c.jpg

News and Resources from Prickly Ed's Cactus Patch, Roadside Stand Native Plant Emporium

September 20, 2022

Our last 2022 weekend of the Native Plant Emporium (Roadside Stand) at Prickly Ed's Cactus Patch is coming up Friday, Saturday and Sunday (September 23-25) from 11-4. After that we will be doing strictly special orders throughout the month of October.


Inventory is dwindling but there are still some fabulous things available. Here are a few highlights (all quantities are limited)


As we close out the season, we are discounting all of our remaining grown on site "red pot" perennials. All remaining (red pots only) are now on sale...

 Just 5  for $25.00 while they last!

Mix and match from the interesting varieties still available which include American Mountain Mint, Common Boneset, Hyssop Leaved Thoroughwort, Culver's Root, Calico Beardtongue, White Turtlehead, Blue False Indigo, Rose Mallow, Alumroot (Native Coral Bells), Woodland Phlox, Catmint and More!


Also offering a limited variety of native landscape ready plant plugs in some of our most popular varieties. These are just $3.75 each or 3 for $10.00! Get them while they last.

Available varieties include Cardinal Flower, Giant Hyssop, Rattlesnake Master, Wild Bergamot, Scarlet Bee Balm, Spotted Bee Balm. Wild Columbine (get it in the ground now for early spring blooms),  Brown Eyed Susan, Oxeye/False Sunflower, Indian Physic, Hoary Skullcap and Obedient Plant (False Dragonhead)


Larger native plants also available, including gallon sized perennials and 2-3 gallon shrubs - priced as marked at the Stand.

Current varieties include a Butterfly Milkweed, Swamp Milkweed, Low Bush Blueberry, Bayberry, Clethra (straight species and 'Hummingbird'), Witch Hazel, Black Chokeberry, Cinnamon Fern, Christmas Fern, Goatsbeard, New York Ironweed, Iron Butterfly, Amsonia, Cardinal Flowers, Black Cohosh, New England and Wood Aster, Native Rose, Purple Lovegrass, 'Standing Ovation' Little Bluestem, Spicebush, Bearberry Groundcover, Blue Flag Iris, 'Jacob Cline' Bee Balm and Blueberry Bushes


Don't forget to bring a bucket to get some fantastic Earth Care Farm compost. And ask about our new fan favorite offering - buckwheat hulls mulch.


Now accepting credit cards along with cash and Venmo.

See More Details About the Roadside Stand
Join Us on Facebook
Follow Us on Instagram

Always Available, Prickly Pear Cactus Pads

The inspiration for our name, Prickly Pear - Opuntia humifuso - is grown on site and is always available. Rhode Island's native cactus is a wonderful addition to a sandy, sunny area of your yard.

Learn More About the Eastern Prickly Pear Cactus

Special Orders are our Specialty!

Planning a fall planting project? If it includes native plants we can help! We are happy to take special orders and will do our best to source what you are looking for from one of our reputable wholesalers. Most items can be here ready for you to pick up within a few days. We can also provide local delivery of larger orders. Although our last weekend at the 2022 Roadside Stand is upon us, we will continue to be available for your special order needs throughout the month of October. Message us to discuss your native plant needs!

Send a Message

Next Year's Bird Friendly Garden Starts Now!

Fading light and nighttime chills signal the arrival of fall is imminent, but do not signal an end to the garden season. Autumn is a perfect time for planting. The above ground structure of most plants go dormant come fall and winter but the roots continue to grow. When next spring arrives, the strong root growth developed in fall’s warm soil will help the plant better access the water and nutrients it needs for optimal health. Fall’s cooler air combined with warm soil offers optimal conditions for moisture retention, extra important after a drought plagued summer. In addition, in fall there are far fewer pests and diseases present to trouble your new plants.


While a formal garden plan is not necessary for success, you will want to follow some basic guidelines when adding in new garden areas. Modern gardens look beyond aesthetics to center their design principles in how the garden can benefit other life. CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE BY CLICKING HERE...

Why Our Plant Choices Matter: Excerpt from a Fantastic Podcast with Doug Tallamy...

Traditionally, the plants we place on our property have been selected for ease of maintenance and for beauty. We rarely take into consideration the impact our choices have on wildlife. The plants of our gardens are more than decorations. They are critical components of our planet’s collective ecosystem. They are foundational to the greater food chain, and we can each play a role in the conservation of that delicate balance.


As a society, we are bug-phobic. We have been taught that bugs in our garden are bad, but only about 3% of insects are potential bad guy bugs. The remaining 97% of insect species are neutral or beneficial for pollination and/or to support other wildlife across and up the food chain. Plants – from the smallest ground cover to the tallest tree – are what support and sustain insect life. Without the right plants in place; insects can’t eat, survive changing seasons, or reproduce. If you don’t love bugs, you might think that’s not a bad thing. However, insects are a primary food source for bird populations and other wildlife. In many cases, it’s insects that make our food production possible. Insects are important – to say the least – but we are losing thousands of species every year.


The loss of each insect species creates a ripple effect on our world ecosystem. It’s those losses that have contributed to the loss of 3 billion birds in North America. In fact, approximately one million species have gone extinct during the past two decades. As gardeners, we tend to be more keenly aware of these issues, but non-gardeners are increasingly becoming aware of the urgency to address these problems, as well. 


CONTINUE READING AND LISTEN TO THE FULL PODCAST BY CLICKING HERE

More on Native Plants from the Audubon Society...


The human-dominated landscape no longer supports functioning ecosystems, and the remaining isolated natural areas are not large enough to support wildlife.  Native plants are those that occur naturally in a region in which they evolved. They are the ecological basis upon which life depends, including birds and people. Without them and the insects that co-evolved with them, local birds cannot survive. For example, research by the entomologist Doug Tallamy has shown that native oak trees support over 500 species of caterpillars whereas ginkgos, a commonly planted landscape tree from Asia, host only 5 species of caterpillars. When it takes over 6,000 caterpillars to raise one brood of chickadees, that is a significant difference.


Unfortunately, most of the landscaping plants available in nurseries are alien species from other countries. These exotic plants not only sever the food web, but many have become invasive pests, outcompeting native species and degrading habitat in remaining natural areas. CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE HERE...

Generate a List of Beneficial Native Plants for your Zip Code by clicking here

New to Our Mailing List?


Thanks for joining! If you'd like to take a look at some of our prior newsletters and the resources provided you can view them on our website.


READ PRIOR NEWSLETTERS HERE


Know someone who would enjoy reading our news? Share this message using the buttons below. 

LinkedIn Share This Email
Em51O5CXEAEE3mB.jpg

Prickly Ed's Cactus Patch

 6 Barneyville Road,

Barrington, RI 02806-2715

(401) 248-4785


Please note, use the address above for mailing or for GPS but the Roadside Stand/Native Plant Emporium is located in Swansea, MA directly next door to the address listed above. Just look for the sign and for the big red barn.

Email Us
Facebook

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.

Read More About Us Here