Last night I hopped in my truck and headed 5 hours north to attend the Xerces Society’s Pollinator Short Course. Please read to the end of this post because I’m going to be giving away a copy of Attracting Native Pollinators by the Xerces Society. I’ll be getting a brand new copy during the Short Course, and since I already have a copy, I thought it would be nice to give one away 
I’m so excited that the Short Course has finally been offered in a location that the distance to attend was (for the most part) manageable.
I was thinking as I drove along Route 95 North what an incredible difference we could make for pollinators just by better managing our country’s highway roadsides and medial strips. Instead of mile upon mile of mown grass, what if we planted these areas with more native pollinator plants?
Our native pollinators are in deep trouble, and mostly because of our actions. We’ve destroyed their habitat and nesting sites. We continue to spray toxic, poisonous, chemicals that are killing our butterflies and native bees (and may be poisoning us too). We continue to cut down native habitats so we can build yet another Walmart or Starbucks, and create acre after acre of parking lots in our constant quest for more development.
Your wildlife garden can play a crucial role in providing habitat and nesting sites, and to help provide for their needs. And to get you started, here’s some great tips for you by some of our amazing team members:
- Speaking up for the “Little Guys:” Pollinators, by Susan J Tweit
- Can Vegetable Gardens Be Wildlife Friendly? by Ellen Sousa
- Pollinators and Native vs Non-Native Plants, by Beatriz Moisset
- To Bee, Or Not to Bee, by Loret T. Setters
- Pollinator Conservation in Your Ecosystem Garden
Want to Win a Copy of Attracting Native Pollinators?
I’m going to give away my extra copy of Attracting Native Pollinators: The Xerces Society Guide to Protecting North America’s Bees and Butterflies.
All you have to do is leave a comment below and tell me what you’re doing to help pollinators in your wildlife garden. What are your favorite pollinator plants? What’s your best tip to attract lots of native pollinators?
I’ll choose one person at random from all of the comments and announce the winner in this week’s Wren Song, which will be issued this Saturday, October 13. You need to live in the continental US or Canada because that is the scope of this book.
If you’ve already got a copy of this amazing book, please share this post with your friends so that they can learn to attract native pollinators too.
Update: Congratulations to Lauren Demby and Genevieve Schmidt who each won a copy of this wonderful book!
Carole Sevilla Brown lives in Philadelphia, PA, and she travels the country speaking about Ecosystem Gardening for Wildlife. Check out her new free online course Ecosystem Gardening Essentials, 15 free lessons delivered to your inbox every week.
© 2012, Carole Sevilla Brown. All rights reserved. This article is the property of BeautifulWildlifeGarden.com If you are reading this at another site, please report that to us
About Carole Sevilla Brown
I am trying to plant those plants that will attract different pollinators. We have a butterfly garden that we are now adding more plants too. We love seeing these creatures flying around all the time. At one point I would go around to a local preschool to teach & was called the Butterfly Lady. My daughters & I are trying to save the environment in many ways. We started a local group to help with this by caring for native animal & plant life too. We have taken in possums, birds & other hurt and orphaned animals pursuing this. We have worked with “Possum Posse” & the “South Florida Wildlife Center”. Our next visit back to help at the SFWC is scheduled for the the 27th of this month.
Lauren, I LOVE that you are giving your girls and the kids at your local preschool such an wonderful opportunity to learn about the nature around them! These are experiences they’ll remember fondly for the rest of their lives, and will grow up respecting nature and with a passion for caring for it. Kudos to you!
