PLEASE TAKE NOTE...like all of our newsletters, this one is long! And this time one of the very best parts comes near the very end - you definitely don't want to miss it. So be sure you have downloaded the message in its entirety before reading. And, a reminder, you can read our newsletter right from our website HERE.

A holiday gift for you! Over the last several weeks we've been hard at work adding lots and lots of new information to our website. We know that the hibernation months of winter are the perfect time to dream about days in the garden and to turn those dreams into plans. And its a to dig deep on the topic of building healthy, resilient, sustainable landscapes and planting with pollinators, songbirds, and hosts of other beneficial creatures in mind. Whether you are new to ecological gardening or an old hand at planting with purpose, you will find lots to dig in on! We have added a few new pages covering topics like plants for tough spots, welcoming wild friends, and healthy yards for people and communities. There are lots of new sample planting plans and plant lists to help you build your 2026 garden wish lists - be sure to look for lists of keystone plants and plants with particular benefits for coastal spaces and to support pollinators in peril. Look for checklists to help you assess and make a plan for your space - creating it and maintaining it. We have included lots of articles to read and great videos to watch - and when exploring the pages you will find links to the websites of wonderful organizations and people doing amazing work and helping to create better communities from the ground up. We know from years and years of experience that richly diverse, beautiful, and beneficial landscapes don't happen overnight or by accident. While resilient landscapes require less chemicals, less water, less polluting equipment, and ultimately less work, that only happens when thoughtful planning happens from the outset. Spending time now will save you lots in the future! Over the winter months we'll be adding even more information including some custom resources and customized plant lists that we are developing - stay tuned and check back often for updates.

The one thing we have not added to our website - and won't be adding any time soon - is the live inventory or online ordering system some shoppers clammer for. We are able to get an utterly amazing selection of wicked cool, high quality plants into our region because each and every week from April through October we secure the very best plants available from a handful of small, specialty growers. Because of the tricky nature of live plants - especially some that are hard to grow in pots - there are times we don't know for sure what we are getting until trucks are being loaded - or even unloaded here! We get multiple deliveries of new plants every single week of our six month season! Consider this a farm to garden shopping experience.

We also believe there is a lot of value in the small moments and personal connections that are forged in the process of leaving behind a computer and embracing the live Prickly Ed's experience - our customers are the best and the interactions and conversations that happen here are the best too. Indeed it is some of those happenstance meetings that are spurring creative nature based planting projects and seeding change across our region! So next season worry less about lists and online buttons an focus more on joining the ecological garden party. Recently, Nancy Lawson, the "Humane Gardener" posted a piece titled "The Power of Small Moments". It really resonated and is recommended reading. Here is an excerpt...

"In the coming weeks, months and years, these kinds of human connections will become even more meaningful as we navigate a burning, drowning planet that is too hot and dry in some places and too wet and flooded in others. In a world of extremes, both real and manufactured, we can look for common ground, where conversations lead to ideas and ideas lead to action and action leads to change. Some of the seeds of these blooming connections may be random, but where they land doesn't have to be. We all have the power to make sure they find a welcoming space, where small moments still matter..."



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How Wildlife Friendly Are Your Holiday Decorations?

We don't want to take the sparkle out of the holiday season, but many decorating trends can be harmful and in some cases even deadly for wildlife! With a little bit of extra thought and caution you can bring beauty to your holiday while also showing care for our wild friends. Click on the image below to explore this topic in depth on our blog.

All the leaves are brown, and the sky is gray...

But the garden lives on, if you let it!

If you recognize that song you are likely old enough to also remember when a simple tool called a rake did the job of moving leaves from one place to another. Now, on crisp autumn days, neither classic songs nor bird songs can be heard above the near constant roar of the leaf blowers blanketing our neighborhoods. But, increasingly, and thankfully, more and more people are getting the message that it is important to keep the leaves lying and stems standing for the sake pollinators, songbirds, and other wild friends. More is also understood about the important role that leaves play in enriching the soil, sequestering carbon, absorbing water, and providing a rich organic mulch to protect plants over the winter. What we don't talk about nearly enough is the incredible beauty in the many shades of brown and gray in a late fall garden - legendary garden designer Piet Oudolf calls it "the beauty of decay" - learn to see it, appreciate it, embrace it! As you dig in on next year's garden planning, consider how plants will look in all the stages of their life. And think about some of the features you might add that will complement your natural design in every season - stems, snags, rocks, and creatively arranged brush can provide uniquely beautiful accents all while supporting life in your garden. As the garden moves further and further away from the blooming season resist the temptation to cut back and whisk away the life hiding in the death. Instead grab a cup of tea or glass of wine and settle in with the article linked below.

Did you know that the overwintering habitat you provide for pollinators and other beneficial insects is nearly as essential as what you do in your garden throughout the growing season? Click on the image below to download a guide to help you create an overwintering habitat that will help life thrive in your yard year-round!

We have an extra special guest here at Headquarters this autumn - an adult male Rufous Hummingbird and it looks like he might just be determined to spend the winter with us. Yup, you read that right - for the past three weeks a Western US hummingbird has taken up residence right in our yard entertaining us with his daily antics. Birders put down those binoculars and cameras - we want to give this guy and every other creature wintering here there best possible chance so no visitors. But enjoy the photos and know that it is entirely possible that one day you might have a Rufous land right in your own yard, especially if you focus on creating the kind of habitat that they and all of their feathered friends need to survive and thrive! Want to become a better "Birdscaper"? Explore that topic HERE.

