PLANT NATIVE NEBRASKA

In today's episode, we chat with Chris Helzer, director of science for the Nature Conservancy about our misconceptions surrounding bugs, some fascinating examples of bees, beetles, et al., and why we should merge beauty and utility in our gardens.

Host Stephanie Barelman

Stephanie Barelman is the founder of the Bellevue Native Plant Society, a midwest motivational speaker, and host of the Plant Native Nebraska Podcast.

Guest Chris Helzer

Chris Helzer is Director of Science for The Nature Conservancy in Nebraska, where he conducts research and evaluates prairie management and restoration work. He is also dedicated to raising awareness about the value of prairies through his photography, writing and presentations. Chris is author of The Prairie Ecologist blog, and two books: The Ecology and Management of Prairies in the Central United States and Hidden Prairie: Photographing Life in One Square Meter. He is also a frequent contributor to NEBRASKAland magazine and other publications.  Chris and his family live in Aurora, Nebraska.

Listen, rate, and subscribe!

Get some merch! https://plant-native-nebraska.myspreadshop.com/

Find us on Facebook

Visit our homepage https://plant-native-nebraska.captivate.fm

Give us a review on Podchaser! www.podchaser.com/PlantNativeNebraska

Support My Work via Patreon

The Plant Native Nebraska podcast can be found on the podcast app of your choice.

Chris' photography

-Check it out here:  https://prairieecologist.com/

Land Management

We need to be responsible stewards. Every landscape needs management to be its most efficient, especially since us humans have introduced invasive species to habitats. Land management people use tools like fire and methods to remove these invasive species to keep the land healthy.

Bug Terror

Only a few species round here are truly dangerous- think brown recluse, ticks, or disease carrying mosquitos. But Chris is really trying to let you know- they aren't out to get you. It's not all about you. I'm looking at you, Babs.

Should sci-fi writers keep depicting aliens as insect-like?

When we learn more about insects and we learn to tolerate them better, they stop being alien and they start being fascinating.

Is it a bad characterization to label insects as either beneficial or pests?

Yes! This is not only lazy but giving very incomplete info. Are we strictly divided into pools of bad and good people? No, of course not!

Bugs are bugs. They are diverse and they provide diverse functions. Ignorance is why people want to file things into black and white categories. Don't be ignorant, Babs, it's not a good look for you.

Misconceptions about bees and wasps

They are not out to get you. Let's say it together: "THEY-ARE-NOT-OUT-TO-GET-YOU." Use that as your mantra at yoga tonight. It's probably the most meaningful thing we will tell you here on our podcast, and glab dannit, it's true.

Attracting bees does not equal being stung.

Wasps feed insects to young, they gorge on nectar for themselves.

Most bees are solitary, very few bees are social. If you can have a heart for single moms, you can have a heart for hard-working momma bees.

Fascinating insects

Oil beetles- hitch a ride under disguise into enemy territory to feed their kids and win. Sad for the bees that fall prey, but awesome for science.

Cudweed Grasshoppers- Did you know that grasshoppers ate grass? I sure didn't.

Migrating butterflies and moths- Would you fly thousands of miles to get married and multiply? That's actually a bad example because they keep cranking out new seasons of Love is Blind, so apparently we would...

Host Plants! Think milkweed is the only host plant? Think again! Chris discusses pasque flower, pitcher sage, prairie sage, and narrow leaf penstemon but there are thousands more of these kinds of relationships.

Bugs Stephanie likes to see- mimic bees, goldenrod soldier beetles, ash mead's digger wasps or bent-shielded bieseiger wasps or whatever they actually are, I am stumped... the clear wing hummingbird moth, dragonflies, and sweet sweet buzzy bumblebees.

Should I care about generalist insects and specialist insects?

Yes! Ecosystems are made up of diverse populations of creatures and so planting a garden of various native wildflowers and grasses will cater to generalists who need diversity and also to specialists who need some of the specific plants you have planted.

Can people really plant plants that attract bugs? Who would be crazy enough to do that?

We are the crazies and we want you to be big flaming weirdos too! Pollinators are bugs, people. Yes, sometimes they are birds and bats. But most of them are bugs!

Chris' recommendations for bug-attracting natives!

Sunflowers- stiff, Maximilian, sawtooth, Jerusalem. Just know that perennial sunflowers are aggressive, okay bae? Give 'em some room and don't be mad when they make babies.

