Will's Native Perennials

04/19/2026

My final post.

It has been amazing to meet everyone over the past few years. While this is an end to a chapter, it is the beginning of a new, even better one. I've decided to align my actions and practices with those I believe in. Which is building our Non-Profit, Braided Roots.

Anyone who I've had the pleasure of having an in-depth conversation with will know that I have numerous philosophical issues with how plants are treated in today’s world. In addition to that, how we've come to treat each other; ripping apart community instead of building it.

I see social media as a major driving factor that creates a lot of our problems today. I believe it will only get worse with the rise of A.I. Now, you can ask one of the various A.I. machines to create whatever you want, give you advice, etc. I've heard of people designing their gardens, making planting decisions, and trying to learn about plants this way. This is so completely counter to everything I believe and everything I hold dear. We as human people need to learn about plant people through experience. We need to spend time with them. An A.I. may be able to tell you what a plant tag says from a store, but it has never nor will it ever connect with another form of life like we can and should. "Plants have so much to give us, all we have to do is ask". I don't care how advanced A.I. gets, this will never come from it. Advice from A.I. should never be trusted over someone with years and years of hands on knowledge, or peer reviewed books. A.I. has never spent an afternoon in the woods searching for morels or spring ephemerals and getting to know plant communities and seeing them just as that, individual communities; this is how you truly learn.

There is a way to learn from plants. They become your teachers and trust me, there is so much they can teach. Viewing them this way, there is no way I can justify assigning a value and then selling a life for some currency that we as ignorant humans have invented.

Please, those of you who agree with this way of life, keep in contact with me.

You can join our email list by visiting our website at: www.braidedrootslegacy.org

Email me directly at [email protected]

Or with questions or wanting more information about Braided Roots, email us at: [email protected]

Braided Roots

03/27/2026

By far my favorite animal, the increasingly rare Salamander. This is a Blue Spotted Salamander that I found yesterday while searching for a long time. It is the first I’ve found in YEARS, and unfortunately like the others I’ve found, she was living her life among a heap of trash that was left in what’s now preserved land.

Salamanders are an indicator species. They can tell how impacted an area is due to wide array of factors. Salamanders are facing GIANT threats. Climate change which creates unpredictable rainfalls, which will not consistently fill the ephemeral ponds that they need for survival. Invasive plant and animal species that have overrun our native species. Wide scale broadcast use of herbicide like round-up used in food production. Just to name a few.

Salamanders breath through their skin which makes them extremely susceptible to pollutants that enter our water ways, not solely herbicide.

They are facing a steep global decline with 60% of species facing extinction. Source: ( U.N.)

Some species are facing over a 77% decline in populations. Source: (Purdue University dept. of Agriculture).

One of our local Salamanders, the Tiger Salamander have been laying over 50% less eggs over the past 20 years. Source: (The Wildlife Society)

Logging in Appalachia kills approximately 14 MILLION Salamanders per year. Appalachian regions contains 14% of the Salamander species worldwide. With one species losing 98% of their population. Source: (US Forest Service)

Declines are still occurring in protected land across the country. Source: (USGS)

Predictions are that populations will continue to drop in both protected and unprotected land and many species will become extinct. Source: (UMD Biology)

What we can do is advocate for increased regulations in broadcast use of herbicides, increase areas of protected land and fund them to be able to steward the land, and spread the word and educate others about the mass extinction event animals are currently facing worldwide, not just the beloved Salamanders.

PLEASE REMEMBER

If you do happen to see a Salamander

DO NOT touch it.

Do not disturb its habitat or surroundings.

If you do take a photograph, maintain your distance.

Create as little stress as possible for the Salamander.

Smile and enjoy your moment of connection with this beautiful animal and connection with the land, but remember it is a brief moment, not minutes.

If you’re still reading and want to learn more please watch this Ted Talk!

https://www.ted.com/talks/kyle_o_connell_are_salamanders_disappearing

03/06/2026

Don't forget about the HUGE Seed Expo at College of Lake County. Tomorrow, Saturday 3/7 from 10a - 2p. Come early because the seeds go fast!

Braided Roots will have a free made from scratch herbal tea blend to share. Come visit us!

02/27/2026

Have you ever wondered exactly what was going on in our Forest Preserves when you see those GIANT plumes of smoke billowing into the sky?

Join me for a guided hike post prescribed burn. This will be a free event. We will talk about why prescribed fire is so important for native ecosystems, how prescribed burns are planned, and then conducted. All while hiking the perimeter of a recently burned unit.

Date: Saturday, March 14th from 10-11am

Location: TBD (depends on which specific areas will be burned in the next coming weeks)

Sign up by emailing me at:

[email protected]

And remember to start following us at:

Braided Roots

02/15/2026

Braided Roots It's not too late to do shorter cold/moist stratification! Get those herbs going everybody!!!

02/08/2026

Thank you so much to everyone who attended my presentation yesterday at the Great Seed Event! Thank you to our hosts, the McHenry Co Master Gardeners, and the staff at MCC who all helped the event be a huge success.

It was great to see friends and familiar faces, and meet tons of new likeminded people! I hope to see you at our new space here at Braided Roots. Follow us into our future. Link is below.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61586841742768

Here at Braided Roots our mission is to inspire local communities to reconnect with nature by nourishing the land and people. We understand the value of Earth centered community and stewardship, and are creating a space to foster that goal.

