this season
Native Garden Charmers
N
ative plant species provide nectar, pollen, seeds, and berries that feed our native butterflies, insects, birds, and other animals. By being adapted to the local climate and soil conditions where they occur, they require less care than grass lawns once they are established and on hilly areas you will also reduce erosion. Some native plants have very deep root systems and can significantly reduce water runoff and flooding. Yet another plus to growing native plants instead of grass is they remove carbon from the air, and they require no mowing! not too thickly or too close. Healthy soil
are creating a sustainable ecosystem where
contains a multitude
wildlife can thrive. If pollinators find their
of living creatures
favorite nectar, pollen, and host food for their
that facilitate
offspring in abundance, they will lay eggs and
plant roots
provide you with generations of life. Birds will
in taking up
find the habitat enticing if they feel safe to
nutrients with
eat, rest, and nest there, so provide numerous
the water.
seeded plants, grasses, shrubs, and trees. If you love birds, provide some areas in your
From top: Blue Wild Indigo,
By creating
Queen of the Prairie, White
a native plant
Culver’s Root, Golden Alexander
yard for leaf litter to accumulate, so that those
garden, each patch
birds who are not seed eaters can forage for
of habitat becomes
insects, spiders, and worms. Leaf litter is a food
part of a collective effort
source for invertebrates including earthworms
to nurture and sustain the
which help to break it down, and in the
living landscape for birds and other animals.
muticum) – Mountain mint is a pollinator
process, leave even more nutrients in the
Together, native plants and animals form
magnet bringing beneficial wasps, bees, and
form of “castings” near or just under the soil
a web of mutually beneficial interactions
specialized flies which keep other insect pests
surface. This also acts as a soil conditioner for
that is greater than the sum of its parts: an
under control.
spring ephemerals, and these patches can be
ecosystem.
Perennials that Pack a Pollinator Punch BIG LEAF MOUNTAIN MINT (Pycnanthemum
By adding even a few groupings of unusual
BLUE WILD INDIGO (Baptisia australis) – Wild
for the summer. In winter, they can be placed
native plants to sections of your yard, you will
bees and bumble bees are attracted to these
around the crowns of most native plants, but
create zones of unanticipated joy.
early flowers with their pea-flower blossoms.
positioned over those places where they rest
8 Milford Living • Spring
PHOTOS COURTESY OF KRISTEN MIA, VERONICA BOSLEY
When replacing lawns with native plants that require no fertilizers and less water, you
