Native Plant Gardening is not One & Done

 

The places where we live are mostly artificial constructs. Those of us in urban/suburban areas are living in an environment of our own making. Someone cleared the land enough to build a house on it and the plants that we’ve chosen to invite into this space were—for the most part—our choices. I hope you’ve chosen native plants, as much as 70% if you can, either in what you planted or what you chose to keep. But you’re not done; you’re never done; just like with a garden that uses non-native plants, things change.

As many of you have done this spring, I spent time this week editing the garden. Sediment on the driveway had convinced the mountain mint (Pycnanthemum) that it had about 8-10 more inches of room so I reclaimed that space and potted up the extra plants. A tall annual grass had squeezed into all the extra spaces in the front bed (nature abhors a vacuum?) and I easily pulled much of it out so that what I really wanted to grow would have more room. 

I continue to monitor one 2x2 foot area of the lawn for a small new weed that appeared in 2022; these last two years I’ve been able to find and pull it before it blooms. I hope it will run out of energy eventually. I continue to monitor and pull false hawkweed (Youngia japonica) and the ever-present stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum), mostly in the shady areas. And while I love the bright blooms of the native biennial butterweed (Packera glabella), I usually cut off the spent flower heads so that it is not the only thing in my yard every spring.

Butterweed seeks total domination!

I’ve written before about having to occasionally remove things – like trees that have grown so large that they shade out the space at the expense of a more diverse environment. The area where the tree was removed is now a large patch of mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum), which thankfully the deer usually avoid.

Mayapple around the tree stump

Critters are a source of delight but also frustration when they destroy plants. While deer have done damage (both eating things and causing damage from antler rub), moles and voles have too. A pair of lilies that I featured in 2022—after writing that they survived moles—were destroyed the very next year by the same critters. A friend gifted me more of them; I will be planting them in wire cages in the ground!

So enjoy your gardens and your native plants and know that—native or not—our gardens are always a work in progress for a variety of reasons. Working in the wildlife-friendly garden is always interesting and helps to bring us close to many of the small reasons we do it.

April 2024 Moment in Nature

A nest building attempt in 2017

Having birds that feel confident to nest in your yard is a great feeling: they feel safe and they feel like there is food enough to raise their babies. This month I realized that a pair of brown-headed nuthatches had built a nest is one of the dead pine snags that I have left just for them.

This snag is not far from the driveway, and I hear their calls when I'm working in the area or just going to the mailbox.

I'm excited to be able to contribute to the population of brown-headed nuthatches; it is a bird that needs pine snags in our woodlands. This discovery is my #momentinnature for this month. 

Landscape Spotlight: Roundabouts

 

Roundabouts are on the rise – sometimes I like to count how many roundabouts I have to go through to get where I’m going: four of them is not uncommon these days! Some of them are large and some are small, but they all have some plants in the middle and I’m always interested to see what was chosen for that spot. Since I live adjacent to the city of Milton, theirs get a lot of my attention and they have mostly chosen a good selection of native plants for them.

Roundabout with hawthorn and Yaupon holly

A triple row of Yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria)

Hawthorn (Crataegus viridis)

These are photos from two of their recent installations. The first one I’m showing is a smaller version of another one that features the same plants and which has done well. The center has hawthorns (most likely Crataegus viridis ‘Winter King’) which has gorgeous white spring flowers and abundant red fruits in the fall. These are handsome trees with a very pleasing shape. Around the trees is a solid ring of evergreen native shrubs that have been used for years: Ilex vomitoria ‘Nana’ (or similar dwarf). Once I got up close, I could see that the shrubs were in 3 concentric rings.

Blooming Viburnum with Fothergilla behind

Viburnum obovatum dwarf cultivar

The second roundabout is new and was completed last year; it features a mix of native and non-native plants. The center has 3 large trees that have not yet leafed out but hopefully they are native oaks. What caught my attention was an outer half-ring of a dwarf native viburnum: Viburnum obovatum ‘Mrs Schiller’s Delight’ (or other dwarf cultivar, there are several). Behind that is a half-ring of a native Fothergilla. The rest of the circle appeared to be non-native hydrangea and perhaps a dwarf gardenia. Native grasses – perhaps little bluestem and muhly – were also part of the design.

Most of these roundabouts are cared for (weeds removed, dead plants swapped out) and generally they are attractive accents to the landscape. I’m glad to see native plants be part of their selections and hopefully they catch the attention of folks looking for landscape ideas.

This is a post in an occasional series on good designed uses for native plants. You can find my previous posts in this series using this search criteria.

Where Do Butterflies Go in the Winter?

 

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on crabapple

Are you seeing butterflies now? Where were they over the winter? Why some and not others? I was inspired to research and write this post because this week I found two caterpillars of the Red-spotted Purple butterfly (Limenitis arthemis) on a potted black cherry tree (Prunus serotina) that lives on my driveway (for lack of finding a better home). This butterfly species can overwinter two ways: in a chrysalis or as a partially grown caterpillar that constructs a tightly shaped leaf tube called hibernacula in which to spend the winter.

Red-spotted Purple on black cherry this week

How do most Georgia butterflies overwinter? It varies by species and they can overwinter as adults (migratory behavior), as pupae (in a chrysalis), as larvae (caterpillar), or as eggs. 

I looked up some of the more common ones that I see to compare their different strategies that evolution has worked out for them. For those of you who have heard the message about “leaving the leaves,” take note of how many of these beauties overwinter in leaves as pupae, larvae, or eggs.

Swallowtails are some of our earliest butterflies - the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, our state butterfly - is one the first that I see each year. They (and other swallowtails like Spicebush, Zebra, Eastern Black, Pipevine) overwinter as a chrysalis right in our landscapes (be careful about cleaning up!) so they are ready to emerge when flowers and host plants are available to them.