Carole Sevilla Brown recently posted..Ecosystem Gardening Essentials
We got involved with Wild Ones: Native Plants, Natural Landscapes, when we moved to a 1 3/4 acre property 3 years ago. Our semi-rural property had lots of invasive species: autumn olive, buckthorn, honeysuckle, multiflora rose, reed canary grass and garlic mustard. We were advised to remove invasives first and wait to see what showed up, but I was impatient and began planting native species along with removing invasives the first year. Woody invasives have been easier to control since initial removal–garlic mustard and reed canary grass are an ongoing battle, but I do see improvement each growing season. Last winter my husband and I attended the Stewardship Network conference and heard a talk by Dr. Doug Landis, who is doing research at MSU on native pollinators. We were planning to start a large organic vegetable garden in the spring, so we immediately saw the value of putting in a pollinator garden of native flowers on the outside of the vegetable garden. It would draw pollinators to our own crops, as well as being more generally supportive to native pollinators. We planned the garden with a succession of bloom times for season-long bloom, and were rewarded, not only with beautiful flowers all season, but the buzz of many bees and lots of butterfly species we had never seen before. We are also busy planting host plants for caterpillars, a project which has introduced us to trees and shrubs we did not know about. What a win-win–pleasure for us and beneficial to the environment!
Elizabeth, Whew! the hard work involved in removing all of those invasives, and your ongoing battles with the garlic mustard and canary grass must have been exhausting! I continue to do battle with Bishop’s Weed in my garden. I’ve been pulling it since I moved here 12 years ago. I’m so thrilled to hear that you attracted so many butterflies and bees to your pollinator garden. You must have been able to harvest some really delicious vegetables, too. Your habitat garden sounds lovely, keep up the great work!
Carole Sevilla Brown recently posted..The 5 Pillars of Ecosystem Gardening
I am doing my best. . .I am organic and have a Texas native flower garden. I have planted several host plants to attract the butterflies that visit the east Texas piney woods. My favorites are Green Milkweed, or Asclepias viridis and Butterfly Weed, Asclepias tuberosa. There are 30 milkweeds that are native to Texas. I also like Passionvine or Passaflora incarnata which is considered an “uncommon native” and host plant to the Gulf Fritillary. Also, I have had a local beekeeper install a bee hive for me. He gets the honey, I get the pollinators! A win win if you ask me.
Ann recently posted..Food, Fat and Fun – Feeding Hummers during Migration
Ann, it sounds like you’ve created a wonderful Monarch Way-Station! Have you tried out all 30 species of Milkweeds? That sounds beautiful.
Carole Sevilla Brown recently posted..Wildlife Gardeners Spin the Cycle of Life
Gosh I hope I win the book! Even through all the research, personal field trips (lol) and visiting and talking with nurseries, I always love to learn more. I have planted lots of South Florida natives here on our small coastal property with the intent to attract more wildlife. Indeed it has done exactly that. I also hoped to attract the attention of some of our neighbors to inspire them to plant a few natives in some of our not so attractive neighborhood yards. Alas, hopefully nature can do it instead. I just recently did a post about how many birds we have in our yard this year eating all the delicious berries. Of course we also have the usual suspects; butterflies, bees, moths and all kinds of insects, but boy lots of birds! Some of my favorites are the Jamaican Caper, beautyberry, wild coffee, firebush, indigoberry and Biscayne Prickly Ash. I do like our wild lime but every time I trim it, I feel like I just got in a cat fight, lol. Thanks so much for the opportunity to win the book!
Happy Gardening & best wishes,
Sheri
Sheri, I’m with you, I am always eager to learn something new. It sounds like you’ve created quite an oasis for wildlife down there in Florida.
Carole Sevilla Brown recently posted..Ecosystem Gardening Essentials
We’ve been slowly removing our lawn and planting native plants. This year we installed two small rain gardens and tried to fill them with pollinator friendly plants. Maybe it’s because they’re fresh in my mind, but the asters seem to be the plant with the most visitors in my garden.
Vicky, pollinators really seem to love the Asters. Mine have been covered with butterflies lately.
