Natural Shore Technologies |  www.naturalshore.com  612-703-7581 
December Article
Happy Holidays from all of us at Natural Shore!

As we reflect back on this exciting year, we are incredibly thankful for our clients and the opportunity to make a difference - improving the ecology of Minnesota, one project and one plant at a time. We are fortunate to do what we love and share our knowledge with an amazing community of passionate individuals.     

In February, we moved our company to a bigger facility in nearby Independence, MN. This allowed us to spread our wings a bit, providing a more open office space and a warehouse for all of the restoration equipment.  We also put up a retail greenhouse outlet that was bustling with activity during the growing season. Next year, we plan to open the retail doors before Mother's Day - so we can serve our customers at the very start of the planting season.



We developed a restoration plan for our office campus, and have started the site preparation work and even some planting.  A variety of restoration areas with a suite of plant communities will help showcase the endless possibilities.   We can't wait to see how the new demonstration areas will look next year.


We were excited to welcome Colin Zumwalde to our restoration (installation) team.  Colin has been a great addition and welcomed the challenge of our rigorous standards. He had the opportunity to work on a variety of installations, from corporate rain gardens to steep hill-slopes on the St. Croix River. You may see Colin at a trade show this winter - please stop by and say hi.


Our veteran maintenance team leader, Tracy, had a very successful year, despite the ample amount of rain we received. On top of that, the summer heat was brutal, with monthly temperatures well above normal. Our maintenance crew also received a new member, Janna Jonely, who has helped organize and efficiently handle the ever growing maintenance schedule.  We are very proud of the variety of sites we maintain and the degree in which we strive to maintain them for our clients.

   

In the upcoming year, we are looking forward to beginning some really interesting and innovative restoration projects with many new and extremely ambitious clients. Some of the design work is happening this winter in order to get started early this upcoming spring. Maintenance will also be expanding to cover more ground and ensure we reach as many sites as we can to keep the weeds in check and the ecological diversity off the charts.  Please come visit us this winter at a few events we will be attending. (See the side column for more details) 



A few other goals we have in the upcoming year are to continue to explore how we can become more sustainable, reduce company carbon emissions, and reduce our herbicide use. These are very exciting areas that Natural Shore is thrilled to explore in an effort to remain environmentally conscious.  We want to investigate more ways we can do our part to mitigate climate change, something that is more and more important to us as the company grows. Read our upcoming 2017 newsletters for updates! 



From all of us at Natural Shore we thank our customers for their support during this last season and we look forward to working with all of you again in 2017. Happy New Year!
Company News
Natural Shore Has Moved!

We have moved a mile from our Maple Plain location to a new office in neighboring Independence, MN. Our new location will allow us to better serve our clients' needs. 

Our new retail nursery address is:
1480 County Rd 90.  Independence MN 55359

Interested in Native Plants? Contact our Greenhouse Manager Jill at Jill@naturalshore.com
Native Plant of the Month
Rattlesnake Master      
Eryngium yuccifolium    

Moisture:  Moist or Dry 
Exposure:  Full Sun  
Color:  White
Blooms:  July-September
Height: 2-6 Feet 
 
Rattlesnake Master is a low maintenance, long-lived perennial that's drought resistant and tolerant of disturbance and stress.  Their flowers grow on top of coarse, stout stems.  The globe-shaped green flower heads consist of many little white flowers. Rattlesnake Master has a lot of basal leaves that are stiff, waxy, and bluish green.  The thick leaves also have soft-to-the-touch needle-like teeth on the margins. Smaller leaves are found up the stem. The appearance of the leaves is yucca-like, but the plants are not related.  It thrives in full sun to part sun, in moist to dry, well-drained soils.  It is often found in open woods, prairies, and savannas.  Their roots were used for herbal medicine by Native Americans.  Their flowers attractive to butterflies and bees.  Another common name is button snakeroot.
Invasive Plant of the Month
Asiatic Dayflower  
© 2008 Katy Chayka minnesotawildflowers.info
Commelina communis

Exposure:  Full or Part Shade 
Moisture: Moist 
Height: 1-3 Feet
Blooms: July to October  
 
Asiatic Dayflower is an annual ground cover weed from Asia that spreads prolifically, forming colonies that can push out native plants. The flower is made up of two bright blue petals and a smaller white petal. Leaves are long and slender and clasp the stem. It spreads using nodes along the stem as it creeps across the ground. Management strategies include hand pulling, preventing it from going to seed, and select herbicide treatments.

Native plant alternatives include Bottle Gentian or Blue Eyed Grass!
Pollinator of the Month
Snowberry Clearwing
Hemaris diffinis

Range : Throughout North America  
Identification : Wings are clear with dark brown margins. Bodies are yellow and hairy with a large black band on their abdomen. They also have black tufts on the end of their abdomens that looks like a little tail.    
Pollination: Adults visit a variety of native plants for nectar. Some include Bergamot, Milkweed species, Prairie phlox, and others.Their larvae also use the native shrub low bush honeysuckle ( Diervilla lonicera) as a host plant.
December 2016 Issue
Our Company
Retail Nursery News
 
Our retail nursery is closed for the 2016 season.

Still want to place a plant order? Contact Jill at jill@naturalshore.com for information on remaining stock. 

Click and visit our website for current
Minnnesota Native Plant Brand ensures that plant species are native to Minnesota. 
Upcoming Events

NST staff will be at the Stearns County Lakeshore Training workshop on Thursday January 19th at St. Benedict's Gorecki Conference Center


Come visit us at MECA on Jan. 31st- Feb. 2nd in Mankato!

We will be at
Pheasants Forever's
2017 National Pheasant Fest and Quail Classic at the Minneapolis Convention Center on Feb. 17th-19th

Come visit us at the Wild Ones Design with Nature Conference on February 18th! This year's theme is "Planting Matters- what you plant and why" at the Anderson Student Center at the University of St. Thomas
5 Plants For...
Deer Resistance
Have a planting area that the deer just won't leave alone? Deer will avoid plants with thorns, hairy leaves or stems, and plants that are too aromatic or oily. Try these native plants that deer don't like!

1. Butterfly weed Asclepias tuberosa


 2. Rattlesnake master Eryngium yuccifolium 


3. Wild Geranium Geranium maculatum


4. Culver's Root Veronicastrum virginicum


5. Spiderwort Tradescantia virginiana


 Want to learn more about these native plants? Click Here to visit our website!