Prairie clover- purple or white, take your pick

Spiderwort- I someone to bring some over and forcibly plant them in my garden, because somehow I still haven't gotten any

Flowering shrubs- redbud, serviceberry, sandcherry, native rose Rosa Carolina

Swamp Milkweed- fragrant and not crazy, basically your ideal qualities in a life partner

The mantra again

Bugs are not out to get you.

Thank you Chris, let's keep persuading people to rethink bugs!

What makes a plant native?

http://bonap.net/fieldmaps Biota of North America North American Plant Atlas database-select Nebraska

https://bellevuenativeplants.org Bellevue Native Plant Society

native (wild type) vs. nativar/native cultivar (cultivated by humans for desirable characteristics)

On the Web

BONAP aforementioned

BNPS aforementioned

http://www.facebook.com/groups/bellevuenativeplantsociety- BNPS on Facebook

Books & Authors

Rick Darke- The Living Landscape

Douglas Tallamy- Professor and Chair of the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Entomology at the University of Delaware, author of The Living Landscape, Nature's Best Hope, naturalist, and curator of "Homegrown National Park". Link to Nature's Best Hope book here:

Enrique Salmon- Iwigara

Daniel Moerman -Native American Ethnobotany

Heather Holm- https://www.pollinatorsnativeplants.com

Native Plants of the Midwest

Planting in a Post-Wild World

Jon Farrar's Field Guide to Wildflowers of Nebraska

• NSA at https://www.plantnebraska.org great articles and downloads
•  Xerxes Society- champions of pollinator health
•  Native Plant Finder- https://www.nwf.org/nativeplantfinder/

Other Local Organizations

• Green Bellevue
• PATH
• Nebraska Native Plant Society

Listen, rate, and subscribe!

Get some merch! https://plant-native-nebraska.myspreadshop.com/

Find us on Facebook

Visit our homepage https://plant-native-nebraska.captivate.fm

Give us a review on Podchaser! www.podchaser.com/PlantNativeNebraska

Support My Work via Patreon

The Plant Native Nebraska podcast can be found on the podcast app of your choice.

In today's episode we interview Dr. Tyler Moore, associate professor of biology at Bellevue University and President of Green Bellevue about how native gardens influence microbial soil communities, carbon sequestration, the photosynthesis you might have forgotten about since grade school, and your mother-in-law's turf grass. Come hang out with us as we talk some science.

Host Stephanie Barelman

Stephanie Barelman is the founder of the Bellevue Native Plant Society, a midwest motivational speaker, and host of the Plant Native Nebraska Podcast.

Guest Dr. Tyler Moore

Tyler is a professor of biology at Bellevue University and current president of Green Bellevue. He received his bachelors degree in biology and his PhD in microbiology and molecular biology from UNL. He also completed a post -doctorate fellowship at the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease.

At BU, Tyler, students, and other faculty are using a recently-installed 10,000 square-foot native plant meadow to study how native plants contribute to campus biodiversity and to study adaptations of invertebrates in natural settings.

He has co-authored many academic papers and his recent research we are talking about today is studying how native gardens impact the soil microbial community.

Thank you, Tyler, for helping us provide some great content in today's talk!

Listen, rate, and subscribe!

Get some merch! https://plant-native-nebraska.myspreadshop.com/

Find us on Facebook

Visit our homepage https://plant-native-nebraska.captivate.fm

Give us a review on Podchaser! www.podchaser.com/PlantNativeNebraska

Support My Work via Patreon

The Plant Native Nebraska podcast can be found on the podcast app of your choice.

Background for this chat:

-The Academic Paper : Baldi, D.S., Humphrey, C.E., Kyndt, J.A. et al. Native plant gardens support more microbial diversity and higher relative abundance of potentially beneficial taxa compared to adjacent turf grass lawns. Urban Ecosyst (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-022-01325-5

-Read an article about it here!

Tyler's photography hobby

-Check it out here:  https://www.natureamongus.com/ 

Green Bellevue

championing various green initiatives in Bellevue such as zero waste and increasing native habitat

Sequencing

It all sounds very science-y and beyond me but so very cool... Analyzing genetics of bacteria, you know, just your typical run-of-the-mill stuff.

Is this an overwhelming topic?

Yes, even for scientists.

Why should we care about soil ecology?