Carole Sevilla Brown recently posted..The 5 Pillars of Ecosystem Gardening
We’ve been living at the same small property in northern Illinois for 8 years now with most of the available space devoted to native landscaping and organic gardening (including 3 fruit trees). We continue to add to the species diversity. Last weekend we just added a cluster of 4 Shrubby St. John’s Wort and will also be adding another pasture rose. Marsh milkweed is a favorite of many pollinators, and our groupings of wild senna are a bumblebee party scene for a 4-5 days during blooms. Rosa blanda is good as well. Leadplant attracts a surprising diversity of pollinators as does, of all plants, basil when you let it flower. Last year we had 20 basil plants in a group and when they flowered air traffic control would have been helpful to manage all of the bees buzzing about, including some that head-butted others out of their way. Our ultimate goal is to have lots of blooms of all kinds throughout the seasons.
Nathan, you have truly created a pollinator paradise!
Carole Sevilla Brown recently posted..Ecosystem Gardening Essentials
Hello,
The book on offer as a prize , i too had this book but gave it away. i was lucky enough to work in a native plant nursery this summe a place called Grow Wild in Omemee Ontario. This company does native plant restoreration work here in ontario. The book had alot of info on this type of work and had some big projects so i gave it to the owner thinking he would benefit becuase he does more work as a company than i do as a single person. i do plant lots of things in my yard which is close to 2 acres , mostly woodland. i try to focus os sping and fall so i put in flowers and flowering sgrubs tha bloom early like serviceberry. violets, bloodroot trout lilly,anemone and other eary bloomers. In the fall i use mostly native asters which are still blooming up here in october, this gives the bees a good supply of pollen during the colder weather. Thanks Blair Hamilton
Blair, I hope your boss appreciates your generosity!
Carole Sevilla Brown recently posted..Why Focus on Ecosystem Gardening When There is So Much Wrong in the World?
Since my spouses disability and limited mobility, we have had to change our gardening patterns. We are planting more native shrubs and plants to replace lawn area because now that I mow the lawn, I just do not have the time to devote to mowing when we could be enjoying the yard instead. We are limited as to how much space we have, so we spend lots of time planning where a plant should go and why. We have also had a shift from a mostly sunny landscape to having areas where there is lots of shade during the day. Add to that my spouse enjoys watching the birds, butterflies, and wildlife that visit the yard, so he has the incentive to help change the yard into a wildlife paradise. I find him researching native plants and planning areas in the yard where you can stop, sit and enjoy being outside. We have been planning to have something blooming almost year round so that the pollinators have a place to feed even on our coldest winter’s day. We are just beginning this transformation process, and are getting the backbone plants established this fall in hopes to add more plants during the winter and early spring. Thank you, Lynnette Swanson
Lynnette, the time that you and your husband spend planning such a wonderful haven for wildlife will be very well spent! You’ll get so much enjoyment from sitting and watching all the visitors to your oasis.
Carole Sevilla Brown recently posted..The Beautiful-No Mow Yard
Each year I get rid of another patch of our lawn and replace it with native shrubs and perennials. Since I began my garden in 2008 I’ve planted many pollinator-friendly plants. Joe Pye, Milkweeds, Rudbeckias and Helianthus seem to be favorites. I let native Asters and Golden Rod grow in my gardens. I also plant many herbs and make sure there are nesting sites for bees. I make my bird baths pollinator friendly as well. My garden is tended to organically – I never use pesticides and I use compost instead of chemical fertilizers. Each year I am rewarded with new sightings of birds and insects. I plan to add a small water feature next year – can’t wait! I read and research all I can to help our pollinators/save habitat and hope to share what I’ve learned with my community. (I recommended our library stock this book on their shelves and they have but it would be really great to own a copy.)
Kathy, I’d love to see photos of the beautiful and welcoming habitats you’ve created in your garden. It really sounds incredible!
Carole Sevilla Brown recently posted..Ecosystem Gardening Essentials
I spent a short time out assessing my driveway pollinator garden (year 1) to see what needed to be done ASAP, and noticed a native bee (species unknown) checking out my daisy fleabane. I too have disabilities (and am a member of Wild Ones!) and most of my Native Gardening has been done on a budget. Whenever I claim a new patch for Wildlife Gardening, I rely on species found in my yard for the first planting. I took out Mums from this patch and just gathered plants from around my yard that would suffice. The fleabane was in a small patch barely growing in a slowly shrinking lawn. Is it the most attractive Native ? Debatable. Did it get the lion’s share of pollinator activity this season ? Yes.
