Garden & Nature, Southwest

Vani Shukla

Gardening and discovering nature in Southwest USA

  1. FEB 13

    Backyard Bird Habitat. Effective Process of Learning About Any Bird to Create Its Habitat. Ep#18

    Apart from general bird habitat requirement in the garden, specific changes for any particular bird can be very effective for growing a bird habitat garden. I use the example of Lesser Goldfinches in this episode but the information can be applied to any bird you are interested in. I will walk you through a process that will make learning and planning the habitat, simple  Websites mentioned in this episode  All about birds (Cornell Lab)https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/ Audubonhttps://www.audubon.org/ Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center -  Native Plant Database page https://www.wildflower.org/plants/search.php?search_field=&newsearch=true Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center  - Home pagehttps://www.wildflower.org/ Plant nursery for online plants - It carries many southwestern native plants High Country Gardens https://www.highcountrygardens.com/ Birds mentioned in this episode Lesser Goldfinch Dark-eyed Junco  Native plants mentioned in this episode.  Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center links are provided for each plant to get more information Chocolate flower ( Berlendiera lyrata )https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=BELY Maximillian Sunflower: Helianthus maximilianihttps://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=HEMA2 Annual Sunflower : Helianthus annuus https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=HEAN3 Skeleton-leaf Goldeneye: Viguera https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=VIST Blanket flower  (Gaillardia )There are many different species of Gaillardia. If you search on the wildflower center website for ‘Gaillardia” or “blanket flower” you will be able to review the different plants in that group https://www.wildflower.org/plants/search.php?search_field=&newsearch=true Tetraneuris scaposa Same as mentioned above for Gaillardia. Please type “tetraneuris” on Wildflower Center website search bar to see various options https://www.wildflower.org/plants/search.php?search_field=&newsearch=true Elderberry tree (Mexican Elder) : Sambucus nigra ssp. cerulea https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=SANIC5 Black Dalea : Dalea frutescens Send us a text for questions on this topic Visit website for podcast show notes, images and other posts. https://www.gardenandnaturesouthwest.com/ Subscribe to get blog & podcast episodes delivered to your inbox. If you have questions regarding the topic covered here, email me

    27 min
  2. 04/17/2025

    Native plant gardens: spring gardening tasks for native plants and wildlife. Ep#14

    Episode 14 Gardening tasks in spring for a native plant garden keep in mind the other wildlife species that depend on the  native plant garden. These tasks are different from vegetable garden and non-native ornamental gardens.  Included in this episode:    Growing new plants - add more plant diversity in the garden, looking for local native plantsWhen and how to pruneHow to mulch (not always necessary to buy mulch).  Grrowng ground coverFertilizing native plantsCollecting seedsIrrigationNext episode will continue this series to include tasks specific to birds, pollinators, spiders, insects including butterflies and bees, lizards, toads and  small mammals Native Plants mentioned in this episode (scientific names are in italics)  Mexican gold poppy - Eschscholzia californica ssp mexicana  One of the online native seed company for its seed : https://www.nativeseeds.org/products/wf035?variant=40837419499674  Native plants that easily reseed and are either aggressive or roots are difficult to pull out Snakeweed : Gutierrezia sarothrae Desertbroom - Baccharis sarothroides Mexican feathergrass: Nasella Tenuissima Chocolate daisy (chocolate flower, lyreleaf greeneyes): Berlandiera lyrata Mexican evening primrose: Oenothera speciosa Native plants that easily reseed but  are easy to pull out and  not aggressive  Desert marigold - Baileya multiradiata Ground cover: Frog fruit - Phyla nodiflora : native ground cover, host to butterflies  Apps mentioned in the episode:  iNaturalist :  https://www.inaturalist.org/Photos  (Apple)Send us a text for questions on this topic Visit website for podcast show notes, images and other posts. https://www.gardenandnaturesouthwest.com/ Subscribe to get blog & podcast episodes delivered to your inbox. If you have questions regarding the topic covered here, email me

    27 min

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Gardening and discovering nature in Southwest USA