In short, planet Earth is cool. The basic functions of things that live in the ground make life on earth possible.

Photosynthesis

Remember grade school? All energy on earth begins with plants. Photosynthesis up and down through the trophic levels baby!

Ok, so what did they even find out?

Those native gardens that provide obvious support to the stuff we see: birds, moths, butterflies, bees, salamanders, dragonflies... also providing support to invisible communities under ground. Lovely, sweet bacteria. And there's way more diversity than even under the hippiest of hippy turf grasses. And more of these guys under ground = better nutrients, better carbon sequestering.

Wait, carbon sequestering... what's that?!?!

You know that greenhouse carbon dioxide floating in the air, plants can funnel that stuff underground. In fact, plants need carbon to survive. I kind of forgot all about carbon. Not gonna lie.

Monocultures are bad

They are unnatural and basically have only come around as a result of humans manipulating the planet.

Mycelium

Yes, I brought up fungi. Don't judge me.

Again, what does soil research even mean for the native plants dialogue?

Don't forget about the underground goings on when thinking what to do above ground. The evidence keeps pointing to planting native at being the most reasonable approach to preserving life on earth.

Thank you Tyler, it was interesting, to say the least!

What makes a plant native?

http://bonap.net/fieldmaps Biota of North America North American Plant Atlas database-select Nebraska

https://bellevuenativeplants.org Bellevue Native Plant Society

native (wild type) vs. nativar/native cultivar (cultivated by humans for desirable characteristics)

On the Web

BONAP aforementioned

BNPS aforementioned

http://www.facebook.com/groups/bellevuenativeplantsociety- BNPS on Facebook

Books & Authors

Rick Darke- The Living Landscape

Douglas Tallamy- Professor and Chair of the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Entomology at the University of Delaware, author of The Living Landscape, Nature's Best Hope, naturalist, and curator of "Homegrown National Park". Link to Nature's Best Hope book here:

Enrique Salmon- Iwigara

Daniel Moerman -Native American Ethnobotany

Heather Holm- https://www.pollinatorsnativeplants.com

Native Plants of the Midwest

Planting in a Post-Wild World

Jon Farrar's Field Guide to Wildflowers of Nebraska

• NSA at https://www.plantnebraska.org great articles and downloads
•  Xerxes Society- champions of pollinator health
•  Native Plant Finder- https://www.nwf.org/nativeplantfinder/

Other Local Organizations

• Green Bellevue
• PATH
• Nebraska Native Plant Society

Listen, rate, and subscribe!

Get some merch! https://plant-native-nebraska.myspreadshop.com/

Find us on Facebook

Visit our homepage https://plant-native-nebraska.captivate.fm

Give us a review on Podchaser! www.podchaser.com/PlantNativeNebraska

Support My Work via Patreon

The Plant Native Nebraska podcast can be found on the podcast app of your choice.

In today's episode we interview Nathan Duffy, owner of Midwest Natives Nursery in Lincoln and dive into what native plants are low maintenance, what cold stratification is, his take on the native plants dialogue, and more!

Host Stephanie Barelman

Stephanie Barelman is the founder of the Bellevue Native Plant Society, a midwest motivational speaker, and host of the Plant Native Nebraska Podcast.

Guest Nathan Duffy

Nathan is the owner of Midwest Natives Nursery, a production and retail greenhouse operation in Lincoln, Nebraska that specializes in the sustainable cultivation of Great Plains-native perennial wildflowers and grasses. Nathan attended the University of Nebraska at Lincoln where he graduated with a degree in Horticulture in 2018. Having become fascinated with native pollinators and wildflowers during his studies but noticing a lack of availability of such plants at local garden centers, he felt compelled to put his talents to good use and founded Midwest Natives Nursery that same year in order to share his passion and vision with the community.

Thank you, Nathan, for helping us provide some great content in today's talk!

Listen, rate, and subscribe!

Get some merch! https://plant-native-nebraska.myspreadshop.com/

Find us on Facebook

Visit our homepage https://plant-native-nebraska.captivate.fm

Give us a review on Podchaser! www.podchaser.com/PlantNativeNebraska

Support My Work via Patreon

The Plant Native Nebraska podcast can be found on the podcast app of your choice.

Midwest Natives Nursery

-only native plants, no cultivars

-a local, truly full-scale nursery with only occasional plant stock acquired elsewhere

Why regionally native?

