u/Velico85

Looks menacing, super sweet. Shot @ 70mm f/8, 1/200s, ISO 200.

I just love the blossoms on this plant. No Japanese Beetles on this beauty. NW Wisconsin.

These are some of my favorite shots from this year. These are all from my gardens, occupying about 1 acre around my home.

All of these plants are native to my ecoregion, and I work professionally as a restoration ecologist. Planting native species and expanding transition zones are some of the most important things we can do as land managers to support declining insect populations and protect rare or endangered species, while also providing habitat for migratory birds and many other species.

Collecting nectar from Goldenrod (likely Solidago canadensis or S. nemoralis). Upper Midwest.

Monarch (Danaus plexippus) caterpillar on Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata). Midwest region.

I've been experimenting with f/9 through f/15 with shots about this distance. This is f/14. Thoughts and critique welcomed! The flower is Culver's Root (Veronicastrum virginicum), a native plant to my ecoregion. I am the OC of this photo, sorry for not including in the title. Will do next time.

I'm not sure if any of you are familiar with this, but oddly enough I stumbled upon it during grad studies and used it yesterday around other master gardeners who thought it was hilarious, but also had never heard of it. "Business in the front, party in the back."

It's what you would expect; in the front you have your pretty design, mulched up, free of weeds, neat and tidy around any pathing to a depth of whatever the installer wanted. This is what you see a lot of in demonstration gardens around municipal buildings, parks, and other high traffic areas. Usually demonstration gardens will have a sign about native plants, with stakes labeling highlighted species for education purposes. All fine and well, I've helped install and maintain a lot of these.

But when you have enough space, I always encourage the back of any planting to let go wild and free; to merge into each other and battle for coveted space without intervention (aside from non-native/invasive removal) that would otherwise be mulch and more weeds. While demo gardens need to adhere to 'aesthetics', I always push the limit where I can. There was space in the back of these gardens about 6-7' back from the path/entrance, and I encouraged the others with me to let it go unless/until someone complains that it looks messy.

Some people (myself included) are just wild native plant enthusiasts, and we can't help but let every little native go, no matter where it pops up, even if we have to be deft and agile to maneuver around them in the middle of a path. I know many love a neat and tidy look, but for me, ecological services far outweighs something looking nice that requires significantly more maintenance.

The compromise is mullet gardening. The other gardeners agreed to let it go and keep the first 5-7' looking good for the administrators and public. This way, people get to see a snippet of what wild plant community actually looks like. Many simply do not have access to spaces like this, so I find it important to try and incorporate for any high-visibility planting. I have thought about adding a small sign near the transition zone (defining ecotones), and also have a paragraph or two about wild plant community composition. There is signage in the other bed near the path that talks about native plants a bit.

Anyway, I thought it was a mix of funny and useful for sharing here. Have you heard of mullet gardening? Seen it in action? What do you think of it, and what types of things would you want to learn/see from a wild back section to a public garden?

This rock garden used to be a driveway, with the native plants in the background replacing all invasive Quackgrass and Crabgrass. I picked up some local sand and native stone for the garden and footpath. The path is flat stone with crushed/fine for leveling. Local rock and stone companies tend to sell native stone pretty cheap, so if you like the look or have an extremely compacted area (as the driveway was), this is a great way to add a unique feature to your landscape. Ecoregion 51b.

Pretty sure this is Speyeria cybele (Great Spangled Fritillary), but I'm not an entomologist. The pale submarginal band with silver spots is what I'm basing this on. It is collecting nectar from Asclepias incarnata (Swamp Milkweed). I am located in ecoregion 51b. This was right off my back deck this morning.

My silly wildcat, Seddari.

Lupinus perennis popping off! The patches have expanded into each other and all are flowering right now. Hopefully I'll be able to confirm a Karner Blue visiting soon! fingers crossed