Category Archives: Nebraska

Celebrate Earth Day 2024

Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by Earthday.org

Here are three things you can do to celebrate Earth Day:

Attend an Earth Day event. Lincoln Earth Day 2024 is Saturday, April 20th from 10 am to 2 pm at Nebraska Innovation Campus. Learn more here: https://lincolnearthday.org/schedule/

Find a green space to enjoy. Savor the benefits of spending time outdoors! Earth Day is during National Parks Week. Saturday, April 20, 2024 – Sunday, April 28. Explore the parks around you or plan a trip to one of our amazing national parks.

https://www.nps.gov/subjects/npscelebrates/national-park-week.htm

Set up a compost pile. Compost is used as an organic amendment to improve the physical, chemical and biological properties of the soils. For example, adding compost to garden soil will increase the moisture holding ability and improve the drainage and aeration of clay soils. Over time, compost will create desirable soil structure making the soil easier to work. If you would like to learn more about composting, consider attending a Nebraska Extension Master Gardener composting demonstration. Dates and times are listed here: https://events.unl.edu/lancaster/search/?q=compost

Mary Jane Frogge

Spring!

It is spring in the Cherry Creek Pollinator Habitat. Get outside and see what is growing and what did not make it over the winter. Now is a good time to think about what plants you could add to your pollinator habitat. The Nebraska Pollinator Habitat Certification program has an excellent list of spring, summer and fall blooming plants that are native to Nebraska. Look over the impressive plant list and also consider certifying your pollinator habitat. Learn more at this link: https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/douglas-sarpy/nebraska-pollinator-habitat-certification/

Mary Jane Frogge

Reflecting on 2023

This was a dry year in southeast Nebraska. Watering plants and keeping the water features full was a priority this year in the Cherry Creek Habitat.

Looking at the data, we are on target to have more moisture that 2022. The University of Nebraska at Lincoln, Weather and Climate keeps monthly and annual precipitation totals (in inches) since 1887.

https://lincolnweather.unl.edu/data/monthly-precipitation.asp

Insect observations seem down this year. Saw very few Monarch butterflies and caterpillars. I observed this year:

leaf cutter bees (Megachile species)

bumble bees (Bombus species)

black swallowtail butterflies (Papilio polyxenes asterius)

painted lady butterflies (Vanessa cardui)

Chinese mantis (Tenodera sinensis)

Plants that bloomed and did well in the Cherry Creek Habitat this year include:

common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)

butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)

cup plant (Silphium perfoliatum)

partridge pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata)

sawtooth sunflower (Helianthus grosseserratus)

hoary vervain (Verbena stricta)

wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa

tall thistle (Cirsium altissimum)

rosinweed (Silphium integrifolium)

chicory (Cichorium intybus)

brown-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia triloba)

pitcher’s sage (Salvia azurea)

Joe-pye weed (Eutrochium maculatum)

I am looking forward to a peaceful, restful winter and anticipating the first blooms of next year. What will 2024 bring?

Best holiday wishes, Mary Jane Frogge

Goldenrod

Goldenrod is blooming in the Cherry Creek pollinator habitat. This late summer and fall blooming perennial of the Compositae family, is native to North America, where there is well over 50 species. They have mostly wand like stems, variously shaped leaves and heads of small yellow flowers. Because they are such common plants in rural areas, some people may think of goldenrods as weedy and unsuitable for the flower garden. Most of these plants are striking in appearance.

These low maintenance, nearly pest free plants deserve a place in your pollinator habitat. This time of year you can find bees, bumblebees, butterflies, moths, wasps, beetles and flies all visiting the flowers on this beautiful plant. Goldenrods make nice border plants or do well in a wildflower or prairie garden setting. Goldenrods do not cause hayfever. Their pollen is too heavy to be carried by the wind. Ragweed, which inconspicuously blooms at the same time, is the culprit.

MJ Frogge

Pollinator Week, June 19-25, 2023

Pollinator Week is an international celebration of the valuable ecosystem services provided by bees, birds, butterflies, bats and beetles. The week of June 19-25 will spotlight a unique opportunity to learn about some fascinating and important animals, the pollinators.

Tiger swallowtail on Monarda

Often overlooked or misunderstood, pollinators are in fact responsible for 1 out of every 3 bites of food that we eat. Beginning in 2006, pollinators started to decline rapidly in numbers. Participating in Pollinator Week can help save these important animals.

MJ Frogge

What you can do to help pollinators:

  • Educated yourself on pollinators that live in your area.

https://xerces.org/pollinator-conservation/about-pollinators

  • Avoid pesticides in your home landscape.
  • Plant a pollinator garden using native plants.

https://xerces.org/pollinator-conservation/pollinator-friendly-plant-lists

  • Consider certifying your pollinator habitat.

https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/douglas-sarpy/nebraska-pollinator-habitat-certification/

  • Provide a water source such as a bird bath, small pond or water feature.
  • Go to the Pollinator Partnership web site to learn more about pollinators. http://pollinator.org/
  • Share the information you learn with others.
  • Establish green corridorsby working with your neighbors to include several backyards in a pollinator habitat plan.
  • Attend a pollinator event.
Pollinator Week

Snow Fall

Lincoln received its first major snow fall of the year yesterday, nearly 9 inches. I enjoy visiting the Cherry Creek Pollinator Habitat after a snow fall to see the tracks from animal activity. The deer had been through for a visit. Many bird visitors too. Found two imprints of bird wings in the snow. Hope you have a chance to get outside and enjoy your habitat in the winter. There is so much to see.