State boundaries are arbitrary. Regionally is locally in many respects.

Why doesn't Nathan sell more fall stuff?

A lot of plants need colder temps to germinate. Spring plants often sell out and to have more for fall, it all has to be regrown again from seed. Now you know...

Cold stratification? That sounds like something super science-y.

A lot of seeds need certain conditions, like cold (winter) conditions, to germinate. Thus, throwing those babies in a wet, coffee filter and then a single-use plastic baggie we assure you we will reuse many, many times. Boiling, soaking, planting in milk jugs: us plant nerds know how to have fun. Find some detailed germination guides at www.prairiemoon.com.

We want more than 300+ kinds of plants, Nathan. What gives?

Nathan assures us he is going to try to produce woodland spring ephemerals and woody plants eventually, maybe, but my inner plant barometer says it still won't be enough plants.

Easy plants to work with (may go anywhere for the ultimate lazy gardener.)

Spring: golden Alexander, wild Columbine, wild geranium, wild strawberry

Summer: purple coneflower, lanceleaf coreopsis, false sunflower, liatris, anise hyssop (smells legit, and don't quit.)

Fall: heath aster, Missouri goldenrod ( short and not aggressive, basically the opposite of me)

C'mon, are native plants really more low maintenance?

-I didn't use spell check on maintenance twice, at all. And yes, yes they are.

-The big deal: site prep and buying/planting the appropriate plants for the space

How to install native gardens

-get rid of turf grass by scalping the soil, top dress with a 2 inch layer of compost, and call it a day. I've always preferred scalping over herbicide but if you are doing a larger area, you're going to have to rent a sod cutter

-plant densely

-full instructions of Midwest Natives Nursery website https://www.midwestnativesnursery.com/

Where is Midwest Natives and when are they open?

-They are located in the west side of Lincoln, NE near Pioneer's Boulevard

-They DO deliver to Omaha...

-They are open from May 6th to sometime in June (this year) and from Mid August to October. They are only open to the public on Saturdays.

Will you participate in local events?

Probably Mulhall's Wild Plant Party in mid-July and Bellevue Native Plant Society's Pollinator Party at the Bellevue Farmer's Market in Late July/August.

What about using cultivars of native plants?

Most cultivars aren't as good for wildlife because they have been altered. If you want cool colors, plant diversely. Instead of buying an artificially-achieved orange coneflower, plant orange butterfly milkweed, instead.

Appreciate what is there and stop trying to make things what they aren't! Our two cents...

Thank you Nathan, it was fun!

What makes a plant native?

http://bonap.net/fieldmaps Biota of North America North American Plant Atlas database-select Nebraska

https://bellevuenativeplants.org Bellevue Native Plant Society

native (wild type) vs. nativar/native cultivar (cultivated by humans for desirable characteristics)

On the Web

BONAP aforementioned

BNPS aforementioned

http://www.facebook.com/groups/bellevuenativeplantsociety- BNPS on Facebook

Books & Authors

Rick Darke- The Living Landscape

Douglas Tallamy- Professor and Chair of the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Entomology at the University of Delaware, author of The Living Landscape, Nature's Best Hope, naturalist, and curator of "Homegrown National Park".

Enrique Salmon- Iwigara

Daniel Moerman -Native American Ethnobotany

Heather Holm- https://www.pollinatorsnativeplants.com

Native Plants of the Midwest

Planting in a Post-Wild World

Jon Farrar's Field Guide to Wildflowers of Nebraska

• NSA at https://www.plantnebraska.org great articles and downloads
•  Xerxes Society- champions of pollinator health
•  Native Plant Finder- https://www.nwf.org/nativeplantfinder/

Other Local Organizations

• Green Bellevue
• PATH
• Nebraska Native Plant Society

Listen, rate, and subscribe!

Get some merch! https://plant-native-nebraska.myspreadshop.com/

Find us on Facebook

Visit our homepage https://plant-native-nebraska.captivate.fm

Give us a review on Podchaser! www.podchaser.com/PlantNativeNebraska

Support My Work via Patreon

The Plant Native Nebraska podcast can be found on the podcast app of your choice.

In today's episode we chat with Bob Henrickson, the horticultural program coordinator for the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum about upcoming events, his picks for a rain garden, historical uses of prairie plants, and much, much more. We're excited to share this with you. Thanks for listening.

