Featured Action: Winter Sewing
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Winter Sewing Helps Iowa Natives
Iowa Natives evolved together. Our pollinators depend on particular species for food and reproduction, yet many of the plants Iowans have in their yards do not support the native ecosystem.
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According to Doug Tallamy, professor of entomology and ecology at the University of Delaware and author of Nature’s Best Hope, restoring the native ecology of our yards is essential. What we are doing in our parks and preserves is not enough as evidenced by continued species loss. Tallamy says, “Whether we like nature or not, none of us will be able to live for long in a world without it,” and he’s right. It’s all hands on deck. Everyone with an apartment balcony, a patio, or a small patch of yard can join the fight. The time is now.
Luckily, there are simple things everyone can do to transform spaces into living landscapes. The most accessible act is to plant native flowers and grasses.
Bare root and potted plants offer the quickest results and can be purchased from many different companies found on our resources page.
Growing from seed is often more cost effective and provides access to a wider variety of plants. If you would like to start your flowers and grasses from seed, know that most of Iowa natives require cold stratification, a period of cold and wet, to germinate. There are numerous ways to cold-stratify seeds, and you can get started this winter.
If you know where you want your seeds and have bare soil, the simplest method is to scatter native seeds on top of soft snow. Nature will do the rest.
Another method is to plant seeds in plastic containers, like milk or vinegar jugs, and set them in a sunny outdoor location for the winter. Lisa Hinzman Howard, certified Master Gardener and volunteer with Iowa State Extension provides simple steps on the jug method.
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Some of our favorite species to winter sew include those listed below, with purchase links to Prairie Moon Nursery, a company that offers authentic native seeds:
Cardinal flower, a favorite of hummingbirds and swallowtail butterflies,
Butterfly milkweed, a host plant for monarchs,
Pale purple coneflower or the purple cornflower, loved by bees and butterflies,
Showy goldenrod, late season support for many pollinators, and
Rattlesnake master, a host plant for the black swallowtail
Iowa Natives need your help. Rural or urban, apartment or house, patio pot or garden bed, pollinators will find what you have to offer. We encourage you to be patient with your native plants. Some will flower in the first year, but others will take longer. In more ways than one, we are planting for the future. Together, we can do this.
