Wildflower Wednesday: Vernonia gigantea, A Rough and Tumble Wildflower

 

Vernonia gigantea is one of my favorite of the late summer rough and tumble wildflowers that make a home in the garden. They make gardening at this time of year a pleasure. Bees, butterflies, skippers, and various bee flies seek out the nectar and pollen. Deer do not browse it.

Ironweed is the common name for this beauty. It's a clump forming perennial with clusters of fluffy magenta-purple petaled flowers in the Asteraceae family. The flower heads consist of  9 to 30 disc flowers that sit atop stiff, upright stems with lance shaped leaves.  It's another native that doesn't mind wet feet and grows at Clay and Limestone despite the dry clay soil each summer. I do make sure it gets a good drink of water during especially droughty times. 

Vernonia is quite possibly the King of Pasture Weeds. In fact, the University of Tennessee has a fact sheet and refers to this leggy beauty as a troublesome weed. It seems that it's not tasty to cows and if it's growing in a pasture the cows must spend more time looking for grass and that means less grazing! Of course there's a term for this~~grazing inefficiency. Naturally they recommend using herbicides to eradicate it. Herbicides are a no-no in this garden. 

According to  that same article, Vernonia thrives in disturbed/empty places, which is why it shows up in pastures. My garden is quite crowded so over the years the clump has gotten smaller. I've decided to dig out the Rudbeckia maxima (moving it to a container) and plant the ironweed in it's place.

Vernonia is too ecologically valuable to allow it to languish.

I  have a special place in my heart for wild and rough looking beauties like Vernonia.

Pasture weeds are spectacular and I adore them. Goldenrod, Callirhoe involucrata, common evening primrose, Tradescantia ohiensis, violets, Eupatorium capillifolium and Salvia lyrata are also on the weed list. They're all rough and tumble wildflowers favorites at Clay and Limestone.

   Just take a drive down a country road and you can see our star in an pasture or in the roadside ditch. If you live near a meadow or prairie it's sure to be thriving there.

 

The birds planted it in my garden. Thank you goldfinches and song sparrows for collecting the rust colored seeds and dropping them in my garden! Dear reader, you might consider planting it to attract pollinators because it is a fantastic late-season nectar source. Leave the stalks standing all winter to feed the birds. The caterpillars of some moths feed on Ironweed species, including Grammia parthenice (Parthenice Tiger Moth), Perigea xanthioides (Red Groundling), and Papaipema cerussata (Ironweed Borer Moth). The larvae of some insect feeders are known to form galls on the buds and flowerheads of Vernonia species. (source)

I appreciate any plants that haven't had their best characteristics bred out of them.

When Vernonia blooms I know it will be doing the job nature intended it to do: make a lot of nectar and pollen and bloom for a long time, exactly when the critters need both.

The Particulars

Botanical name: Vernonia gigantea, scientific synonym is Vernonia altissima.

 Common Name: giant ironweed 

 Type: Herbaceous perennial 

Family: Asteraceae 

Native Range: Eastern United States 

Zone: 5 to 8 

Height: 5.00 to 8.00 feet 

Spread: 3.00 to 6.00 feet 

Bloom Time: August to September 

Bloom Description: Rose purple/magenta

Sun: Full sun to part shade 

Water: Medium to wet 

Maintenance: Low 

Suggested Use: Naturalize, Rain Garden, back of the border with Cup plant, Oenothera biennis, and tall Rudbeckias

Flower: Showy, a wonderful purple that looks brilliant with yellow composites

Tolerate: Deer, Wet Soil

Ecology: is a larval host to the ironweed borer moth (Papaipema cerussata) and the red groundling moth (Perigea xanthioides). The small rust-colored seeds of ironweed attract finches and song sparrows.

Comments: Habitats include open woodlands, woodland borders, thickets, areas along woodland paths, swamps, riverbottom prairies, seeps and springs, pastures, and abandoned fields. It can be easily shaded out by tall trees.

 xoxogail

So glad you stopped by to see the Wildflower Wednesday star! Wildflower Wednesday is about sharing wildflowers all over this great big beautiful world. It doesn't matter if we sometimes show the same plants, how they grow and thrive in your garden is what matters most. I hope you join the celebration...It's always the fourth Wednesday of the month!

 

Don't forget our Wildflower Wednesday monthly challenge! 

