When kids leave the nest, we parents learn a few things.  In our case: A new indulgence, Bourbon (our son went to Kentucky), and A...

Anyone remember Laurel and Hardy?  Probably my grandparents’ generation.  But when I think about the most beautiful of all native shrubs,...

Don’t we all want the best of both worlds?  Meet Larch, a type of pine tree that also is deciduous. Its needles turn a brilliant...

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

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...

With spring approaching, can’t you just feel the intensity building among the Serviceberries, jockeying once again to be the first to...

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

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...

An all-around exceptional tree for the home, Blackgum/Tupelo increasingly is turning up along streets and sidewalks. It has brilliant...

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

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

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

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...

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,...

Looking for a healthy berry? Black Chokeberry, Aronia melanocarpa, tops the list.

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

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

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...

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

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