Host Stephanie Barelman

Stephanie Barelman is the founder of the Bellevue Native Plant Society, a midwest motivational speaker, and host of the Plant Native Nebraska Podcast. 

Guest Bob Henrickson

Bob Henrickson attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and graduated with a B.S. in Wildlife Biology in the School of Natural Resources. Currently, Bob is the Horticulture Program Coordinator with the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum, Inc., a private, non-profit organization and program of the Nebraska Forest Service. Bob is also a Nebraska Certified Nurseryman and a Certified Arborist with the International Society of Arboriculture. Bob has hosted a live, call-in gardening talk show called How’s it Growin’ on a community radio station in Lincoln since 2000. He is passionate about native plants, herbs, dried flowers, vegetable gardening, wild mushrooms and wild edible plants.

Thank you, Bob, for providing some rich and interesting content for this episode!

Listen, rate, and subscribe!

Get some merch! https://plant-native-nebraska.myspreadshop.com/

Find us on Facebook

Visit our homepage https://plant-native-nebraska.captivate.fm

Give us a review on Podchaser! www.podchaser.com/PlantNativeNebraska

Support My Work via Patreon 

The Plant Native Nebraska podcast can be found on the podcast app of your choice.

Nebraska Statewide Arboretum- Find them here

Purchase Details/Sale Dates: Click here to view the calendar TIX here

Spring Affair Preview Party and Public Sale April 27th-29th

Omaha Extension Office Appearance May 13th 9am-12 pm

Fontenelle Forest Appearance June 17th 9am-12pm

How's it Growin? Radio Show-https://kzum.org/howsitgrowin/

Prairie 3 Mix:

Little Bluestem, Blue Grama, and Side Oats Grama- A good baseline for your habitat soundscape

Aggressive Plants:

When we say something is aggressive, that doesn't mean you aren't allowed to plant them. Just know that they excel at domination. Some we brought up today: partridge pea, Jerusalem artichoke,

BEE LAWNS!

The topic of bee lawns came up again in today's episode and we chatted about purple poppy mallow and wild petunia.

Prairie Wildflowers for the Seasons:

Spring favorites of Bob's are wild geranium, pasque flower (especially planted next to a bunch grass such as little bluestem or blue grama,) prairie smoke, and spiderwort (notably Dwarf or Tharp's Spiderwort, although we also talk about Ohio and prairie spiderwort.)

Summer favorites of Bob's are purple poppy mallow; purple coneflower, pale purple coneflower for hot, dry areas; tickseed, stiff, lanceleaf coreopsis; smooth and shell-leaf penstemon; black-eyed and sweet black eyed-susans (fragrant as hinted by the namesake,) Canada milk-vetch (especially planted next to bee balm,) and of course milkweeds such as swamp milkweed (those are fragrant, too, folks.)

Fall favorites of Bob's including some knockout native grasses are little bluestem, ("On fire, but not burning...,") prairie dropseed (also fragrant in a unique way,) switchgrass, Indian grass, asters, goldenrod, and wild senna.

Wild Native Edible Plants:

Jerusalem artichoke- not an artichoke, not from Jerusalem but a native sunflower with delicious, edible tubers. What's in a name anyway?

Solomon's Seal- edible roots, thirst quencher, tinctures for joint pain/stiffness

Purple Poppy Mallow- leaves can be used for thickening soups, tubers can be roasted

Native Herbal Teas- wild bergamot tea, lead plant tea, mountain mint tea

More Historical Uses of Native Plants:

Goldenrod and wild false (also known as wild blue) indigo can be used for natural dyes

Goldenrod was grown for Henry Ford when he started looking for rubber sources for tires

Rain gardens

Plants that are wet and drought tolerant- SEDGES! Bob wants you to grow more sedges! He also mentions swamp milkweed, New England aster, joe pye weed, white wild indigo, blue flag iris, and sneezeweed. Here's a great printable article from the Arboretum, scroll down to find some additional plant suggestions.

Sedges

We went down a rabbit hole started talking about Pennsylvania sedge. Don't ask Bob about sedges... just don't do it.

The true enemies of habitat

Bob says we need less lawn, less concrete, less asphalt, less soybeans, less cornfields, less turf grass... so don't begrudge your neighbors their hydrangeas. Sterile landscapes are the competition!

