Archives for the "ecology" Category

Saving the Glen Stream

A few years ago some generous donors gave Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden seed funding to save a stream. This unassuming stream, the Glen, cuts its way across Parking Lots B […]

English Ivy: A “Dirty Dozen” Plant

Have you ever looked along a highway and observed all the trees covered in vegetation from trunk to branches? It was most likely English ivy (Hedera helix), the final of […]

Japanese Honeysuckle: A “Dirty Dozen” Plant

Our Dirty Dozen plant of the week is Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica). This ornamental vine is still widely available in the horticultural trade, even though it has invaded all of the […]

Elaeagnus: A “Dirty Dozen” Plant

For this week’s Dirty Dozen plant, we have a triple threat: autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata), Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) and thorny olive (Elaeagnus pungens). All three Elaeagnus species are invasive, […]

Citizen Science in Your Backyard!

Calling all birders, bird enthusiasts, and even the bird curious. The annual Great Backyard Bird Count is quickly approaching, and YOU have an opportunity to participate in something global and […]

Tree-of-Heaven: A “Dirty Dozen” Plant

This week we are featuring tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima) as our “Dirty Dozen” plant. While this tree may have been used in folk medicine or even as an insecticide, it is […]

Oriental Bittersweet: A “Dirty Dozen” Plant

This week’s Dirty Dozen plant is oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus). Since it is still available in the horticultural trade, we hope that the following information will convince you not to […]