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Habitat for Monarchs
Whatever I’m doing in the garden, I have to stop, stare and sometimes grab my camera whenever a Monarch Butterfly comes near. All...

Jennifer Anderson
Mar 17, 20244 min read


Backyard Dreams, Where Bluebirds Fly
Who hasn’t heard Judy Garland sing of a place where “Bluebirds fly?” Or Burl Ives' promise of a world “where the lemonade springs, where...

Jennifer Anderson
Feb 14, 20244 min read


Downy, Canadian, Allegheny – Which Serviceberry is Right for You, and How Do You Know?
With spring approaching, can’t you just feel the intensity building among the Serviceberries, jockeying once again to be the first to...

Jennifer Anderson
Feb 4, 20244 min read


Planning a Native Pollinator Garden
Hello Native Tree Lovers! With spring around the corner many of you may be planning pollinator gardens. I’m working on one myself and...

Jennifer Anderson
Jan 8, 20243 min read


Sugar Maple -- Survival and Threats
When I was a teen my family owned a resort on a small lake in New Hampshire. We rented eight cottages, weekly all summer, and because...

Jennifer Anderson
Dec 18, 20233 min read


Blackgum Tops the Charts for Fall Foliage, Tasty Honey and Pollinator Values
An all-around exceptional tree for the home, Blackgum/Tupelo increasingly is turning up along streets and sidewalks. It has brilliant...

Jennifer Anderson
Dec 3, 20232 min read


Grasses for Gardens and Basket Weaving
What a thrill to plant together perennials that take turns popping colors all season long. Even better: adding native grasses for...

Jennifer Anderson
Nov 25, 20233 min read


Steeplebush and My Old Whacking Days
Every plant brings to mind a story. Steeplebush also is called Hardhack because farmers back in the day had a hard time cutting these...

Jennifer Anderson
Nov 13, 20232 min read


The Red in Red Maple
The scientific name for Red Maple, Acer rubrum, always reminds me of the ominous word the boy keeps repeating in Stephen King’s The...

Jennifer Anderson
Nov 7, 20233 min read


Atlantic White Cedar: At Home in the Bogs
Happy day-after Halloween everyone, and if you have a swampy or low-lying area in need of a tree, try Chamaecyparis thyoides. If you...

Jennifer Anderson
Nov 1, 20233 min read


Eastern Hemlock: Glimmers of Hope
I got a call recently from someone looking to create a hedge in an area of deep shade – no more than 1 to 2 hours a day of sunlight. Wow,...

Jennifer Anderson
Oct 23, 20234 min read


Aronia bumps blueberry out of the No. 1 spot
Looking for a healthy berry? Black Chokeberry, Aronia melanocarpa, tops the list.

Jennifer Anderson
Oct 15, 20233 min read


Understory: Ironwood vs. Ironwood
Here’s a tripper-upper: Hornbeam and Hophornbeam, two understory trees that also both go by the name Ironwood. Wait, there’s more: Both...

Jennifer Anderson
Oct 11, 20232 min read


Untwined – A Closer Look at Native Vines
Summer blooms spilling over an evergreen hedge. Shade atop your trellis. A natural bird feeder. Native vines do all of this and more. ...

Jennifer Anderson
Aug 20, 20233 min read


Shade Loving and Deer Resistant
When I first started Tree Talk Natives in 2020 I got lots of questions I was not prepared to answer, most frequently: Is it deer...

Jennifer Anderson
Jul 2, 20232 min read


Hot Tree -- Sassafras albidum
Sassafras seemed to be on everyone's wish list last summer – not just because of the leaves’ cute shapes but also the glorious fall...

Jennifer Anderson
Feb 21, 20232 min read


Ripping Out Autumn Olive
Birds and deer do eat its berries (not the most nutritious snack), and its roots help control erosion. But those virtues do not...

Jennifer Anderson
Jan 3, 20232 min read


Prickly -- or Not
Those spiny hollies! I hated them as a kid, stepping on the sharp, fallen leaves with my bare feet. Now I love them – not the spines but...

Jennifer Anderson
Nov 10, 20222 min read


Fall Color
Every season is thrilling in my garden and at my farm, now with the blazing colors of fall. Everywhere I look I see deep reds, purples,...

Jennifer Anderson
Oct 31, 20222 min read


Refuge from the Heat
When temperatures top 90 degrees, I seek shelter where I can, and my first choice is usually under the luscious, dangling green leaves of...

Jennifer Anderson
Jul 19, 20222 min read
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