Prairie Up

09/03/2026

This is one of my favorite shirts at the shop (it also comes as a hoodie and mug). Makes me feel like I'm watching an episode of Price is Right but about lawns.

Oh my god. That would be a GREAT show for a revived HGTV.

Can you guess the cost of maintaining this lawn over 5 years compared to this meadow garden? What about the environmental impact (insert stats on carbon sequestration, air cooling degrees, water use saved in gallons, etc).

https://reprairiesuburbia.etsy.com/listing/1811349578

09/03/2026

I've had said to me often in my life not to be so depressed or whatever, and I'm like, two sides of the same coin -- awareness breeds an emotional response most people don't want to have because it makes them uncomfortable, or worse, implicated. I can't feel one thing and not the other. In joy is despair, in despair is joy. Maybe that doesn't make sense to you, but it does to me.

We can do something in our rage and our sorrow, as well as in our peace and joy. The tides will ebb and flow, but staying the course and having every emotion be fuel is my jam. Give me the full gamut of feeling and being alive -- because only then will my path be more authentic and, I hope, more rewarding.

09/02/2026

Posted this nearly 5 years ago. The quotes are still bangers.

Living in the era of climate change might make us feel guilt, or grief, or anger. How do those who think about these problems every day keep going?

09/02/2026

The Best Lawn Alternative Is...

In yesterday's monthly Prairie Upping community Q&A we discussed lawn alternatives, where to find native plants (look at the FAQ on the website), considering a member's tricky foundation beds that are sun / part shade / shade depending on the time of day (I provided some starter plant lists), native plants for "traditional" garden beds, and even how to grow a new business. We always have folks from all over and experience levels and interests asking great questions with a lively chat.

Anywho, lawn alternatives. I created a booklet on this topic earlier this year (on sale at the website) listing thoughts and tons of plants. But big caveat I always say is "how much lawn do we really need?" Minimizing any lawn-type landscape should be our main goal because even a species-rich lawn can't hold a candle to more diverse and taller landscapes that have even more ecosystem functions (cleaning and cooling air, reducing floods, more habitat, etc).

Have all the strawberry and yarrow and violets and sedge and poppy mallow you want, but you'll have to mow it eventually and dice up what's living there. You'll walk on it more, probably, squashing what's there (don't walk barefoot just in case).

So how much lawn do we really need, for how long, how often, and why? We all have our personal uses and desires, so your mileage will vary. Lawn as dog p*e spot? Area rug for baby to crawl around in? Negative space or foil as part of a wilder design? Cure to care? Access point? Naked sunbathing pad?

09/01/2026

This is just to say

I have eaten
the silver spotted skipper
that was on
the thistle

and which
you were probably
admiring
from afar

Forgive me
it was delicious
so fluttery
and so soft.

09/01/2026

08/31/2026

Please join us for tomorrow's monthly community Q&A. I'll present a bit on lawn alternatives and where to find native plants to buy, then we'll move into some community-submitted photos of landscapes folks need ideas about (like those nasty part sun, part shade, but it changes during the year garden beds).

When you sign up for the monthly tier you get the first month free. When you sign up for the annual you get an even better deal.
Plus you get access to the entire year's monthly recordings.

Tuesday 9/1 live and recorded -- link in comments.

08/31/2026

My kiddo has been excellent at finding all the monarch cats lately, and we've got the most I've seen in years (pure hearsay and subjective but a gut feeling). Almost all are at the 4th or 5th instar, which makes sense as they'll be the last ones this year (peak migration south is in two weeks), and we've seen many in tandem on the same leaf when other leaves are plentiful. Not sure it means anything. Probably doesn't. Maybe has something to do with climate warming and citizen's united (or not).

Other species in 5th instar seem to have finished up, like various tussock moths and some painted lady butterflies I was keeping tabs on around the Cirsium altissimum (tall thistles) who I tend to notice first by the copious piles of leavings / frass.

Again, for any neighbors reading or who haven't walked the nearby Pioneers Park prairie recently, there are many thistles blooming now and these are native; one can tell by flipping over the leaves and they are silver. Thus the thistle are not invasive or problematic thistles, but in fact a MAJOR boon to wildlife, from birds to bees to butterflies to beneficial wasps and spiders. Same goes for the milkweed seen here (Asclepias syriaca).

08/31/2026

I detest promoting stuff I offer -- even if it took months and years to make when you gather it all together. I feel dirty and gross and think you'll be disgusted by it. These feelings do not make me a great entrepreneur, I fear, or a used car salesperson.

But stuff exists if you want it at the website. A lot is free -- from the dozens of articles to the dozens of pages (and all my social channels like FB / Insta / Youtube as well as the newsletter). Then there's more affordable booklets to download under $10. Webinars and classes are after that. The monthly Q&A chat. The self-paced design workshop. Then if you ever want an installed garden that's like pretty expensive.

So hey. Rethink pretty. Less lawn more planet. Plant something.

https://prairieup.com/

08/30/2026

Wolf-pooped wild blueberry seeds do better.

The carnivores gorge on berries when prey is scarce. New research found seeds that pass through a wolf are more likely to thrive.