#swmngpools

[onenicebugperday]

the submit button STILL isn’t working for me but i was doing some mop up and when i opened a stump i accidentally opened up their house! we have snow coming so i put it back to how i found it as best i could.

Oops! Accidentally ripped open their living room! I'm sure they'll be fine and maybe just move to a new part of the stump :)

[rebeccathenaturalist]

apologies if you’ve been asked this before, but do you know a good way to find local native plant nurseries?

@swmngpools So there are a few things I do if I'm trying to find native plant nurseries in a specific place.

First, I'll search online for "[location] native plant nursery". Here in the US I usually search by state, though sometimes I'll add in the nearest major city, too. If my search is only coming up with general native plant sites and not nurseries in particular, then I'll put the location in one set of quotes, and "native plant nursery" in another--for example, "Seattle, WA" "native plant nursery".

I also try Google Maps. I navigate to the general area where I want to look--not TOO specific, especially if it's an area that is less likely to have native plant nurseries; I have more options where I live now in the Pacific Northwest than where I grew up in the Ozarks. I'll search for "native plant nurseries" or "native plants". Unfortunately, this doesn't always work as well as a general search engine because if there isn't an abundance of native plant sellers in an area, Google Maps tends to be more likely to show me general plant vendors. Searching in the PNW I get several hits on Google Maps, but searching around my old hometown in Missouri I get....Lowe's.

To be fair, Google Maps did also show me the well-established general plant nursery that my mom used to take me to when I was a wee kiddo in the 80's, and which is still around today. So if all you're getting is places like these, email, call, or visit them if it's convenient, and ask whether they carry or can order native plants. Or if they don't, see if they know of a place that does. You might also try landscaping companies; most of them stick to whatever non-native plants are popular, but there are some landscapers who do use native plants as well and may be able to help with sourcing.

While we're on the topic of going directly to people, if you're in the US most states have a Native Plant Society that can help you find sources for native plants. Other conservation entities, both here and elsewhere, may be able to help as well. This includes any private businesses, nonprofit organizations, or governmental entities that may be involved in things like environmental protections, habitat restoration and preservation, outdoor education and other activities, etc. Even if they themselves aren't directly involved in native plants there might be someone on staff who knows more about it.

Another thing I might try if I'm feeling a bit stuck is to ask in a relevant online group. For example, on Facebook there are groups like Pollinator Friendly Yards, that aren't region-specific, but that have people from all over who may be able to help you with resources local to you. And, of course, this is another good place to look for groups with native plant enthusiasts local to you--use the same search terms in Facebook's search feature that you did for your general search engine search.

One last option--if you know of a few native plants you might want to try planting, search for "[plant name] seeds" or "[plant name] starts", or even "buy [plant name]". You may have to search through the results to find someone actually selling what you're looking for. It's also possible that the plant is difficult to cultivate--or no one has even thought to try cultivating it--and therefore can't be purchased. Make sure that the specific species/variety is the one found in your area; a lot of people trying to help monarch butterflies in North America, for example, end up buying non-native tropical milkweed instead of whatever their native regional milkweed species is.

On that note, there's a lot of debate over "nativars", cultivars of native species that may be bred to exaggerate certain traits or make them more suitable for a vastly changed landscape. On the one hand it may seem like a great idea to have a plant that is easier to grow. However, nativars may actually be less beneficial to insects and other wildlife. For example, some nativars are cultivated with altered flowers, such as a double flower that has more petals than the original type. Pollinators are often unable to reach the nectar or pollen of these altered flowers. Nativars of a plant that normally has green leaves but that has been bred for more red in the foliage will be less likely to be eaten by herbivorous insects because the anthocyanins that cause the red coloration give the leaves a bad taste to deter insect predation. All of which, of course, defeats the purpose of planting native plants, since you WANT your native plants to be eaten by insects and other wildlife. So get the "wild type" native plant rather than nativars.

So those are my suggestions for seeking out native plant nurseries. Again, I want to emphasize that some places will be more likely to have them than others; the Pacific Northwest US has a great abundance, whereas a few cursory searches didn't turn up any in the Czech Republic. If you're trying to find native plants in an area where English is not the most common language, search in whatever the common language(s) is and you'll be more likely to get results if there are native plant nurseries or vendors in the area.