The first part of this challenge is to do something every month during 2023 and beyond that supports native wildflowers, pollinators, and the critters that visit and rely on our gardens. Activities that increase our knowledge of the natural world are equally as valuable. Helping others learn about nature is included. Golly gee whiz, there are so many things you can do. The second part of the challenge is to post about it somewhere: Your blog, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or even your neighborhood listserve. Wouldn't an article in the local paper be a coup for nature! Why post it? Because positive publicity is needed to educate our friends, neighbors and communities about how important even the smallest changes we make as gardeners can be for pollinators, birds, insects and mammals that live all around us. 

Why now?  My neighborhood is changing. Yours might be, too. Every day an older home along with many (if not all) of the mature oak, hickory, maple, Eastern cedar and hackberry trees that have been there for over 75 years are cut down. In place of the "bee lawns" composed of Claytonia, Salvia lyrata, Ruellia humilis, fleabane, Western Daisy, Violets, self-heal, clovers, and dandelions that grew so well in the shallow soil that sits on top of limestone bedrock are sodded non-native lawns that get daily watering, whether it rains or not. Gone are the lightening bugs. Gone are the ground dwelling/nesting native bees. Gone is the habitat for insects, spiders and other critters. Gone is plant diversity. Gone are trees that provided for hundreds of moths, butterflies and other insects. Gone are the nesting sites for woodpeckers, hummingbirds, Chickadees and other birds. It breaks my heart. We can't stop the multi-million dollar houses from going up, but, maybe we can make a lot of educational noise and help our new neighbors see the value in providing for critters.

A gardener can hope!

Here's an incomplete list of things you might consider doing or changing in your garden, but don't limit yourself to my list, make your own list or check out the internet for ideas.

Shrink your lawn and make your planting beds larger.

Plant your favorite native perennials and shrubs. Leave them standing after they've gone to seed to continue to provide for wildlife. What you plant in your yard makes a difference to wildlife. I garden for wildlife so every tree, shrub and plant is chosen with wildlife in mind.

Plant more natives and then consider planting even more. "A typical suburban landscape contains only 20-30% native plant species. Try reversing that trend in your own landscape by using 70-80% native species." (source)

Commit to never, ever, ever, ever using pesticides in the garden.

Stay away from native plant hybrids and cultivars that are double flowered. They are sterile and have no pollen or nectar for insects and no seeds for the birds. If possible plant “true open-pollinated native wildflowers”

If you want to garden for wildlife and pollinators, don't let lack of space stop you! Plant your favorite wildflowers in large containers. You just might have the prairie or woodland garden you've always wanted...in a pot!
 
Create a water feature. Provide water year round that is accessible to birds, bees and other critters.

Show some soil! Our native ground nesting bees nest in bare soil, so don't mulch every square inch of your garden. 

Get rid of the plastic weed barriers in your garden, it's not good for anything.

Invite bugs into your garden. Plant annuals that attract beneficial bugs.

Learn to tolerate damaged plants. Imperfection is the new perfect.

Don't be in a rush to clean up the fall garden. Leave plant stalks and seed heads standing all winter. Leave those fallen leaves or as many as you can tolerate! Insects over winter in the fallen and decaying leaves. Leave a layer of leaves as a soft landing material under trees for moths and butterflies to over winter. Many caterpillars drop to the ground from the trees in the fall.

Make a brush pile. Stack fallen brush, cut tree limbs, broken pots for ground beetles. Ground beetles are excellent at eating "bad bugs'. They're also good bird, toad and small critter food. 

Rethink what you consider a pest. Lots of good bugs eat aphids. Spiders are important predators and bird food!

Add nesting boxes for birds. 

Turn off your yard up-lighting, eave lights and porch lights after 11pm. This is important for nocturnal critters including mammals, snakes, insects, bats, birds (especially during migration). (Birdcast suggestions)

Plant shrubs and small trees that provide berries and nuts.

Keep a nature journal: Observe visitors to the water feature, make note of when they visit. Notice which flowers attract the most pollinators and which ones are just pretty faces. 

Join your state native plant society (Tennessee Native Plant Society)

Join WildOnes even if there's no local group. (Middle Tennessee WildOnes)

Support your local native plant sellers. (GroWild in middle Tennessee, Overhill Gardens in east Tennessee,  Resource Guide TN Native Plant Society)

Encourage your local garden clubs to offer native plant talks.