What makes a plant native?

http://bonap.net/fieldmaps Biota of North America North American Plant Atlas database-select Nebraska 

https://bellevuenativeplants.org Bellevue Native Plant Society

native (wild type) vs. nativar/native cultivar (cultivated by humans for desirable characteristics)

On the Web:

BONAP aforementioned

BNPS aforementioned

http://www.facebook.com/groups/bellevuenativeplantsociety- BNPS on Facebook 

Books & Authors

Rick Darke- The Living Landscape

Douglas Tallamy- Professor and Chair of the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Entomology at the University of Delaware, author of The Living Landscape, Nature's Best Hope, naturalist, and curator of "Homegrown National Park".

Enrique Salmon- Iwigara

Daniel Moerman -Native American Ethnobotany

Heather Holm- https://www.pollinatorsnativeplants.com

Native Plants of the Midwest

Planting in a Post-Wild World

Jon Farrar's Field Guide to Wildflowers of Nebraska

• NSA at https://www.plantnebraska.org great articles and downloads
• Benjamin Vogt at Monarch Gardens
• Prairie Moon Nursery at https://www.prairiemoon.com/

Listen, rate, and subscribe!

Get some merch! https://plant-native-nebraska.myspreadshop.com/

Find us on Facebook

Visit our homepage https://plant-native-nebraska.captivate.fm

Give us a review on Podchaser! www.podchaser.com/PlantNativeNebraska

Support My Work via Patreon 

The Plant Native Nebraska podcast can be found on the podcast app of your choice.

In today's episode we chat with Dr. Kay Kottas, the president and owner of Prairie Legacy, a Nebraska- based native plant nursery and consulting company. We discuss some great prairie plants to add to the garden, why prairies are important, and what you can do to help further the native plants dialog. Thanks for joining us!

Host Stephanie Barelman

Stephanie Barelman is the founder of the Bellevue Native Plant Society, a midwest motivational speaker, and host of the Plant Native Nebraska Podcast.

Guest Dr. Kay Kottas

Our esteemed guest for today is Dr. Kay Kottas, President of the Nebraska Native Plant Society.  She is also owner and President of Prairie Legacy Inc, a botanical consulting company providing environmental surveys and supplying native local ecotype plants and seed.

Kay has a Doctoral degree from the University of Nebraska where she completed demographic research on Nebraska’s Federally endangered Blowout Penstemon. She taught North American Plant identification and horticulture at UNL and Botany at Nebraska Wesleyan prior to purchasing the family farm, Witt’s End Homestead , settled by her ancestors in 1857.  Today, she has converted the homestead into a native plant and seed production nursery.  She continues to travel the state where surveys and analysis of native land is needed to help determine restoration guidelines and management needs. 

Kay is Chair of the Nebraska Native Seed & Plant Producers, a group committed to helping people preserve the ecological integrity of local ecoregions by providing seed, plants and information related to native prairie.

Thank you, Kay, for providing some rich and interesting content for this episode!

Listen, rate, and subscribe!

Get some merch! https://plant-native-nebraska.myspreadshop.com/

Find us on Facebook

Visit our homepage https://plant-native-nebraska.captivate.fm

Give us a review on Podchaser! www.podchaser.com/PlantNativeNebraska

Support My Work via Patreon

Nebraska Native Plant Society- Find them on Facebook here

Prairie Legacy- https://prairielegacyinc.com/

Purchase Details/Sale Dates:

Order Online! Get a discount up through April by typing in the promotion code spring15. Fast shipping in a few business days by USPS

Dates in Lincoln: Weekly deliveries to Lucky Dog Acres, Return of the Thunderbirds 4/1, Earth Day 4/15

Omaha delivery date late April, possibly in attendance at Mulhall's Wild Plant Party this year

Shortgrass and Tallgrass Prairies:

Apparently just because it's called a tall grass prairie doesn't mean there isn't any short grass in there. Who knew?

Aggressive Plants:

When we say something is aggressive, that doesn't mean you aren't allowed to plant them. Just know that they excel at domination. Two brought up were Maximilian Sunflower and Cup Plant, both very excellent plants for pollinators- Maximilian being great late forage for monarchs. Let your comfort level or curiosity determine how aggressive plants can be best used in your landscape.

BEE LAWNS!