MJ Frogge

Is 2023 the Year?

Is 2023 the year you create a pollinator habitat?

Starting a new project can sometimes be overwhelming. Where do you start? Here are a few resources to help you plan your new space for pollinators.

MJ Frogge

GRO Big Red Virtual Learning, Nebraska Extension

Pollinators Bees, Butterflies and Beyond, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCJfOy2IBZk

Creating a Pollinator Habitat, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8T0aKpxrox4

Pollinator Blooms for All Seasons, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQrdGPx8haM

Nebraska Pollinator Habitat Certification Program

https://extension.unl.edu/statewide/douglas-sarpy/nebraska-pollinator-habitat-certification/

Application and plant list

Click to access ce-application-for-nebraska-pollinator-habitat-fillable.pdf

Cherry Creek Pollinator Habitat Summer 2015

Pollinator planting card-Great Plains

https://www.dev.pollinator.org/gardencards

Pollinator Partnership

https://www.pollinator.org/

Xerces Society

https://www.xerces.org/

Asters

Asters are hardy perennials that bloom late summer until the first hard frost. Many asters are native to Nebraska and a late-season source of pollen for migrating monarchs, other butterflies, moths, bumblebees, solitary bees, honey bees and soldier beetles.

Asters are easy to grow and look great in a mass planting. They can be planted with other native plants like purple coneflower, coreopsis, black-eyed Susan and native grasses.

The main plant disease is powdery mildew. It causes a whitish growth that appears on leaves. To reduce the chance of this disease, grow asters in full sun and space the plants, so they are not crowded.

Heath aster – Symphyotrichum ericoides, 2-3 feet tall with white flowers.

Fendler’s aster-Symphyotrichum fendleri, 6-16 inches tall, white flowers, low growing.

‘My Antonia’ white flowers, 12 inches tall.

Smooth aster – Symphyotrichum leave, 2-4 feet tall with purple flowers.

‘Bluebird’ violet-blue flowers, 3-4 feet tall.

Calico aster- Symphyotrichum lateriflorum, 2-3 feet tall, small flower heads of white or pale purple flowers with reddish-rose centers.

‘Lady in Black’ white flowers with raspberry centers, purplish-black leaves, 3-4 feet tall.

New England aster – Symphyotrichum novae-angliae, 3-5 feet tall with pink, red-violet, purple or blue flowers.

‘Andenken an Alma Pötschke’ is a fast growing, upright, compact plant that grows 30-42 inches tall. It has masses of flowers, 2″ across, with rose pink petals which bloom for 6 weeks or longer in late summer.

Kickin’ series of bushy and compact asters, 2 ft. tall and wide, late summer to fall-blooming with semi-double flowers. Comes in seven different cultivars: ‘Carmine Red,’ ‘Lilac Blue,’ ‘Lavender,’ ‘Pink Chiffon,’ ‘Silver Pink,’ ‘Mauve,’ and ‘Purple.’

New York aster-Aster novi-belgii, 3-4 feet tall, purple, dark pink, white flowers.

‘Alert’ purplish-red flowers, 1.5-2 feet tall.

Aromatic Aster– Symphyotrichum oblongifolium, 1-4 feet tall with pink, lavender-blue, purple flowers.

‘Dream Beauty’ pink flowers with orange centers, 1 foot tall.

‘Fanny’ purple-blue flowers, 2-3 feet tall.

‘Raydon’s Favorite’ violet blue flowers, 2-3 feet tall.

‘October Skies’ sky-blue flowers, 1-2 feet.

Sky Blue aster-Symphyotrichum oolentangiense, 3 feet tall with light blue flowers.

Silky aster– Symphyotrichum sericeus, 1-2 feet, one inch purple flowers, branching stems with leaves covered silvery hairs, blooms in August.

Prairie aster – Symphyotrichum turbinellum, 3-4 feet tall with lavender flowers.

MJ Frogge

New England Aster
smooth aster
calico aster

Teaching Youth About Pollinators

Happy Pollinator Week! This week our office is hosting 4-H Clover College. Twelve youth signed up for my session called Pollinator Party. We discussed what crops need pollinators. They looked at the list and circled foods they eat. I then asked them to highlighted a favorite food. I asked how they would feel if they could never have that food again. The shocked look on their faces was clear. They are starting to understand the importance of pollinators.

It was a beautiful day to be out in the Cherry Creek Pollinator Habitat. They notice the native flowers that were blooming. Many were fascinated by the solitary bee house and watching the leaf cutter bees fill the holes that were drilled in the wood blocks. They planted dill and zinnia seeds to benefit caterpillars and butterflies.

After exploring the habitat, each youth made a solitary bee tube house to take home and place in their landscape. It was a fun morning and by the end of the session, the kids had a better understanding of our native pollinators and how their habitat is important to protect. 

MJ Frogge