If your garden club has a plant sale encourage them to sell more native plants.

Get trained as a naturalist (Tennessee Naturalist Program, Almost every state has their own Master Naturalist training program)

Take an online course on tree, fungi and wildflower id.

Take a walk in your neighborhood and observe nature. To quote Joanna Brichetto in Sidewalk Nature "Look Around. Nature is here, is us, our driveways, our baseboards, parks, and parking lots."

Buy the best wildflower, butterfly and bird id books for your state.

Read nature books to your children and grandchildren. Buy them nature books.

Give nature books as baby shower gifts (Nature books for infants and toddlers)

Read! There are hundreds of books on gardening for wildlife, the environment, and rewilding our world. There are delightful blogs with wonderful and informative articles.

If you are already gardening with wildlife in mind then add a few signs that help educate your neighbors. (Xerces Society, Pollinator Partnership)

Set up an information station where neighbors can pick up brochures about your garden and other info. 

Get certified (National Wildlife Federation, check to see what your state offers)

 

Visit

 

 

 

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Wildflower Wednesday: Elephantopus carolinianus

 I don't think you would be at all surprised to discover that I've found another wildflower to love! This one is called Elephant's foot. It's a very cool flowering plant with large leaves and tiny flowers. When I say tiny I mean tiny and easily missed unless you're crawling around on the ground in a woodland setting. Yes, I do spend time crawling around on the ground looking at plants and I totally recommend it.

Although, I've seen Elephant's foot in wooded areas near by none have naturally occurred at Clay and Limestone. But, thanks to my South Carolina gardening friend Janet, I have some in the garden. I planted them in the spring ephemeral bed along the driveway. They've survived and flowered, but not spread aggressively as some gardeners have reported. Maybe, I should be careful about what I wish for, but, I do wish this one would spread about; it would make an attractive ground cover and massing them would highlight the pretty flowers so much better.

On that note, I've discovered  three seedlings in the cracks in my asphalt drive; which both amuses and amazes me. Whenever I find any plants growing in sidewalk cracks or grooves I conclude that they're perfect plants for Clay and Limestone! Plants that are able to adapt to harsh environmental conditions like heat, lack of nutrients and not much moisture are treasures. It's looking good that  Elephant's foot can survive our summer droughts and shallow soil. It also looks like I will be collecting seeds this fall since propagation appears to be easy! (see The Particulars below)

Elephantopus carolinianus is a member of the Asteraceae family, and can be found along the southeastern United States, from Texas to New Jersey. Easily grown in average, dry to medium, well-drained soil in part shade. It's tolerant of some full sun. From my experience it looks like it will grow best in semi-shade with good drainage. It has been reported to have the potential to become aggressive and weedy in garden settings, so you might want to place it where it can romp. I planted it in several spots to see what will happen, including a cobalt blue container. I think this might be an indestructible wildflower which means it's now a member of the Clay and Limestone rough and tumble wildflower collection. **

Of course, it's also planted in a blue container

The flower in full bloom looks like a large single flower, but is actually many small flower heads which are arranged in compound inflorescences. Elephant's foot flowers don't have the typical daisy appearance, instead each flower head contains only disc flowers. Each individual flower head rests upon leafy bracts and contains 2-5, tubular, pale lavender disc florets.

Clusters (up to 1 inch) of the small purple flowers on branched long stems give Elephant's foot a very colorful & airy appearance from July through frost. The broad leaves can be 8 inch long at the base of the plant, the leaves become much narrower & shorter on the flowering stems. (source)

 Similar in appearance and closely related to the ironweeds (Vernonia). Unlike them, Elephant’s foot has its primary flowerheads grouped together into dense, headlike clusters. Ironweeds have separate flowerheads that are not grouped into such secondary clusters. (source) Large lower leaves provide the inspiration for the common name of Elephant's foot.

Illustration  by Clara Richter of River City Natives check them out

The Particulars
 

Family: Asteracea

 Common names: Leafy elephant's foot, Carolina elephant's foot Synonyms: Elephantopus flexuosus, Elephantopus violaceus, Elephantopus glabe 

Type: Herbaceous perennial

Native Range: Eastern United States over to Texas, West Indies

Zone: 4a-9b

Height: 2.00 to 3.00 feet (occasionally to 4 foot)

Spread: 2.00 to 3.00 feet 

Flower: Showy lavender, almost white flowers

Bloom Time: August to September or possibly to frost

 

Sun: Part shade

 

Water: Dry to medium

 

Maintenance: Low

Habitat: Low woods, ravines, streambanks, moist thickets, open woods.

