September brings the end of the summer, marked by changes in day length and temperature. Hints of fall color appear. Some plants produce fruit and seed; some may have dropped their seeds and died back already. Animals may begin migrations and insects may enter dormant stages. Autumn transitions begin and continue in our gardens and broader landscapes.

As summer ends, I thank our summer student gardeners, Amelia and Zoey. They contributed time, energy, curiosity, observations, stewardship, and more as we worked together (with our volunteers) to care for the native plant garden. It was an especially challenging summer of high heat indices, poor air quality, and storms. We encountered the usual ticks, mosquitoes, and chiggers, but also hummingbirds, bumble bees, mink, indigo buntings, ripening seeds, a snapping turtle, white-lined sphinx moth larvae, and countless other wonders in the garden. Thank you, Amelia and Zoey!

In addition, Amelia and Zoey integrated their native plant gardening experience with their UW–Madison summer academic programs (master of science in environmental conservation at the Nelson Institute and bachelor of landscape architecture, respectively). In this article, Amelia shares suggestions and ideas about keeping garden records through nature journaling, and Zoey describes her findings from a comparison of original planting records for our parking circle garden to the current plant list.

– Susan Carpenter, native plant garden curator

Amelia Fritsch

There are many reasons to practice nature journaling. When we take the time to closely observe a natural phenomenon by using words, drawings, and numbers to document our thinking, our memories of what we experience are enhanced, the joy of being curious is enlivened, and our capacity for sustained attention grows. If you, like me, are a home gardener that has sought to figure out why a particular plant is less successful than its cohort come bloom time; or tried to determine if a certain bug is truly a menace or only taking a fair (and sustainable) amount of your beautiful foliage; or attempted to untangle some other thorny question, a nature journal practice might be a great option for you.

In my capstone project this summer, I learned that adaptive management in ecological restoration involves assessing baseline conditions and then collecting data over time to determine if you are making the impact you want through your current strategies. If not, you can adjust strategies. This is exactly the kind of information a nature journal can be used for, and it is adaptable for any scale.

For example: you notice something going on in your garden. You gather data about what is happening and document it in your journal. You talk to neighbors and fellow gardeners, read trusted blogs and websites, and do other research. Then it’s time to start tinkering. You may decide to try a strategy your neighbor suggested. Document everything and record what happens afterwards. If it doesn’t resolve your problem, looking back at your journal can help you have a hypothesis of why. Then adjust your strategy, document it, and continue to record the effects on your garden.

Try to use drawing, writing, and numbers on every page. Images can be labeled and activate different parts of your brain. Words help organize your thoughts. Numbers help us see patterns. If you’d like to start nature journaling in your garden, here are some tips:

Join a group! Email Madison Nature Journal Club to find out about their free monthly events. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources hosts regular nature journaling meetups at parks all over the state. Wild Wonder Foundation hosts many virtual nature journaling events and you can join their online community of nature journalers.

Fall is a wonderful time to start your journal! Summarize how the year went, journaling from memory. Documenting beautiful colors and wildlife is a great first experience using color in your journal. Starting in fall gives you time, while your garden is green and your memories are fresh, to reflect on what went well and what you would like to try next year. You could even begin an experiment in fall, such as leaving half your garden with leaf litter and dry stems, etc., throughout winter and cleaning up the other half. In winter and spring, you can pay attention to the two halves to see the impacts on wildlife and new spring growth.

– Amelia Fritsch

Zoey Weiland

From a landscape architecture perspective, the parking circle garden in front of the Arboretum Visitor Center is a visual and natural success. A space that was once lawn was transformed into a mini prairie garden. It has a short profile to ensure good visibility and visitor safety.

When working in this garden, I was intrigued by its history and success. The garden is approximately 1,344 square feet with a circumference of about 130 feet. It receives no extra watering besides rain and is not fertilized or treated. The Arboretum’s prescribed fire crew burns the dried material nearly every April. The last recorded planting year was 2008. There are 30 species of plants in the garden; 26 are native species, with only 6 of those showing up in the original planting records. Bindweed, St. John’s wort, Indian grass and big bluestem were the only plants weeded or cut back severely this summer. Considering these factors and that only a few non-native species have popped up in the garden, it is safe to assume that this garden is primarily self-sustaining and healthy.

It engages a variety of pollinator species, with ten different species spotted in an hour-long afternoon survey. Plants growing here now include three different milkweed species that all planted themselves, white prairie clover, and bergamot, which are popular choices for pollinator gardening. Considering the depth of prairie plants’ roots, species in this garden also hold and intercept a significant amount of water. They prevent large amounts of sediment from running off into the rest of the parking lot and the prairie, which the lawn could not do. Prairie plants also filter out contaminants from car waste, which is significant considering the number of visitors at the Arboretum.

One of the key lessons taught in my bachelor of landscape architecture program is the importance of less-considered spaces. With a few tweaks, this once-flat-and-boring roundabout has become a vibrant and beneficial space, illustrating the benefits of native planting and how even unlikely spots can have purpose and beauty.

– Zoey Weiland