Maypop Hill newsletter, natural landscaping, ecogardening, native plants, permaculture

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An occasional report of what’s growing at Maypop Hill Nursery and the Miley
homestead in Norwood, LA; to subscribe to the free newsletter,
contact us by email: maypophill@gmail.com at website: maypophill.com
The Maypop Hill Newsletter
The Maypop Hill Newsletter
July
2021
The guiding principle of natural landscaping is to create attractive scenery
that looks like Mother Nature planted it.
Mow where you go. Poisonous chemicals are a no go.
Try try try to go with the flow.
Know thy foe
In this brand new planting area
we will seek out and destroy
Johnson grass
Chambitter
Morning glory
Since Louisiana has a humid (rainy) subtropical climate,
and Maypop Hill has no interest in frequent mowing
and manicuring a useless grass lawn, we add this goal to
our plan: low
lower
lowest
maintenance.
A battery-
powered
lawnmower
does not get
stuck in soggy
grass when it
cuts paths in
the prairie.
It gets in tight
spaces and
under tree
branches.

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A good
resource for
growing a
pollinator
garden
is
To BEE or not To BEE a Pollinator Gardener?; that is a good question.
To BEE or not To BEE a Pollinator Gardener?; that is a good question.
Anyone with a few feet of sunny ground can grow these tall bee and
Anyone with a few feet of sunny ground can grow these tall bee and
butterfly magnets
butterfly magnets
1. Stokes Aster (Stokesia laevis) - Swallowtail, Sulphurs, Brush-foots, Skippers
2. Wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) – All
3. Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) – Swallowtails, Fritillaries, Painted Ladies,
4. Mountain mint (Pycnanthemum tenuifolium, incanum, muticum) - All
5. Summer Phlox (Phlox paniculata) – Swallowtails
6. Blazing-star (Liatris species) – Swallowtails,Sulphurs, Cloudless Sulphur, others
7. Ironweed (Vernonia species) – nectar and host plant for many butterflies
8. Blue Mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum) – migrating Monarchs and others
North American Butterfly Association
2
5
6
7
8
1
4
3

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The Texas Star
(Hibiscus coccineus)
often blooms on the
first day of summer in
our front yard.
Native hibiscus
species tolerate wet
feet, unlike tropical
plants which need
well-drained soil.
buzz buzz
shake shake
I'll vibrate
you flowers
'til y'all donate
pollen for me
to regurgitate
to make honey
for my colony
Where have all the flowers gone?
~ a song written by Pete Seegar in 1955, before roadside crews started mowing
rural areas in the summer. Alas, we just don't
see the pretty ditch flowers (and pollinators
that depend on them) that we used to
take for granted.
Now and then, not often enough, we see
a remnant of what used to be. Here, in
Livingston Parish, LA, where a ditch is
too wet and difficult for tractors to get to,
a colorful stand of Swamp Rose Mallow
(Hibiscus moscheutos) brightens up the
landscape.

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Maypop Hill Nursery & Publications
4979 Spec Garig Rd., Norwood, LA
Betty & LJ Miley, specializing in native plants of the South
email: maypophill@gmail.com web: maypophill.com
Geaux native!
Mom!!!
Feed us!
Events
Maypop Hill Nursery plans to make
two road trips this summer/fall:
Sat. August 14. 8am-12 Noon; BREC
Summer Garden Show, 7950
Independence Blvd, Baton Rouge
70806 (behind Goodwood Library)
Sat. Oct 9, 10am-2pm;
Pride-Chaneyville Library
Community Festival,
13600 Pride-Port Hudson Rd, Pride,
LA 70770
This spring, a
talkative little
Carolina Wren
raised a nest of
chicks in a
birdhouse on
the front porch.
This time she
picked a wreath
to raise a brood of noisy little babies. This is typical
behavior for the little brown bird, which does not
return to an old nest, thus avoiding health issues
from leftover bird feces, flea and ticks, fungal
matter on feathers and nest material.
Besides birds, Maypop Hill has had
3 turtles lay eggs near the house.
She's baaaaack!
A bird-friendly home habitat map and checklist
are on page 42 of the free pdf of Putting Nature
First on Your Southern Land on our website,
maypophill.com