 

Suggested Use: Ground Cover, native plant gardens, massed in woodland garden. Try growing it in a container

Tolerate: Drought, Dry Soil

Propagation: Germination - Very Easy: No treatment. Surface sow & press into soil. Cool temperatures to germinate.

Comments: Easy to identify in the field as no other plant even resembles it. But get on your knees to appreciate the flowers.

**Rough and tumble wildflower: If you're new to Clay and Limestone, rough and tumble wildflowers are simple wildflowers that bloom their hearts out and require the easiest of care. Many have never been hybridized, which means they haven't had their best characteristic bred out of them. Rough and tumble wildflowers are doing the job nature intended them to do, which is to make a lot of food (nectar and/or pollen) and bloom exactly when the critters need it-just in time for provisioning a nest for the winter or for migrating birds. Once bloom is past and the seeds ripen, they become feeding stations for over wintering birds which seek out those seeds.

 

Wildlife value: Visited  by several insects who feed on it. Occasionally grazed by deer, visited by butterfly and bees. A host plant to Cremastobombycia ignota

source

Thanks for stopping by. xoxogail

Welcome to Wildflower Wednesday. It's the fourth Wednesday of each month and time to celebrate wildflowers from all over this great big, beautiful world. I am always glad when you stop by and I so appreciate when you make a comment. 

xoxogail 

Don't forget our Wildflower Wednesday monthly challenge! 

The first part of this challenge is to do something every month during 2023 and beyond that supports native wildflowers, pollinators, and the critters that visit and rely on our gardens. Activities that increase our knowledge of the natural world are equally as valuable. Helping others learn about nature is included. Golly gee whiz, there are so many things you can do. The second part of the challenge is to post about it somewhere: Your blog, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or even your neighborhood listserve. Wouldn't an article in the local paper be a coup for nature! Why post it? Because positive publicity is needed to educate our friends, neighbors and communities about how important even the smallest changes we make as gardeners can be for pollinators, birds, insects and mammals that live all around us. 

Why now?  My neighborhood is changing. Yours might be, too. Every day an older home along with many (if not all) of the mature oak, hickory, maple, Eastern cedar and hackberry trees that have been there for over 75 years are cut down. In place of the "bee lawns" composed of Claytonia, Salvia lyrata, Ruellia humilis, fleabane, Western Daisy, Violets, self-heal, clovers, and dandelions that grew so well in the shallow soil that sits on top of limestone bedrock are sodded non-native lawns that get daily watering, whether it rains or not. Gone are the lightening bugs. Gone are the ground dwelling/nesting native bees. Gone is the habitat for insects, spiders and other critters. Gone is plant diversity. Gone are trees that provided for hundreds of moths, butterflies and other insects. Gone are the nesting sites for woodpeckers, hummingbirds, Chickadees and other birds. It breaks my heart. We can't stop the multi-million dollar houses from going up, but, maybe we can make a lot of educational noise and help our new neighbors see the value in providing for critters.

A gardener can hope!

Here's an incomplete list of things you might consider doing or changing in your garden, but don't limit yourself to my list, make your own list or check out the internet for ideas.

Shrink your lawn and make your planting beds larger.

Plant your favorite native perennials and shrubs. Leave them standing after they've gone to seed to continue to provide for wildlife. What you plant in your yard makes a difference to wildlife. I garden for wildlife so every tree, shrub and plant is chosen with wildlife in mind.

Plant more natives and then consider planting even more. "A typical suburban landscape contains only 20-30% native plant species. Try reversing that trend in your own landscape by using 70-80% native species." (source)

Commit to never, ever, ever, ever using pesticides in the garden.

Stay away from native plant hybrids and cultivars that are double flowered. They are sterile and have no pollen or nectar for insects and no seeds for the birds. If possible plant “true open-pollinated native wildflowers”

If you want to garden for wildlife and pollinators, don't let lack of space stop you! Plant your favorite wildflowers in large containers. You just might have the prairie or woodland garden you've always wanted...in a pot!
 