Monarch – This well-known butterfly famously migrates south and overwinters as an adult in reproductive diapause (so it lives longer and doesn't try to breed during that time).

Gulf Fritillary – This one flies south, overwinters as adult in warmer areas; I've linked my earlier blog about finding thousands of these in Florida.

Cloudless Sulphur (Phoebis sennae) – This pale yellow butterfly also flies south, overwintering as an adult in warmer areas; I usually don't see it again until the summer red flowers are blooming.

Cloudless Sulphur

Pearl Crescent

Pearl Crescent (Phyciodes tharos) – The partially grown caterpillars stop eating (larvae) and find shelter in a curled leaf.  There they remain in diapause until spring, when eating resumes.

American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis) – I didn't realize these went south until I researched it. They overwinter as an adult in warmer areas.

Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia)  – Another surprise for me: they overwinter as an adult in warmer areas.

Spring and Summer Azures (Celastrina) – Both of these overwinter in our landscape in chrysalis (pupae) form.

Mourning cloak – Adults spend winter months in hiding spots, sheltered from the elements.  They emerge on warm days to search for energy sources that include sap flows or carrion.

Question Mark – These overwinter as adult butterflies and often fly in early spring on warm days. Their underwing resembles a dried leaf, giving them extra camouflage.

Question Mark

American Snout

American Snout – Late fall adults enter diapause during winter months and resume activity the following spring, as early as mid-February

Hairstreaks – In general, these species overwinter as eggs or larvae in leaf litter.

Silver-spotted Skipper

Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus) – This large skipper overwinters as chrysalis (pupae).

Fiery Skipper – These little ones go south for the winter but other skippers have different behaviors.

If you love butterflies and want to have them in your yard, be sure to plant host plants for them. This brochure is a great resource in Georgia.

The Red-spotted Purple

Natives Go Mainstream

 

Wildlife in my Yard

I love seeing the topic of using native plants get into more mainstream news sources. Margaret Renkl and Margaret Roach both occasionally use their columns in the New York Times to opine about native plants and their impacts. Columns about native plants get into regional papers too, like the Atlanta column of Charles Seabrook in the AJC and in smaller papers like this interview with me in the South Forsyth County newsletter to promote our native plant society chapter’s upcoming plant sale.

On even smaller scales, you have individuals who post about using native plants on hyperlocal neighborhood sites like Nextdoor and on social media like Facebook and Instagram. Small personal avowals and recommendations help spread the word way more than you might think so keep showing people your beautiful native plants and the wildlife that passes through your garden.

An earlier Instagram post from my yard

Back on the national scale, a TED talk came out this week from an ecological horticulturist (a person who designs beautiful landscapes that contain thriving wildlife habitat). This talk has been widely shared this week and already has over 300K views. The 12-minute talk is not unlike what many of us might say if we were chatting with an interested acquaintance (“Hey, did you know that ‘we must incorporate habitat everywhere, especially in the cities’?”).

It’s a great short listen and you’re sure to get some sound bites that you can use yourself (“lawns should be like area rugs”) and some good success stories to quote. You can also explore resources on her website (RebeccaMcMackin.com) and subscribe to her newsletter.

Locally, keep sharing your passion in your circles. We all can make a difference and amplify the message. [Just ask the guy at the phone store who listened to me talk for 30 minutes this week about why using native plants makes a difference while we were waiting for my phone data to transfer – all those plant photos, you know!]

Undergrown

 

This is a fabulous term to describe how poorly most modern landscapes are serving the natural community that they replaced. I don’t know where it started but this blog post by Nancy Lawson is where I got it. But I do see two aspects to this term.

First of all, when we devote excessive space to turf (regardless of whether it is native or not), we are probably not allowing enough room for diversity. There are so many different insects in our ecosystem that we need a diversity of plants to support a diversity of insects. So, as I said last week, let’s minimize our turfgrass to just the very little that we need for playing or satisfying our neighborhood.

Second, the way we plant our landscaped areas is too skimpy: a plant here and a plant there and then smother the rest of the space in mulch. This under-planting concept is addressed in a book from some years ago (almost 10 years now!) called Planting in a Post-Wild World where the authors advocate for dense plantings. 

The term ‘soft landings’ is a more recent approach to dense plantings and references the need for moth caterpillars to have a safe place to land once they are ready to advance to the next stage of life (cocoon).

Random internet photo to illustrate more mulch than plants

Both ideas reference a more natural planting construct where the ground layer of plants has a purpose, a purpose that is not satisfied by mulch or lawn. The purpose is to create a dense and diverse plant community that naturally suppresses the germination of stray seeds (that is, weeds), adds more native plants for insects, and provides a safe haven for insects that need to finish their life cycle in the ground (without being chopped up by power equipment).

This grouping includes Tiarella , Phlox stolonifera, and Carex

As you head out this spring with your shopping list and plans, be aware of the concept of having an undergrown landscape and strive to create full and productive gardens. Yes, you need MORE plants!

Columbine (Aquilegia) and Phacelia

March 2024 Moment in Nature

The modest beauty of spring ephemerals after the drabness of winter is special every year. We've had a lot of rainy days lately, and I finally got out this week to check on my trilliums (and the dang deer have already chomped 4 of them).

Trillium cuneatum

I was glad to see this one intact; it is natural to the property and I have watched it grow up in this spot. The colors are fresh and vibrant, with the 3 maroon petals not quite open. A tree fell down beside it a couple years ago and perhaps that has protected it.

Take some time to notice our spring wildflowers while they're fresh and make it #amomentinnature for yourself.

Interested in Georgia's special spring wildflowers? Read some of my previous spring ephemeral posts via this search link.