It seems to be thriving in this new location, maybe a bit too much. But next season I will thin it out and experiment with other plants when I can. I have come to think of it as my garden workhorse. A weed by any other name ! I will keep using it!
I’ve advocated planting for pollinators on roadsides for quite a while. See my pollinator website: roadsides/caroldunk.com. Also another place to plant is hydro cuts — acres and acres of land are available through highways and public utilities.
You have some excellent ideas and links in that website. But the link doesn’t work. I found it and here it is: http://roadsides.caroldunk.com/
It is also good to remember that, where lawn can’t be eliminated entirely, it can be put to good use by letting small pollinator-friendly plants (a.k.a. “broad-leaved weeds”) grow in between the blades of grass.
http://pollinators.blogspot.com/2010/04/lawn-for-pollinators.html
Beatriz Moisset recently posted..Ants, the Unlikely Pollinators
I have planted several native plant beds since moving to our rural home 4 years ago. One is only shrubs and one is a mixture that I just put in this summer along the side of the house. At times it is overwhelming trying to defeat the invasives or at least put a major dent in their exuberance. The hedge parsley that seems like it just showed up really got me down as it was EVERYWHERE! However, the native plants, especially several varieties of goldenrod, Prairie Golden-aster (Chysopsis camporum), Rudbeckia hirta seem to really attract the pollinators. Despite our drought here in Michigan all my natives are doing well.
It’s wonderful to read these comments and know there are so many folks out there who care about native plants and giving back to wildlife! Thank you, Carole, for sharing your book~
Kathy Vilim recently posted..Where To Go To See Native Plants in California?
My motto is plant a lot (the deer will do the deadheading) and they will come. I have been spending the last few years ripping up old shrubbery landscaping from a house built in suburbia back in the 80′s here in Delaware and planting and dividing as many native perennials as I can to fill a hillside garden. I do have a small mix of annuals and some non-invasive, non-natives to give some extra layers of color and texture to the garden for my human visual need (like putting a handful of zinnea seeds into an area where I had cone flowers that unfortunately had Aster Yellows and had to be removed). I try to think about all the levels of need in my garden – what the plants need, what the animals and insects need, and what I need – and I find balance. I see what plants make it and what doesn’t and keep trying to find the right plants that work for the garden ecosystem as a whole (not ones that just look pretty).
Thanks for sharing – I bet that was fun going to the Pollinators meeting!
Marsha (Marsha Neal Studio) recently posted..Late Summer Garden
This would be an awesome book to have. Well first we no longer use chemicals in our yard, even fertilizers are no longer used. I keep the yard “weedy” to encourage all wildlife to stay and be protected. Right now the number one native flower blooming and helping the pollinators in my yard is the New England Asters. It’s loaded with all kinds of bees, bumble bees, butterflies and other insects. It’s good to know they have a food source this late in the year before they migrate and Winter comes. I also planted sedums, not native but I knew it was a well loved late bloomer for the pollinators in our area. And not too many people like the common milkweed but I love opening the fluffy seed pods and let the seeds travel in the wind to produce plants wherever they land for future Monarch catipillars. I also have holes drilled in wood for the native mason bees and something has been using them. On my one acre, I’ve planted so many native trees and bushes that insects in the yard should have plenty of natural food and hiding areas. My goal is to continue planting native flowers so every month something is blooming.
Oh, I’d love to win! I’ve had this book on my wishlist for a few months now, since I first heard of it, and was waiting for cooler climes to purchase.
My best tip is to plant lots of native plants! And an auxiliary tip: If you somehow think you don’t like your region’s natives, take the time to learn about them before you make that decision. I used to hink I wasn’t a huge fan of natives, until I began learning more. They’re like any other category of plant – familiarity breeds affection. I was surprised to find that some of my faves were actually, unknown to me, native!