Create a water feature. Provide water year round that is accessible to birds, bees and other critters.

Show some soil! Our native ground nesting bees nest in bare soil, so don't mulch every square inch of your garden. 

Get rid of the plastic weed barriers in your garden, it's not good for anything.

Invite bugs into your garden. Plant annuals that attract beneficial bugs.

Learn to tolerate damaged plants. Imperfection is the new perfect.

Don't be in a rush to clean up the fall garden. Leave plant stalks and seed heads standing all winter. Leave those fallen leaves or as many as you can tolerate! Insects over winter in the fallen and decaying leaves. Leave a layer of leaves as a soft landing material under trees for moths and butterflies to over winter. Many caterpillars drop to the ground from the trees in the fall.

Make a brush pile. Stack fallen brush, cut tree limbs, broken pots for ground beetles. Ground beetles are excellent at eating "bad bugs'. They're also good bird, toad and small critter food. 

Rethink what you consider a pest. Lots of good bugs eat aphids. Spiders are important predators and bird food!

Add nesting boxes for birds. 

Turn off your yard up-lighting, eave lights and porch lights after 11pm. This is important for nocturnal critters including mammals, snakes, insects, bats, birds (especially during migration). (Birdcast suggestions)

Plant shrubs and small trees that provide berries and nuts.

Keep a nature journal: Observe visitors to the water feature, make note of when they visit. Notice which flowers attract the most pollinators and which ones are just pretty faces. 

Join your state native plant society (Tennessee Native Plant Society)

Join WildOnes even if there's no local group. (Middle Tennessee WildOnes)

Support your local native plant sellers. (GroWild in middle Tennessee, Overhill Gardens in east Tennessee,  Resource Guide TN Native Plant Society)

Encourage your local garden clubs to offer native plant talks.

If your garden club has a plant sale encourage them to sell more native plants.

Get trained as a naturalist (Tennessee Naturalist Program, Almost every state has their own Master Naturalist training program)

Take an online course on tree, fungi and wildflower id.

Take a walk in your neighborhood and observe nature. To quote Joanna Brichetto in Sidewalk Nature "Look Around. Nature is here, is us, our driveways, our baseboards, parks, and parking lots."

Buy the best wildflower, butterfly and bird id books for your state.

Read nature books to your children and grandchildren. Buy them nature books.

Give nature books as baby shower gifts (Nature books for infants and toddlers)

Read! There are hundreds of books on gardening for wildlife, the environment, and rewilding our world. There are delightful blogs with wonderful and informative articles.

If you are already gardening with wildlife in mind then add a few signs that help educate your neighbors. (Xerces Society, Pollinator Partnership)

Set up an information station where neighbors can pick up brochures about your garden and other info. 

Get certified (National Wildlife Federation, check to see what your state offers)

 

Visit

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Wildflower Wednesday: Clustered Mountain Mint

 Pycnanthemum muticum is quite possibly a pollinator perfect plant.

But you don't have to take my word for this! Just google Mountain Mint and every nursery selling it, State Native Plant Society or blogger who writes about it extols its insect attracting virtues. Trust me and others, this is the best mountain mint species for attracting and supporting pollinating insects! Here's more! The researchers at Penn State's The Pollinator Trial found that Clustered Mountain Mint was the best plant for flowering longevity; for pollinator visitor diversity; for sheer number of insect visitors (78); and, for sheer number of bee and syrphid visitors. Wowzer!

fly visiting for nectar

If that's not enough to garner your attention, check out its showy silver bracts that highlight the dense clusters of small pink spotted flowers. The tiny flowers appear to lay on those silvery modified leaves with their velvety looking texture.

 blooms from summer to early fall

I planted it before I knew it was a pollinator magnet or saw the silvery bracts and the cute flowers. I fell in love with the silvery gray seed head that stood straight and tall and grabbed my attention across the nursery aisle. I had to have it in my garden!

The seedheads add structure to a winter yard and the seeds feed small songbirds.

That was well over a dozen years ago and it's still here.

Originally it was planted in the Garden of Benign Neglect, but, I wanted to be able to observe all the insect visitors, so I transplanted it along the front walk. It's shadier there than what the mint prefers, but, I still get to see insect activity. Visitors who walk to the front porch might accidentally brush against the leaves and release a wonderful minty fragrance. When I am out there I deliberately reach down to release the scent...It's one of my favorite fragrances in the garden.

