification and ecology. Its purpose is to encourage
novices who are trying to expand their knowledge about the incredible world of insects.
Another objective is to support the Iowa Native Plant Society.

My Little Prairie

Earthyman has just written a new article titled My Little Prairie. Check it out at Native Wildflowers and Seeds.

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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.

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

Ion Exchange joins Iowa Native Plant Society

We at Ion Exchange are happy to announce we have joined the Iowa Native Plant Society. The more we learn about our environment the better it will enable us to care for it. Preserving and protecting our native plants should be important to all of us. We can each do our part to restore areas of beauty using the wildflowers, grasses and trees that are native to where we live.

Hummingbirds - Helpers for the Honeybees?

I recently took some pictures at Ion Exchange and of all the pictures I took I was most pleased with this picture of a hummingbird in flight. I have always been fascinated by hummingbirds and I had never experienced seeing so many together and so close as the ones on the office porch. I could set and watch them for hours.

Upon hearing of the plight of the honeybee and the possible disruption to the pollination of our foods and other plants I did a little research into pollination and found that although most pollination is done by honeybees other insects and the beautiful hummingbird also help with pollinating.

The hummingbird will soon be making its migratory trip to Mexico and Central America for the winter. The cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) provides nectar in August into September to see them on their way. Their high energy needs require that abundant supplies of nectar be available throughout the migration corridor, which can range through thousands of miles of habitat. Although Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are well recognized as nectar feeders, they also eat spiders and tiny insects such as flies, gnats and aphids as a source of fat and protein. A single migration can become a nonstop flight of up to 500 miles over a period of 18 to 22 hours.
Some hummingbird favorites include native wildflowers such as Wild Bergamont (Monarda fisulosa) and Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis). There are speciality mixed wildflower seeds that are available that appeal to hummingbirds and butterflies.

The hummingbird laps up nectar by flicking its long, forked tongue deep within a flower at rates up to ten times per second. It forages while hovering airborne, inadvertently collecting pollen on its feathers and bill before darting off to its next meal. Its efficiency as a pollinator is comparable to that of a honey bee.
An extraordinary little creature! I wish them well on their long journey. Kay at Ion Exchange

A Cure For Bee Stings?

Hey, I recently received an email from Donna with a neat article on bee stings. I thought I would pass it on to you guys. If you are working outside a lot on your wildflowers and garden projects in the summer you might need to know this interesting information.
I am not sure where the article came from, anyway here goes.
The article starts "A couple of weeks ago, I had the misfortune to be stung by both a be and a hornet while working in the garden. My arm swelled , so off to the clinic I went. They gave me a cream and an antihistamine. The next the swelling got progressively worse, so I headed to my regular doctor. Infected arm - needed an antibiotic.
What was interesting is what the doctor told me. "The next time you get stung, put a penny on the bite for 15 minutes." I thought, wow, next time (if there is one) I will try it.
Well that night, my neighbor Shelley's niece was stung by two bees. I saw her arm was swollen so I went in the house to get my money. Taped a penny to her arm for 15 minutes.
The next morning there was no sign of the stings. Were we surprised! Her niece, we decided, just wasn't allergic to bee stings. Well guess what happened again a few days later? I was helping Shelley deadhead her flowers and - you're right - a hornet stung my left hand twice. I thought, here I go again, back to the doctor for yet more antibiotics.
Well, I promptly taped tow pennies to my stings, then sat and sulked for 15 minutes. The coins took away the pain immediately, I stilt wasn't sure what would happen. In the meantime, the hornet stung Shelley on the thumb. Again a penny.
The next morning, I could see only a spot where the hornet had stung me. No redness, no swelling. I went over to see Shelley and hers was the same. Then Shelley got stung while cutting grass. Applying the penny worked again.
I just wanted to share this marvelous information in case you experience the same problem. The doctor said the copper in the penny somehow counteracts the bite. I would never have believed it but it definitely worked for us. We need to keep a stock of pennies on hand at school and at home. Remember this little bit of wisdom and tell your friends and family."
I think I will try this remedy for sure if I ever get stung by a bee again. I might even try it for any spider or bug bite. Who knows it might work on them too! This Kay at Ion Exchange saying
save those pennies, you never know when you might need them! Have a great day!

Natural Insect Repellents

I am always looking for natural products to incorporate into my life style. I don't want to buy anything that is not good for the environment including all wildlife. So I look here and there for environmentally safe products. My favorite thing is to find something for a particular problem that is a household item, something you have around the house anyway. A study from Iowa State University conculded that cattnip is a great mosquito repellent. Well I have cats and I know how much they are attracted to catnip and I tried to visualize myself covered in catnip. That immediately brought the vision of me running through the grass and past my native wildflowers I just planted from my cats who no longer think of me as a friend but a huge plaything. I guess I will pass on the catnip idea. I thought I would share a few natural remedies for the flower garden or the vegetable garden that I have run across in my searches. Here is one that works pretty good on soft-bodied insects (mites, aphids, mealybugs): Mix one tablespoon canola oil and a few drops of Ivory soap into a quart of water. Shake well and pour into a spray bottle. Spray your plant from above down, and from below up to get the underside of the leaves. The oil smothers the insects. Another one that is good for Fungal diseases: Mix two tablespoons of baking soda into a quart of water. Pour into a spray container and spray affected areas. Repeat this process every few days until problem ceases.
We at the Ion Exchange would love to hear your natural remedies.
Have a great day! Kay at Ion Exchange

Native Bees

I was just thumbing through my AARP magizine that I get every month and happened upon an article on the honeybee called "Bee-friended". There were a few facts I was not aware of for instance their are other insects and animals that help the bees do the pollinating hummingbirds, butterflys, bats, ants, and beetles. I have always held the opinion that bats, ants and beetles could just leave the planet and I for one would not miss them. Now I am going to have to give them a little respect for their place in the eco - system.

It appears that large scale farms rely on the European honeybees to do the pollination. They pollinate about one third of all the food Americans consume. A lot has been said about the problem of the dissapearance of the honeybee and the colony collapse within the beekeeping industry. However the article states that the organic farmers and scientiists feel that the honeybees wild cousins could really help out in this crisis.
So often when something happens to our planet there is little we can do but shake our head and feel sad. In this instance there is something we can all do to help. We can provide the bees with a habitat in our own yards .Most native bees are the solitary non swarming kind. They like some of the same things we like for instance big patches of closely planted flowers about a square yard of one kind will usually attract them. A lot of blooms with very little insecticide will surely attract them. The colors yellow, purple and blue are bee magnets. Surpursingly (or maybe not) they are more attracted to the native wildflowers such as Beardtongue, Bee balm, Lavendar, Snow - in - summer and Yarrow. Well I know what I will be planting in my flower beds now. Kayflowers

Kay is one of web masters that work on our web site and lends a hand with the blogs from time to time.


Have a great day! Kay