By Karin Beuerlein Adding a vigorous native vine to your backyard habitat brings all kinds of fun surprises. All of those surprises are pleasant—as long as you don’t plant something that’s enthusiastic bordering on psychotic, or poorly sized for the [...]
By Karin Beuerlein If you weren’t able to participate in our fall native plant challenge, I hope you’ll think about adding a native plant or two to your yard now that spring is almost here. If you need a place [...]
by Karin Beuerlein Fellow birders Angela Hoffman and Seth McConchie outdid all of us with their entry into the first KTOS Native Plant Challenge—they scored 217 points with a combination of trees, shrubs, and perennials. I’m here to give you [...]
by Karin Beuerlein KTOSers, Knoxville's birds need your help! From now through November 15, we're challenging you to plant something for the birds in your backyard—a tree, shrub, or perennial native to North America (preferably the Southeast). Native plants not [...]
by Karin Beuerlein It doesn’t necessarily take a big habitat project to attract more birds to your backyard. Small steps count, too, and can be a good way to start if you’re new to backyard birding. Here are some easy [...]
by Karin Beuerlein What if you could expand your reach and make your backyard bird habitat even bigger and richer? That doesn’t necessarily mean buying more land—it can just mean convincing your neighborhood to add a natural area. Last September, [...]
by Karin Beuerlein Meet my all-time favorite bird, the acrobatic and iridescent tree swallow! In my experience, there’s no more beautiful, sociable, or loyal creature you can invite into your yard. I totally get why someone wrote a song when [...]
by Karin Beuerlein The last time I posted, the world was a very different place. COVID-19 has interrupted all our lives, and it also interrupted this blog, so I apologize for being tardy. I hope you and yours are healthy [...]
by Karin Beuerlein We’ve been busy putting together the KTOS booth for the Dogwood Arts House & Garden Show Feb. 14–16 (come by and see us there!), so this post will be short and sweet. This winter, I wanted to [...]
by Karin Beuerlein The dead of winter is actually a wonderful time in the backyard garden—a time to reflect on the bones of your plants and watch birds gather at the feeder. (Though it’s 72 degrees as I write this [...]
