im sorry, i dont have the details anymore, they are lost in history that is my mind. but the most interesting story that i remember is this white moth orchid of maybe australian decent. this had a spur of 12+ inches yet no insect was found to have that long of a tounge. Darwin said, keep looking!! years after his death, sure enough. a (night?) moth with a 14" inch tounge was found. reinforces the evolutionary theory of 1 - 1 evolution quite well. Olbrich botanical gardens in Madison WI had that orchid and that was the second time i heard the story, first time being in botany school. certainly someone here can give the name and maybe even a link? froggy

Thanks for the article. As a native Delawarean who grew up in Florida (and went back to DE) it made me chuckle. Sounds like they need to get their native plantings more finely tuned. I love to grow natives and I did when I lived at the beach in Delaware although all my neighbors had a green lawn and English style gardens totally unsuited to the location. I had no lawn just coreopsis, bayberry, dune grass, daylillies (OK not native but they like sand). I'm happy DelDot is trying to use native plants but the "people"-natives there are very hidebound. They love their grass and they love their mowers.

I think it's a great idea. Good luck with it.

I can really relate to this woman - I live on a 1/8 acre suburban lot, just one block from a subway stop in a close-in suburb, and I've ripped out nearly all the grass and replaced it with a mix of native and non-native perennials, shrubs, and trees with just grass paths inbetween - my garden is also NWF certified. I'm sure there are some people who hate my garden, but when I am out working in the front yard I get nothing but positive, unsolicited comments from the pedestrians who pass by. But I do make an effort to keep it fairly neat, and I live in an area where all the houses are older, a bit funky, and there is no HOA....we have a tolerant live-and-let-live attitude here, but there are other parts of my town that are HOA restricted and my type of gardening would probably be prohibited. There are some towns near me in suburban Maryland (Takoma Park and Greenbelt come to mind) where the towns actually ENCOURAGE the 1/8 acre suburban lot owners to take out their front and back lawns and plant natives and xeriscapes. There are entire blocks in Takoma Park, MD where everyone has done this and it's just beautiful to walk down those streets in any season. If they keep hassling here, perhaps this lady should move to another area where the neighbors think more like she does...