Native Plants

January 9, 2024

Spring Beauties

By: Jenny Adkins April 12, 2021 Today, we highlight the dainty and captivating Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica). This common wildflower is one of the first to bloom in the spring, bringing a cheerful presence to the forest floor. It blooms throughout the spring, opening towards the sky on sunny days and closing to a nod on dreary days. Native bees, flies, ants, and Lepidoptera frequent Spring Beauty as a source of pollen and nectar. It grows throughout central and eastern North American dry-mesic woodlands where it thrives on nutrients from leaflitter and can complete its life cycle before trees leaf out and prohibit sunlight from reaching the forest floor. It spreads by seed and corm, which are hard, bulb-like storage reserves that sprout new stems. […]
January 9, 2024

Let’s Talk About Lesser Celandine

By: Jenny Adkins April 8, 2021 Everyone seems to be aware of our woody invasive plant species like honeysuckle, callery pear, wintercreeper, privet, etc. One thing we’re noticing this year is people gushing over the plant featured here- lesser celandine (Ranunculus ficaria). Yes, it’s beautiful. It’s one of the first things to come up in spring along floodplains and mesic soils, carpeting the ground in lush green foliage and cheery yellow flowers. You’ll notice at second glance that beneath that lush carpet, there’s NOTHING else growing under or around it. These areas should be loaded with diverse wildflowers- harbinger of spring, bluebells, anemone, phlox, ginger, bloodroot, solomon’s seal, ramps, trout lilies, spring beauty, Dutchman’s breeches, geranium, orchids, twin leaf, trilliums, toothwort, cresses, violets, mayapple, larkspur, […]
December 27, 2022

I.G.O.R. Events

MAD Scientist organized and “I.G.O.R. Team (aka Incredible Group of Recruits) to offer environmental education to citizen volunteers through workshops and webinars, clean-up and invasive species removal events, and native planting opportunities throughout Central Ohio. In 2022, we added more events to the calendar to increase engagement, totaling six events (two webinars, one litter clean-up events, and three invasive species management and planting events). We’re thankful for all our volunteers and hope to this symbiotic relationship with our local community as we roll into a new year.
December 27, 2022

Environmental Professionals Network Collaboration

In June, Jenny Adkins had the opportunity to help organize and speak at an EPN breakfast, alongside Cadine Navarro, Terry Hermsen, and Janice Glowski, about native prairie plants and the connection between the arts, sciences, action, and resiliency. This partnership was formed after a visit the Frank Museum (Otterbein University) to see Cadine’s exhibit titled “It Sounds Like Love,” which features nine native prairie plants and the artistic representation of the vibrational sounds their dormant seeds create. Intriguing stuff, right?! As an educator and botanist, Jenny quickly bonded with the group and has participated in several of the exhibit events. They decided to share this synergy with the community through The Ohio State University’s Environmental Professional’s Network. Here they asked participants to walk through the Alum […]
January 11, 2022

High School Learning Opportunity at Oak Openings Wetland Restoration Site

In November, our team met with the Aerospace & Natural Science Academy of Toledo, Metro Parks Toledo, and the Ohio DNR at our wetland restoration project in the Oak Openings region to discuss the process of wetland restoration, tour the site, and plant native hydophytes that the students grew themselves! We were pleased to see this site with beautiful wetland pools and the blush of cover crop on the upland buffer. We were also reveling in the ease of planting in sandy soils that are so common in northwest Ohio! It’s always fun to share our profession and projects with curious minds and we hope they’ll remember this experience and return to the site to see how their plants grow.