The flowers are the tiniest little spotted tubular blooms clustered together to make it easy for the pollinators to stop by for a snack

This might be a good time to talk about mints. They have a well deserved reputation for aggressive spreading.  "Unlike true mints (Mentha species), blunt mountain mint is not invasive although it will slowly spread by rhizomes. Unwanted spreading of this species can be controlled by cutting of the underground rhizomes by a spade."  Although, I don't consider it invasive, some of you might. I don't mind a ground covering of this fantastic pollinator plant.

 

Mountain mint with aster and river oats

I also planted it in the sunnier front garden. It has not outcompeted New York Aster, River oats or Goldenrod. Plant them together if you have the space and let them duke it out. You can always edit them later. If you haven't the space try planting it in a large container and set that in the garden. Mountain mint would look beautiful with Joe-pye weed, Red Cardinal Flower, Great Blue Lobelia, Purple Cone Flower, sunflowers (Helianthus) and Black eyed Susan. Plant spring blooming wildflowers with it to insure you have blooming flowers all season long.

Please close your eyes and picture mountain mint blowing in the breeze with bees and butterflies dancing above it. You can smell its minty aroma. It's delightful. Now go find some plants to add to your garden!
 

The Particulars

 Pycnanthemum muticum  

Family: Lamiaceae  

Common name:  Clustered Mountain Mint, blunt mountain mint. Pycnanthemum, means densely flowered  

Hardiness zones 3 to 9 

Range: a native range as far north as Maine, south to Georgia, with a western range into eastern Texas. This species is listed as threatened in Kentucky, Michigan, and New York.

 Height:  1 to 3 foot 

Spread:  1 to 3 foot 

Bloom Time: June to September 

Bloom Description: tiny pink spotted flowers 

Sun: Full sun to part shade; edge of woodland 

Water:  Easy to grow in almost any average to fertile, well-drained soil. Although it prefers moist soil it has tolerated our dry summer months...caveat,  dry not drought. 

Maintenance: Let it go and don't worry, unless it's too dry. If you have a smaller garden plant it in a container.  

Comments: Mountain Mint is a perfect Clay and Limestone rough and tumble take care of itself wildflower. It is a good choice for a wildlife garden, meadow, butterfly and pollinator garden.  It's a fabulous nectar plant. Mass plantings/letting it spread will bring in the most insect visitors.   Wildlife value: Excellent nectar and pollen source for lots of garden visitors including beneficial insects, and bees, beneficial wasps, flies, beetles, skippers and small butterflies (especially hairstreaks) frequent the blossoms. Seeds  are eaten by small songbirds. Stems and seedheads provide cover for insects and other critters during the winter 

Extra: It's an insect repellent! Try rubbing bruised leaves and stems on your clothing to deter chiggers and mosquitoes.

Welcome to Wildflower Wednesday. It's the fourth Wednesday of each month and time to celebrate wildflowers from all over this great big, beautiful world. I am always glad when you stop by and I so appreciate when you make a comment. 

xoxogail

Don't forget our Wildflower Wednesday monthly challenge! 

The first part of this challenge is to do something every month during 2023 and beyond that supports native wildflowers, pollinators, and the critters that visit and rely on our gardens. Activities that increase our knowledge of the natural world are equally as valuable. Helping others learn about nature is included. Golly gee whiz, there are so many things you can do. The second part of the challenge is to post about it somewhere: Your blog, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or even your neighborhood listserve. Wouldn't an article in the local paper be a coup for nature! Why post it? Because positive publicity is needed to educate our friends, neighbors and communities about how important even the smallest changes we make as gardeners can be for pollinators, birds, insects and mammals that live all around us. 

Why now?  My neighborhood is changing. Yours might be, too. Every day an older home along with many (if not all) of the mature oak, hickory, maple, Eastern cedar and hackberry trees that have been there for over 75 years are cut down. In place of the "bee lawns" composed of Claytonia, Salvia lyrata, Ruellia humilis, fleabane, Western Daisy, Violets, self-heal, clovers, and dandelions that grew so well in the shallow soil that sits on top of limestone bedrock are sodded non-native lawns that get daily watering, whether it rains or not. Gone are the lightening bugs. Gone are the ground dwelling/nesting native bees. Gone is the habitat for insects, spiders and other critters. Gone is plant diversity. Gone are trees that provided for hundreds of moths, butterflies and other insects. Gone are the nesting sites for woodpeckers, hummingbirds, Chickadees and other birds. It breaks my heart. We can't stop the multi-million dollar houses from going up, but, maybe we can make a lot of educational noise and help our new neighbors see the value in providing for critters.

