Author: Carolyn Cullen

Native Pollinator Garden Basics for the Chicago Region

Native pollinators are a very important and diverse group of animals with fascinating ecologies; unfortunately, few people are aware of them and their importance because of the media’s focus on honeybees.  Despite the many articles written about colony collapse, honeybees are not going extinct. Their issues are not ones of conservation, but instead are ones […] Continue reading "Native Pollinator Garden Basics for the Chicago Region"

Wild About Our Volunteers

Wild About Our Volunteers Volunteers power our organization. Whether it’s helping with outreach (AnnMarie, Anne P, Candace), running and assisting with the yearly plant sale, maintaining public gardens (Laura, Byron), creating the newsletter, running the bi-annual conference, volunteers keep things humming along, and we are incredibly grateful for them. Here’s a spotlight on some of […] Continue reading "Wild About Our Volunteers"

What’s in a Leaf Pile, Or Why Not to Do Fall Clean-up

What’s in a Leaf Pile? A lot of potential for life is in a leaf pile. Many beneficial (and beautiful) insects overwinter in our yards. For instance, the Katydid (important food source for birds during late summer) and Preying Mantis overwinter as eggs attached to twigs, stems, and/or leaves. Ladybugs and Lacewings also spend the […] Continue reading "What’s in a Leaf Pile, Or Why Not to Do Fall Clean-up"

Milkweed Cosmos

Milkweed cosmos: A colony of milkweed is almost its own world.  Most of us have planted milkweed to attract and support the Monarch butterfly, but eventually the other insects that are dependent on it find our milkweed patches.   On the one hand, these bugs are just doing what they’re supposed to be doing–living off […] Continue reading "Milkweed Cosmos"

Rethinking Spring Clean-up

Hold your rake!  Clearing out your garden can backfire.  Raking everything out and tossing into yard bags removes the building blocks of soil and destroys beneficial insects (butterflies, moths, fireflies, etc) that found a safe place in your garden during the winter. You can learn more about some of these animals in this post: What’s […] Continue reading "Rethinking Spring Clean-up"

Donate to Support Our Work

Please Donate to Support Our Work WildOnes is a 501c(3) Not for profit organization. There is no other local organization quite like us.  We do a lot of education and outreach on a small budget.  Our income is comprised of a small percentage of membership fees from the National WO, a small amount through our plant […] Continue reading "Donate to Support Our Work"

Green Guides: Native Gardens

Green Guides Native Gardens Your garden can be attractive aesthetically and ecologically when you use native plants.  You can incorporate native plants into an existing garden, or you can create a garden from scratch. Below are the 4 steps to a native garden: Understand your site and select appropriate plants.  You need to know the […] Continue reading "Green Guides: Native Gardens"

Invasives Presentation Recap

The Problem The topic of invasive plants can be a prickly one.  Burning Bushes, Barberry Bushes, Callery Pears, and Asian Honeysuckles are very popular landscaping choices as are the latest plants that the horticultural industry is selling, most of which have been imported from other continents solely for decorative purposes in a yard.  Invasives do […] Continue reading "Invasives Presentation Recap"