I hope this helps! Let me know if I can help with anything else.

[monttagues]

do you think the dnd movie is worth seeing as someone who has never played dnd?

yeah i think if you don't know dnd, it'll just be a fun fantasy movie. there are some inside jokes you probably won't get and there are quite a few references to the game, but you'll still understand what the characters mean or what they're talking about, y'know?

[mosticonicposts]

the post that’s like. 2020 plague

the what

[lilabard]

beauty queens by libba bray, the wolves of mercy falls, what’s left of me by kat zhang?

thank you!!

beauty queens -  added to TBR | on my TBR | couldn’t finish it | did not enjoy | it was OK | liked it | loved it | favourite | not interested

the wolves of mercy falls -  added to TBR | on my TBR | couldn’t finish it | did not enjoy | it was OK | liked it | loved it | favourite | not interested

what’s left of me -  added to TBR | on my TBR | couldn’t finish it | did not enjoy | it was OK | liked it | loved it | favourite | not interested | interested

ask me any book title?

[demondarlington]

milk chocolate is gross it’s so creamy and it makes me want to throw up. dark chocolate only.

disagree. look, the real chocolate enemy is white chocolate.

send ☕️ and a popular/unpopular opinion

[annbeth]

i voted for literary science because that seems like a good fit for you. whichever one you end up choosing i hope it works out!

thank you so much lovely💖🍪💖🍪

url: i don’t get it, but it’s amazing! | wow?! | who did you bribe to get it? | ginny weasleyicon: cute | amazing | absolutely stunning | jesper faheymobile theme: cute | amazing | absolutely stunning | richard ganseytheme: cute | amazing | absolutely stunning | nina zenikposts: great | amazing | um, WOW?! | simon spierfollowing: no, but i love you | how wasn’t i following you? | of course | till the very end 

help me decide what to study and get a free blograte (and cookies)

[ecostudyy]

I just realized i never made an introduction post? Anyways, I’m Mary and I’m a sophomore in high school trying to balance school, friends, athletics, and an existential crisis. I’m currently taking Algebra II, AP World History, Honors World Lit, Chemistry, Spanish 3, and Photography. This is a sideblog so you probably wont see me following you, but my main account swmngpools instead. As you can tell i dont go on this account all that much but I am trying to get more into it. I reblog a lot of playlists and study tips more so than motivation and desk layouts. I will also make my own posts from time to time too! i organize in the tags and you can see them in the tags tab on my blog. 

[swmngpools]

i've decided i'm gonna write a thirteenth year au fanfic where cody has been deaf his whole life and now they know why-he's a merman. it's gonna be written mostly over the summer on a doc on my phone but i will post it on both my ao3 (melchoritz) and my fanfiction.net (swmngpools) because i will never find closure until i finish this myself.

[thepromise1988]

∞

up for air from the swimming poolyou kneel down to the dry landkiss the earth that birthed you

- pink + white by frank ocean

send me an infinity sign!

[onenicebugperday]

what are your thoughts on pest species? specifically house pests, but also ecological/agricultural pests?

My thoughts are that they don't know they're pests and I still love them :)

And also that some measure of pest control is necessary, especially in food production.

I do NOT like when people spray their house and yard with pesticides to get rid of things like spiders. I don't think people realize how much damage that does to a whole lot of non-spider critters. Or maybe they just don't care.

[onenicebugperday]

@swmngpools​ submitted: went to Sandy Hollow WMA for class and got to meet some friends! i know the second butterfly is a buckeye but not sure what the orange one is (the outside of the wings looked like a monarch but the lower wing was white). also not sure who lives in that little nest. copperhead snake as a little bonus (my friend walked right over it and didn’t notice!)

Yep,  you’re right, the second one (photo 3) is a common buckeye! The first (photos 1-2) is a gulf fritillary. The “nest” is actually the egg sac of a yellow garden spider, Argiope aurantia. SNAKE. I love this snake and think they can be an honorary bug :)