If necessity is the mother of invention, then the need to survive takes creativity to new heights. That creativity can result in amazing ways to hide from predators or help predators sneak up on prey. Either way, deception is the name of the game in the garden. Well, actually mimicry may be the name of…
Author: Randy Litchfield
Dangling Coneflowers
It’s the time of year when we regularly go out and hunt for dangling flower heads, particularly on Purple Coneflowers, Rosinweed, Cup Plant, and Compass Plant. Unfortunately we are starting to see this kind of damage on other flowers like Black-Eyed Susan, Orange Coneflower, Green-headed Coneflower, and False Sunflower. The damage is from the Sunflower…
Line of Sight in Design
Terri will tell you that I really enjoy a particular view from the pub set at the back of our property. I like it because of the flowing depth of plants and color… it looks like one big, cascading bed. That is an illusion of the design layout ! There are actually four beds in…
First Night of Mothing!
Last Saturday night (July 22nd), we finally set up to attract and observe moths at night. We were pretty inspired by our experiences at Mothapalooza in 2022. It is a two-day event hosted by the Arc of Appalachia with speakers, field trips, and moth observations at several sites in the evening. The observation set ups…
Gathering Flora, Fauna, & Friends
Catchfly Commons is the name Terri and Randy Litchfield gave their home landscape in 2023 after gardening there for over twenty years. The garden is an interconnected place of native plants, creatures, land, and watershed. It is also an informal gathering place and demonstration garden for people interested in biodiverse landscapes. It is a commons…
Background of Catchfly Commons
Catchfly Commons is a 1.3 acre residential property on the south side of Delaware in central Ohio. It is within the Olentangy River watershed. Catchfly Commons hosts approximately 275 species of native herbaceous plants, shrubs, and trees planted in a variety of light, moisture, and soil conditions. The property was mostly lawn with a few…
Catchfly Commons 