A naturalist is a student of the natural world. I've always admired people who could identify a bird just by the silhouette.

Clumping for neatness. For my neat and tidy friends, I suggest these plants which grow in easily managed clumps.

I recently created a resource guide for the gardeners in my community garden. I wanted to created a similar guide for Philadelphia Gardeners on my blog.  If you are new to gardening, my book ,A Seasonal Gardener's Handbook  discusses the basics of gardening with the rhythms of the land. I also have Gardening Bonuses from the gardening workshops I teach. 

A naturalist's garden has enabled me to learn about the life cycles and natural history of many animals and plants.

Native Plants in Your HOA Garden. What would your HOA say if these flowers were in your garden? Here's to the rebel in you.

With rising food prices, the kitchen garden shines as a source of homegrown, inexpensive food. Download your free chart of high productive vegetable varieties using the link below.

The American tropics are home to over 6,000 species, more than anywhere else on Earth. North America is home to almost 700 species.

Butterfly host plants are available at native plant sales, nurseries, garden centers, and even big box stores. I wanted to create a list of commonly available plants that will attract butterflies to your garden. These plants provide nectar for adult butterflies to sip. Or provide leaves for butterfly larva (caterpillars) to eat. After reading this article on the Xerces Society website, …

Native Perennial plants are just like any other perennial. They don't require any extra-special care or advanced techniques. The following tips on growing perennials flowers in your garden, whether they are native or not. What is a Perennial? Perennials are long-lived plants that die back to the ground and regrow each year from the roots that stay alive all through winter.

When the spring air temperatures reach 60° Fahrenheit (16° Celsius) needed for flight, adult butterflies emerge from their hibernation places.

How do I find native plants for my garden?  My answer is just like other garden plants. And you may have native plants in your garden without realizing it. Native flowering plants are listed in well known nursery catalogs. I use one popular perennial plant catalog as an example. It is not hard to find native plants. I can spot them in nursery catalogs because I have been growing native plants for over twenty-five years.

I write this observation checklist in the back of my field notebook and nature journal. Following it has improved my note-taking tremendously. I begin every journal entry with this information. It is part of the Grinnell system of keeping a naturalist's field journal. time (use 24-hour clock format; 1435 for 2:35p.m.) date (use international format: 03 September2007) locality (place) route (how did you get there)