Genevieve recently posted..Defeating the Zombie Hordes (With Garlic): Giveaway!
Most of my property is planted with plants to attract pollinators. Most of them are native and I am organic. I give tours and workshops teaching people how to make their yards more pollinator friendly. I also speak to garden and civic groups about gardening for the 3 B’s ; the birds, bees and butterflies.
Great ideas. I nurture volunteer fleabanes, as well. My big discovery, which was a total accident due to being too busy to plant some long wildflower/pollinator strips until late June/early July, followed by rotten germination weather most of July (dry, dry, hot). The result was a lot of late crops, for example, sunflowers loaded with pollen in September, that created a lot of late-season feasting for our little friends. Also, could not believer the number of small and varied insects on a late-blooming hybrid goldenrod!
Many lovely native bees visit my garden, including Leaf-cutters, Mason bees, Carpenter bees, Bumblebees, and various ones I cannot name. They seem to visit wildly different plants including roses, several salvia types, echinops, scabiosa, sweet peas, passionflower. The native plants here include Aristolochia, couple different Asclepias, several different Asters and Fleabanes and in the Spring, Gilia, Chinese Houses, Bergamot…Tiny yard but many winged visitors, so I feel lucky!
Planting more in sunny spots has been my goal to attract more pollinators. And planting en masse give the pollinators a good roadmap to find nectar sources. The Sedum, Autumn Joy had 12 different bees and wasps on it. Needed my camera – they were awesome.
Claudia Fugate recently posted..Organic Fertilizers – Part 4 – Animal Sources
I have blue porterweed and the bees love it!
Carole, how wonderful that you were able to attend the class. And what a lot of great tips from the commenters!
I too have fallen in love with native shrubs and trees partly because of their value as host plants and larval foods. Also I think it’s crucial (especially for northern dwellers like me) to include plants that bloom early and late, so pollinators will have food available all during the growing season.
I particularly love the native pussy willow and pasque flower for early spring, and all different kinds of aster for late fall. Also, I’ve enjoyed growing New England aster species (rather than a named cultivar) and sowing their seeds to get a variety of flower colors from deep purple to pale pink.
Please keep up your valuable work helping wildlife gardeners to learn and do more!
Evelyn
Hi Carole,
Ever since we took the class with you at CMBG, in Boothbay ME, my garden has become one full of pollinators. I never had butterflies, so I planted some Milkweed, and along with my Monirdia and some verbena and Joe Pye weed, they were everywhere. Especially the monarchs. Just so beautiful. The bees had a great summer, as did the birds. I love the wildlife garden that I am creating, and I thank you again for all you taught our class. This book would be a wonderful resource for me. By the way, we have one more class on the woody plants, and then we will all graduate.
Thanks again for awakening me to all the possibilities in my garden,
Kathy
I serve on a Park District committee that is overseeing the planting of natives in our parks as we go through a master planning process. A long swath of them is flourishing in one park adjacent to an elementary school, with colorful signs describing the plants and the pollinators they attract. A new garden adjacent to our much-visited Conservatory is 85 percent natives; we had Monarchs a week after the garden was installed. A damp area has been turned into a flourishing wetland, complete with beautiful wood bird houses provided through a Scout eagle project. Now we’re working to restore a “native demonstration garden”, well-intentioned but left untended ( natives don’t need any care, right?). These all have been appreciated by our community and provide teaching opportunities .
Hi – I plant flowers that I know bees and butterflies love….
Jackie
It all started five years ago with a local nursery’s suggested purchase of milkweed. Once the monarchs started visiting our yard, we did the research and learned more about native plants and pollinators. We cut paths through our sod and planted things like firebush (our hummingbird’s preference), firespike, firecracker,tropical sage, a variety of herbs, and many other flowering plants. Our backyard is an ongoing procession of butterflies, bees, and other pollinators!
