For 2026 I will be presenting monthly articles delving in to which native plants can replace invasive plants in your yard and in our community. Invasive plants are non-native species that outcompete our native plants for resources (light, water, nutrients) and alter the biodiversity found in our natural lands, often by taking over our native plants. According to entomologist and author Doug Tallamy, our landscapes should be supporting food webs and pollinators, sequestering c

This month I will focus on the Sweetgum tree (Liquidambar styraciflua), a deciduous tree native to the southern portion of Ohio. It is often planted as a landscape tree in the rest of Ohio. Once you know this tree, you’ll likely remember it by its 5-7 point star-shaped leaves, its beautiful fall color and its spiky round fruits. In autumn, the leaves turn shades of color from yellow to orange to red to deep purple and mixtures of all of these, tending to turn and stay attache

Recently on the Minerva Park Facebook page, two of our trees were dubbed "the Kissing Trees" - apologies to the namer as I don’t remember who it was. This month, I thought it would be fun to do an article on these two trees.  They seem to be much noticed by those who walk the Green Space path. The Kissing Trees are the 2 largest trees that grow in the circle of path just south of Quiet Brook Vale pond (the pond by the tunnel). They sit on either side of KiIbourne Run.  To the

For October, we’ll visit one of my favorite trees in Minerva Park. Follow the blacktop path through the green space heading east from the...

Continue walking along the path past the double bench area at the south lake toward Greenline Way. At the intersection of Minerva Lake...

Walk east from the community building along the South Lake path and you will find a Horse Chestnut tree (Aesculus hippocastanum) next to...

This month’s tree, Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) is a tree in the hemp family, known for their ability to thrive in a variety of soil...

This month’s featured Minerva Park tree is Pinus strobus (White Pine).  Take a walk heading east on the path along the South Lake and...

To continue our trees of Minerva Park, this month we celebrate Magnolia stellata (Star Magnolia), a slow growing shrub or small tree...

ARE YOU READY TO GARDEN AND NOT SURE WHERE TO START? Come to Minervaflora’s next class: Garden Planning, on Saturday, March 8 from...

Take a short walk to the east of our new community building and you’ll be in the midst of at least 13 different species of trees, mostly...

As the air cools and our daylight shortens in September, there are still many tasks to do in the garden: Reseed, aerate and feed the...

The subject of this article came about recently when I spied, while on a walk, a line of recently planted trees each sporting a ‘tree...

A Little History: This month I’d like to write about Minerva Park’s garden group, MinervaFlora. The group has been around since 1991. It...

SPRING EPHEMERALS Spring Ephemeral is a plant that grows, flowers, and dies in a short amount of time. Tulip, Daffodil, Hyacinth, Crocus...

Winter sowing is sowing seeds outside in winter in mini-green houses. The reason? many seeds need a cold period (30-60+ days), called...

This month we are highlighting COMMON CHICKWEED - so named as it is a preferred food of chickens and other fowl. It is also called star...

This month we are highlighting HONEYSUCKLE! Honeysuckle is named for the edible sweet nectar in the tubular flowers. LATIN: Lonicera. ...

October's highlight is GOLDENROD! You have probably seen this all around Central Ohio, but there is an abundance of goldenrod in the...

By: Lisa Craddock This month, we are highlighting Ironweed. So named because of its tough stem! LATIN: Vernonia ENVIRONMENT: Prefers...