Prairie Legacy offers a Bee Lawn Mix for sale but we talked about using blue grama, purple poppy mallow, and wild strawberry as well as others like self-heal.

How does one prepare a native planting?

Herbicide or smothering with cardboard/ solarizing with plastic for the chemical-averse. Just don't leave your plastic down too long! Or be lazy like me and scalp the turf grass with a shovel and weed repeatedly for multiple seasons- you decide.

Internships at Prairie Legacy

Come learn about native botany in the field or pledge your soon-to-be college student as tribute!

For current positions or internships, apply here! https://prairielegacyinc.com/employment/

What makes a plant native?

http://bonap.net/fieldmaps Biota of North America North American Plant Atlas database-select Nebraska

https://bellevuenativeplants.org Bellevue Native Plant Society

native (wild type) vs. nativar/native cultivar (cultivated by humans for desirable characteristics)

On the Web

BONAP aforementioned

BNPS aforementioned

http://www.facebook.com/groups/bellevuenativeplantsociety- BNPS on Facebook

Books & Authors

Rick Darke- The Living Landscape

Douglas Tallamy- Professor and Chair of the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Entomology at the University of Delaware, author of The Living Landscape, Nature's Best Hope, naturalist, and curator of "Homegrown National Park".

Enrique Salmon- Iwigara

Daniel Moerman -Native American Ethnobotany

Heather Holm- https://www.pollinatorsnativeplants.com

Native Plants of the Midwest

Planting in a Post-Wild World

Jon Farrar's Field Guide to Wildflowers of Nebraska

• NSA at https://www.plantnebraska.org great articles and downloads
• Benjamin Vogt at Monarch Gardens

Listen, rate, and subscribe!

Get some merch! https://plant-native-nebraska.myspreadshop.com/

Find us on Facebook

Visit our homepage https://plant-native-nebraska.captivate.fm

Give us a review on Podchaser! www.podchaser.com/PlantNativeNebraska

Support My Work via Patreon

The Plant Native Nebraska podcast can be found on the podcast app of your choice.

In today's episode we break down what makes a plant native, why to grow them, where to source them for your garden, and where you can learn more about planting native.

Host Stephanie Barelman

Stephanie Barelman is the founder of the Bellevue Native Plant Society, a midwest motivational speaker, and host of the Plant Native Nebraska Podcast.

Listen, rate, and subscribe!

Get some merch! https://plant-native-nebraska.myspreadshop.com/

Find us on Facebook

Visit our homepage https://plant-native-nebraska.captivate.fm

Give us a review on Podchaser! www.podchaser.com/PlantNativeNebraska

Support My Work via Patreon

The Plant Native Nebraska podcast can be found on the podcast app of your choice.

What makes a plant native?

http://bonap.net/fieldmaps Biota of North America North American Plant Atlas database-select Nebraska

https://bellevuenativeplants.org Bellevue Native Plant Society

https://www.prairienursery.com

https://www.prairiemoonnursery.com

native (wild type) vs. nativar/native cultivar (cultivated by humans for desirable characteristics)

On the Web

BONAP aforementioned

BNPS aforementioned

http://www.facebook.com/groups/bellevuenativeplantsociety- BNPS on Facebook

Books & Authors

Rick Darke- The Living Landscape

Douglas Tallamy- Professor and Chair of the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Entomology at the University of Delaware, author of The Living Landscape, Nature's Best Hope, naturalist, and curator of "Homegrown National Park".

Enrique Salmon- Iwigara

Daniel Moerman -Native American Ethnobotany

Heather Holm- https://www.pollinatorsnativeplants.com

Native Plants of the Midwest

Planting in a Post-Wild World

Jon Farrar's Field Guide to Wildflowers of Nebraska

Local Plant Suppliers

Nebraska Statewide Arboretum- Spring Affair event in Lincoln

Midwest Natives Nursery- Lincoln

Great Plains Nursery

Prairie Legacy Nursery

Online Plant Suppliers

Prairie Moon Nursery

Prairie Nursery

Places to Visit for Inspiration

https://bellevuenativeplants.org/places-to-visit/

• NSA at https://www.plantnebraska.org great articles and downloads
•  Xerxes Society- champions of pollinator health
•  Native Plant Finder- https://www.nwf.org/nativeplantfinder/

Other Local Organizations

• Green Bellevue
• PATH
• Nebraska Native Plant Society

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