Hello, enjoy the web-site and learn many new things with each visit. i live up in canada about 2.5 hrs north-east of toronto and the one thing i am trying to do is shrink the size of my lawn. it’s a work in progress but each growing season i do a little more. i get more wildlife with less overall work.i have also stopped using pesticides which has also hepled.The push to have a golf-course lawn to me is on of the great plunders of home ownership, althought i accept the choices of the people around me , i do offer my opinions in the hope one or two might listen. i aslo have to say that i am not perfect but i do what i can. Having done this, i get much more wildlife each time new native plant i grow.
Unfortunately, we still don’t have the garden I dream of which includes a more self sufficient and eco friendly design. With what we have I insist on no pesticides. I hope to include a compost bin, natives and to get rid of much of the sod in our yards. Aside from a vegetable garden and perhaps fruit trees as a we are a mostly vegetarian family. Would love this book to get more familiar with the kinds of plants I’ll need to include for all those wonderful bugs!
Just to say Hello to My North American Friends
I have a little garden ( part of a communal garden in a small condominium) in the UK and live near the Sussex Downs where we have a lot of wildlife- & have planted the following to attract bees:
Sedum which are starting to go over now and on fine days during most of September ( when it wasn’t raining) had bees visit continuously.
Himalayan Balsam( which is pretty invasive although easy to pull out) and which bees love to visit.
Foxgloves, Lemon Verbena ( which is only just starting to flower)
Geraniums ,Lavender
Passiflora ( Bumbles seem to enjoy this climber)
Evening Primrose which Moths like.( Interestingly seems to have been a slight increase in moths this year- but no caterpillars seen- and few butterflies. one or two small blues and a couple of orange tips at the beginning of the Summer and a few Red Admirals & Peacock Butterflies and latterly one or two Painted Ladies and a month ago Browns on the Downs by the sea who go for the Wild Majoram and thistles.
But we have had a worse than ever rainy Summer- again!
There are several local produce and Farmer’s Markets in this area- last Fri morning when I went to buy veg a small local, ethical honey producer said he had seen no Hares at all this year in his field and we all, locally and nationally are very concerned by the decrease of our native Hedgehogs.
When my youngest daughter was little (she is now 28) we used to see many( sadly, killed on the roads and highways) but over the last couple of years see have seen few either alive or as road-kill.
I did hear a couple of hedgehogs at about 4 a.m. once but only once this year- early in the season, snorting about outside my French windows.
Unfortunately overly secure fencing round properties ( with no gaps left to allow creatures through) roads, and possibly other factors we ignore, have reduced these friends.
Teasel
Ivy
Cotoneaster
Borage
Symphytum
all Bee favourites in my garden.
I have a little wooden house on the wall 1 ft and 1/2 x 14 inches circa( bought at the National Trust) with spaces for Solitary Bees to nest in and small compartments for other insect species to rest in or take refuge in from intemperate weather or during hibernation etc.- keep checking but no-creature in there currently.
Birds:
Blue tits, Robin ( returning lately) Goldfinch, ( who come in small flocks with their watery babbling) a few Greenfinch -no Blackbirds around at the moment nor Thrushes, nor Chaffinch- nor wren- all come to the bird table regularly. ( I feed them Sunflower seeds pretty much all year round) My grandson loves to watch them .Collared Doves & Waddling Wood Pigeon and some very naughty & greedy Squirrels which live in the wood backing onto the gardens – But since I saw a cat take a squirrel baby about a month ago and they all fussed , muttered and squeaked poor things ,they have a bit more of my sympathy.
Finally- Loads of Aranea Diadema (English Garden Spider) at the moment
All around gardens , bushes, hedges, apartment block entrances, and! even found one in my Jag with its beautiful web between back seat headrests- last week- ‘happily’ accompanying my grandson/myself on our way to school !
I had better stop here.
Cordially
Jennifer
I have pulled nearly all the non-native plants and flowers out of our landscaping (I do plant non-Indiana-native cosmos and zinnias and Autumn Joy sedum) and replaced them with natives and no longer use pesticides. Since my son is allergic to bee stings, I’ve also educated him and the rest of the family so they aren’t spraying and swatting every bee they see. I’m trying to provide enough for the bees to do that they don’t have time to mess with stinging anyone.