For those not familiar with Rufous hummingbirds, here are a few fun facts:

• Their normal breeding range is the Northwestern US reaching up into Alaska and Western Canada
• They are tiny, plucky, and beautiful but their numbers are in rapid decline - in fact they are declining by 2% or more each year with 65% of the population lost in the last 50 years in fact they are one of 70 birds considered "Tipping Point" species. What we do - or don't do - will determine if they survive (read more about that HERE)
• They are amazingly feisty and are considered one of the continent's most assertive and determined birds
• Even amongst the magic of hummingbirds, this species has been described as uniquely magical - almost otherworldly - We agree
• They make one of the largest migration journeys in the world - with most going between Alaska and Mexico each year
• They use nectar from flowers and feeders but will also seek out tree sap - opportunistically using holes drilled by woodpeckers to get to the sap
• While nectar fuels energy, as much as 80% of their diet is insects (this is true of nearly all hummingbirds by the way) and they are experts at finding small insects tucked within fallen leaves, bugs caught in spiderwebs , and on plants (aphids are a favorite food as are egg casings on Pearly Everlasting plants)

These "vagrant" Western hummingbirds are often called "Wrong Way Rufous" when they land here on the East Coast - thought to have been blown off course by storms. But decades of banding data now has some experts convinced that these birds are not off course at all - they are doing precisely what they are genetically programmed to do. There is a growing school of thought that a very small number of Rufous Hummingbirds do not follow the normal migration pathway - instead heading East and picking up the Atlantic Flyway migration route. Most of these then continue on down to the Southeastern coastline - concentrated around Louisiana but stretching up as far as the Carolinas - but every year a small number seem to make the decision to simply stop further North. Banding data has also shown East Coast winter returnees - disproving the theory that they were simply lost the first time around. So it seems increasingly likely that they are not lost or confused at all, but rather pioneers, setting out to explore new frontiers, perhaps as a way to try to increase the odds that their species finds a way to survive and somehow find a way off of the worrisome "Tipping Point List". And that's why we are calling our visitor Rudy the "Right Way" Rufous. We think he landed exactly where he was meant to be.

When you think of how harsh our winters can at times be, it is hard to imagine, but thanks to banding and citizen science we know that some of these tiny hummingbirds that choose to winter in the Northeast do in fact make it. Just last year there were a handful along the coastline of Connecticut being monitored by the Audubon Society and one in Little Compton who was seen daily from November through March. As many as 10 were recorded one January in Ohio and a few years back one rode out the winter in blustery upper New York State. And while quite rare, mid-winter sightings in Pennsylvania happen often enough that there is an experienced bander standing at the ready. Our little friend here seems healthy, feisty, smart, and adaptable. Based on all we know and all we've learned we believe he has pretty decent odds - isn't that the best any of us can hope for?

We've hung out two heated feeders to up Rudy's odds of survival and were thrilled the day he first learned to use them. We have two additional ones close to the house where we can easily change them for warm nectar on cold mornings. But with a significant portion of his dietary needs actually coming from insects, Rudy's odds are bolstered most by the fact that we garden for and with all forms of nature not in a battle against it. It has been nearly 15 years since a pesticide of any type was used on our property and organic matter like the leaves and stems that house thousands of beneficial insects are all left on site, not whisked away. Because we plan for extended bloom, he was enjoying flowers here up until just a few days ago, and if he is still here come winter, he will be dazzled by the early February blooming witch hazels for sure!

Hummingbirds have been revered for thousands of years and are viewed as messengers by countless indigenous cultures. We too believe that Rudy comes with a message - how we treat the space outside our doors matters!

While the warm weather season is a long way off, it is also worth noting that we have been hard at work over the last few months getting things better set up here to be able to host more programs and activities right here at "the Patch" in 2026. Some of you may not even realize that when you visit "the Emporium" you are smack in the middle of the nearly 6 acres that we maintain here as a miniature wild kingdom! Our space includes our own residential yard in Barrington, RI and an adjacent several acres in Swansea, MA. Much like the work of Prickly Ed's - it is just Ed and Cindy doing all the jobs, so getting from best of intentions to best laid plans to actual end results can be a bit of slog at times but we are excited about all of the progress we've made and delighted to find ways to share it with you next year! Stay tuned and to learn more about us and about the space here visit the "About Us" section of our website HERE.

As we approach the Winter Solstice on December 20th, we hope you will find time to pause in the midst of holiday merriment to appreciate the magic of the changing seasons and the welcome return of the light.

Cheers from our house to yours!

Prickly Ed's Cactus Patch, Roadside Stand, Apothecary and Native Plant Emporium is a super small, hyperlocal, roadside stand located directly on the border of Barrington, RI and Swansea, MA focused on making the area a little bit wilder one yard at a time! Offering great native plants, prickly pear cactus, magic dirt, unusual pollinator friendly annuals, organic herb and vegetable plants, lots of solicited and unsolicited advice & random curiosities designed to get your yard really buzzing. You can read all about us on our website, including the story of where the name Prickly Ed's Cactus Patch came from.