02/05/2026

I’ll be talking about Pocket Prairies at the Seed and Soil Event at McHenry County College this Saturday! I’ll have tons and tons of applicable info to help build pollinator populations in your garden.

By the way follow us at our non-profit page, just search, Braided Roots. I’ll begin to taper off posting on this page, since WNP is no longer active.

However, I know there are many people who aren’t able to make it. I want to share the info that will presented for everyone to access.

The #1 top most attractive to pollinators species is…….. Bee Balm aka Wild Bergamot aka Monarda fistulosa. NOT any of the nativars. This means the straight native species, with the light lavender flowers.

This species has been studied by restoration ecologists in Lake County. So this is not just anecdotal evidence. Pollinator counts measures in the thousands and is attractive to a wide array of pollinators.

It’s a vital host plant to 13 species of moths and butterflies, supports specialist and generalist bees, as well as numerous other species butterflies, skippers, and moths. If you have one and take a few minutes to observe when in flower, you’ll notice they are COVERED in visitors. There’s a reason why “Bee” is in the common name.

So, if you want to make the absolute maximum impact on pollinator population for your garden and our community as a whole… The choice is clear Bee Balm - Monarda fistulosa - straight true native species.

Not only this, it has a variety of medicinal and edible uses! The flowers are edible and can be used as a replacement for oregano, try it, you’ll be amazed! Plus it looks beautiful on a plate. Tea of the foliage is used to promote relaxation, help treat symptoms of the flu, and help with digestion issues.

There is no reason to not have this around your home!!!

01/29/2026

BIG NEWS! We at Braided Roots have officially partnered with the country wide Pollinator Pathway Program. Pollinator Pathway is a 501c3 non-profit that started as a grass roots movement in just one town in Connecticut.

We are excited to build a huge movement in Lake and McHenry Counties to support a safe space for people to learn and grow and for our pollinators to live. We look to educate, inspire, and create positive change for our local communities.

There is no one creating this space yet, so we at Braided Roots thought, LET’S DO IT!

We look forward to building this supportive community over the years to come.

Find our FB page:

Lake/McHenry County Pollinator Pathway

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61587020741854

01/19/2026

Hi all! For a while, I'll be sending out information here, and linking to our new organization, Braided Roots. I don't want to miss any of the people who I've connected with through W.N.P.

I am going to be offering a season long educational series for all those who are wanting to learn more about native gardening and help with their specific projects. I am frequently asked by homeowners for consultations with their site or garden.

With Braided Roots, I am trying to educate and connect with our community in a different way. Instead of working individually with homeowners, I will be offering a group class. These will be held on the last Wednesday evening of each month from February through October. Each class will focus for half the session on a pertinent topic based on the month. Then, the second of half the session will be for helping with individual projects, answering questions, and collaborating in a group setting building a community of support for everyone in the class. I will be leading the classes and helping with the more hands on second half of the session. There will be a few guest speakers who will be able to offer insight from their expertise on other aspects of gardening. Plants will also be given during sessions to all participants.

For more information, questions, and pricing, please contact me directly at: [email protected]

Pricing is donation based and will be offered on a sliding scale basis to be able to support all community members who are interested in native plants and gardening in general.

Follow Braided Roots to keep in touch!

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61586841742768

Here at Braided Roots our mission is to inspire local communities to reconnect with nature by nourishing the land and people. We understand the value of Earth centered community and stewardship, and are creating a space to foster that goal.

01/17/2026

I want to say thank you to all those who Ive met and learned from through the past few years. This is the end of a chapter, but the beginning of a new one. Anyone I’ve talked with at length knows that I have many issues with the capitalistic framework in which we live but especially so in regards to assigning a monetary value to a form life.

Struggling through philosophical and moral implications of that, Will’s Native Perennials is officially closed.

However! That does not mean I’m going anywhere.

I’d love to invite everyone to follow my partner Courtney and I on our page Braided Roots

https://www.facebook.com/share/17rEMoFbDv/?mibextid=wwXIfr

From our page:

Greetings our community!! 🌿 We are Braided Roots ~ a nonprofit start up located in Mchenry, Illinois. We look forward to our first year as a center for land stewardship and Earth centered education for all ages! In these beginning stages we are building our structures and planning our gardens for this season.
Our mission is to provide a location for education, innovation, plant wisdom, hands on learning, and land restoration. We see the need to bring our community together to empower us to live more connected with the Earth. We hope to provide workshops within herbal medicine, foraging, plant identification, gardening, seed saving, preserving, cooking, native habitat restoration, permaculture design, and connecting our children to nature. All events will be donation based or free of charge. We look forward to also hosting other educators, healers and leaders with the same mission.
Stay tuned for the future workshops and the progress of this journey! Our website should be functional shortly and you can already email us to connect! We are extremely grateful and look forward to bringing our vision to life! Thanks!
~ Courtney and Will 🌻

Here at Braided Roots our mission is to inspire local communities to reconnect with nature by nourishing the land and people. We understand the value of Earth centered community and stewardship, and are creating a space to foster that goal.