Backyard Ecology™

Gardening with native plants has been growing in popularity. Some people want to grow native plants for plant conservation purposes or to showcase the diverse, local flora of their region. Others want...

22 Apr 20211h

Eastern bluebirds are a conservation success story. Their numbers plummeted in the early 1900s. Then in the 1960s and 70s, consorted efforts were started to establish bluebird trails and similar progr...

15 Apr 202144min

It is so easy to come home at the end of a long day, eat supper, and then just sink into the couch to veg out for a bit or keep ourselves busy with household activities that need to be done. I'll be h...

8 Apr 20211h 4min

I am frequently asked about growing native plants in small spaces or in typical suburban yards with HOA or city ordnances. And I'm not the only one who's getting those questions. I hear and see those ...

1 Apr 202157min

Flower flies, a.k.a. hover flies, are common garden visitors, but they are often overlooked. The reason they are so often overlooked is because they are extraordinary mimics, usually of bees or wasps....

25 Mar 20211h 9min

Frogs and toads are so much fun to observe and learn about. In the eastern U.S. we are lucky because we have enough water that they can be found virtually anywhere. Some species may be very specific i...

18 Mar 20211h 7min

This week's episode of the Backyard Ecology podcast is the conclusion of our conversation with Lynn Faust. Lynn is the author of Fireflies, Glow-worms, and Lightning Bugs: Identification and Natural H...

11 Mar 202150min

For many of us in the eastern U.S., warm spring and summer nights are characterized by the methodical flashing of fireflies and lightning bugs. Fireflies and lightning bugs are exactly the same thing....

4 Mar 202150min