A gardener can hope!

Here's an incomplete list of things you might consider doing or changing in your garden, but don't limit yourself to my list, make your own list or check out the internet for ideas.

Shrink your lawn and make your planting beds larger.

Plant your favorite native perennials and shrubs. Leave them standing after they've gone to seed to continue to provide for wildlife. What you plant in your yard makes a difference to wildlife. I garden for wildlife so every tree, shrub and plant is chosen with wildlife in mind.

Plant more natives and then consider planting even more. "A typical suburban landscape contains only 20-30% native plant species. Try reversing that trend in your own landscape by using 70-80% native species." (source)

Commit to never, ever, ever, ever using pesticides in the garden.

Stay away from native plant hybrids and cultivars that are double flowered. They are sterile and have no pollen or nectar for insects and no seeds for the birds. If possible plant “true open-pollinated native wildflowers”

If you want to garden for wildlife and pollinators, don't let lack of space stop you! Plant your favorite wildflowers in large containers. You just might have the prairie or woodland garden you've always wanted...in a pot!
 
Create a water feature. Provide water year round that is accessible to birds, bees and other critters.

Show some soil! Our native ground nesting bees nest in bare soil, so don't mulch every square inch of your garden. 

Get rid of the plastic weed barriers in your garden, it's not good for anything.

Invite bugs into your garden. Plant annuals that attract beneficial bugs.

Learn to tolerate damaged plants. Imperfection is the new perfect.

Don't be in a rush to clean up the fall garden. Leave plant stalks and seed heads standing all winter. Leave those fallen leaves or as many as you can tolerate! Insects over winter in the fallen and decaying leaves. Leave a layer of leaves as a soft landing material under trees for moths and butterflies to over winter. Many caterpillars drop to the ground from the trees in the fall.

Make a brush pile. Stack fallen brush, cut tree limbs, broken pots for ground beetles. Ground beetles are excellent at eating "bad bugs'. They're also good bird, toad and small critter food. 

Rethink what you consider a pest. Lots of good bugs eat aphids. Spiders are important predators and bird food!

Add nesting boxes for birds. 

Turn off your yard up-lighting, eave lights and porch lights after 11pm. This is important for nocturnal critters including mammals, snakes, insects, bats, birds (especially during migration). (Birdcast suggestions)

Plant shrubs and small trees that provide berries and nuts.

Keep a nature journal: Observe visitors to the water feature, make note of when they visit. Notice which flowers attract the most pollinators and which ones are just pretty faces. 

Join your state native plant society (Tennessee Native Plant Society)

Join WildOnes even if there's no local group. (Middle Tennessee WildOnes)

Support your local native plant sellers. (GroWild in middle Tennessee, Overhill Gardens in east Tennessee,  Resource Guide TN Native Plant Society)

Encourage your local garden clubs to offer native plant talks.

If your garden club has a plant sale encourage them to sell more native plants.

Get trained as a naturalist (Tennessee Naturalist Program, Almost every state has their own Master Naturalist training program)

Take an online course on tree, fungi and wildflower id.

Take a walk in your neighborhood and observe nature. To quote Joanna Brichetto in Sidewalk Nature "Look Around. Nature is here, is us, our driveways, our baseboards, parks, and parking lots."

Buy the best wildflower, butterfly and bird id books for your state.

Read nature books to your children and grandchildren. Buy them nature books.

Give nature books as baby shower gifts (Nature books for infants and toddlers)

Read! There are hundreds of books on gardening for wildlife, the environment, and rewilding our world. There are delightful blogs with wonderful and informative articles.

If you are already gardening with wildlife in mind then add a few signs that help educate your neighbors. (Xerces Society, Pollinator Partnership)

Set up an information station where neighbors can pick up brochures about your garden and other info. 

Get certified (National Wildlife Federation, check to see what your state offers)

 

Visit

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.