My husband and I have removed the grass from our yards, and we garden for pollinators in our yard in Minneapolis and our yard on the South Shore of Lake Superior. We are always bird watchers, but this year we had so much fun as we learned new butterflies that inhabit our area of Lake Superior. While purchasing Pearly Everlasting at a local native plant nursery we discovered our plants were covered with Painted Lady eggs. All summer we watched the happenings with these plants.
The best pollinators in our city yard are blazing star, cone flowers, columbine, Joe Pye, and butterfly weed. Our Lake superior yard still has areas to plant as we just took out the grass last fall and winter. The best pollinators have been hyssop, wild geranium, prairie groundswell, menardia, goldenrod and chives. It is my hope that we can continue to plant butterfly specific plants, but we have many deer that even eat my swamp milkweed!
Finally, I talk about the summer Lake Superior pollinators on my website, and I try to plant for hummingbirds and butterflies.
Rebecca Gaertner recently posted..Leaves Everywhere
I have an old farm field that I am converting back to native. I have planted virbirnums, oaks, hazelnuts, serviceberry, black cherry and several more. I am also removing buckthorn, reed canary grass and a little garlic mustard. I belong to Wild Ones/ Root River chapter. Each year we have a big native plant sale. I have been planting natives in the fields and meadows all around me. Last spring I removed a space of lawn and planted a native butterfly/hummingbird garden. I will be doubling that this year. I was amazed at the number of pollinators! I have many favorites. The mountain mint seems to be a favorite among the pollinators. I plant extra herbs in my raised beds. I would love to win this book.
I have been planting natives exclusively in my north-central NJ garden for about a year now. But what also made a big difference is being less aggressive about weeding. I left several “weeds” that turned into the most gorgeous volunteer asters that the pollinators are currently going nuts over – when little else is flowering around here. Earlier in the season, the bees loved the thistle I allowed to grow at the back of my beds.
We have almost an acre of land which was heavily damaged by the developer when we bought our house. We have worked hard at reviving and nurturing the native plants that have begun to return on the land. We live in a cedar glade and there are numerous glade plants that have returned and are rare. We also plant more native plants to assist in our honey bees as well as the native pollinators. Would love to win a copy of this book to help us in our quest.
James Graham recently posted..Bee Gone Ye Wretched Freeloading Boys !!
I include many native plants in my 1/3 acre suburban property: Cassia, Asclepias, Helenium, Heliopsis, Coneflower, Lobelia, Coreopsis, Eupatorium, Hibiscus (mallow), Clethra, Cercis, Callicarpa, Asters, Mints, Primula, Roses, Phloxes, Viburnums, Azaleas, Hydrangeas, Solidago, and many more. I supply mason bee nesting tubes (home made) and mud-puddle basins for butterflies to sip from. I keep a bubbling fountain in addition to 4 birdbaths – each one has an insect landing pad in the form of a large rock, helping them to drink without drowning. Because of my organic gardening practices, I am rewarded with a large number of insect pollinators. It’s like a zoo in flight.
I am fairly new to native plants and gardens. We built a small house on a rural lot 3 yrs. ago. About that time I read an article about planting gardens to attract wildlife. I began reading everything I could find to learn more about this. We joined Wild Ones and the local native gardening club. We are slowly but surely landscaping our lot. Our goal is to eliminate as much lawn area as possible and plant native plant gardens instead. My first garden was a shade garden under our maple trees. It is doing fairly well and I am anxious to add to it next year. This year we planted the area in front of the house between the porch and walkway to the front door. I planted asters, mist flower and showy goldenrod among others. I couldn’t believe the number of bees on these plants this fall. We even started seeing butterflies which we haven’t had many of since building. We are now preparing an area in the back for plants to attract butterflies and birds. I never liked gardening until I found a reason to like it – using native plants to attract and provide for wildlife. I’m looking forward to reading this book whether I win it or not.
It all began with the honeysuckle bushes. I keep removing them from our property and wanted to know what to replace them with.
Attended the annual conference of the Midwestern Native Plant Society in July and came home inspired! I’ve done a lot of reading and I’m now enrolled in the Master Gardener program. When spring approaches I will have a detailed plan and a shopping list of native plants to add. Your prize would be a great addition to my library!
Hi – I attended the short course also and found it quite interesting… I am planting lots of flowers for the pollinators and also let a few veggies go to flower for them (they love to broccoli).
Heck, missed the book giveaway deadline, but decided I needed to comment anyways.
Great article Carole, good luck with your new venture and way to win the comment war
Loret recently posted..New Life List Dragonfly
Hi everyone. My name is Jim Wohl and I’m a backyard habitat steward with the National Wildlife Federation. What you will see on my website are all the pictures that I took in my yard here in Parma Hts, Ohio this year. What is amazing with this yard is that it is so small yet there is so much life that finds its way to my home. Please take a moment and look through my website.
The best way to make a backyard habitat is to think about what each creature that you want to attract to your yard and what is it that they need to survive in your yard. All life needs basically the same things and they aren’t all that different from you and I. They need water, food, somewhere to have their offspring and somewhere to hid from their enemies. Water can come in many forms and in my yard I have a bird bath, the splashing of water in a fountain attracts some of the birds and an in ground pond without the fish. I have dragonflies and toads that live in the yard. Both are super for the environment and keep my yard and the neighborhood free of mosquitoes. I also put out a heated dog dish in the winter so that when it is cold enough to freeze water there is still water in my yard. Much appreciated by the birds and other small creatures. One thing that I have found is that if you put a clay pot in your pond (mine is real small) and fill it with dirt and clay many butterflies and other pollinators will come and take this offering of minerals for the pollinators and the rare wasps fly away to add mud to their nests. It was a great help this year with the severe drought that we found ourselves in 2012. Food, I’m always feeding the birds and the squirrels steal their share. The insects and butterflies will need different flowers for nectar for food but remember that many insects need their special host plants to lay their eggs on. A few examples the spicebush butterfly needs the spicebush and the monarch needs its milkweed. There are many more but with limited space we can leave that for another day. Remember that native plants are always going to be better for the bees and insects in your area. They have been going to them for eons. Most of the non native plants that are being brought into this country are destroying our habitats.
To protect them from the enemies could be a hedgerow or a pile of branches that you have trimmed from your trees and shrubs. This is a great way to recycle all your cuttings and help nature also. Here in the north I don’t cut down the yard until the late spring because much of the insect life burrows into the stems of plants and if I were to clear my yard in the fall I would be removing all that life and throwing it in the garbage can.. Give yourself a break and do it in the spring.
Deer, some of us love those creatures and others myself included wish that they would find some where else to eat. I’ve found that if you take 3 eggs. 3 tablespoons of dried garlic and 3 tablespoons liquid hot pepper hotter the better and a like amount of wiltproof that you can get from you local garden center, use according to the directions on the can and add it all to 3 cups of water. Put all this in a blender for a few minutes and once your done pour in a gallon milk jug and fill it up with water. cap it and let it sit in the sun for three days. After three days drain this liquid through a strainer and then use it on the plants that the deer seems to love in your yard. One caution. make sure that you do a small test spot to make sure that the plants wont burn from the liquid. This is the only way that I have found to keep the deer away from my yard. The rotten eggs remind them of death and predators and the taste well you can use you imagination on that one. Hope this helps and if there would be any questions write me here.
Ps id love the book it would be a great add on to my library so that I can continue helping others.
I am removing as much invasive plant material as I can & replacing it with either native or Florida friendly plants. When I grow seasonal vegetables, I plant companion plants along with them!
I, too, want to provide habitat for pollinators. Two years ago I began my push for Pollinator Patches — bits of public land converted to pollinator habitat. See my booklet and my information about native bees at http://roadsides.caroldunk.com.