Taking Care of the Little Things
BY THE CALENDAR DATE, Spring has sprung. But this being New England, bright sunlight and stark tree shadows are still dancing across blankets of snow. So while you (impatiently!) await optimal soil temperatures and the last frost date, check in with the nature lover and steward within you. An increasingly important question to ask is: Is my garden (or yard or landscape) designed to support the flora and fauna that sustains life in New England?
It’s no secret that humans have severely disrupted the continuous wildlife feeding and habitat opportunities that were in place long before European settlers spread across this area. Between cities, suburbs, and intensive agriculture, we “have taken 95 percent of nature and made in unnatural,” says Douglas W. Tallamy, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware.
In his books Bringing Nature Home and The Living Landscape, Tallamy argues that plant and animal species essential to life are disappearing by the moment, and many that remain are so few in number, they are “...too rare to perform their role in their ecosystem … [and are] considered functionally extinct.”
Lucky for us, Dr. Tallamy will give a talk on behalf of Bedrock Gardens on October 1 at the University of New Hampshire, called “Making Insects: a Guide to Restoring the Little Things that Run the World.” His engaging and optimistic message is that with just a little effort and the smallest of gardens, every nature lover can provide nurturing refuge and habitat, simply by growing native species of trees, shrubs, and plants. Well beyond the “butterfly gardens” of the past (which in their original design provided only nectar for mature butterflies), Tallamy and others advocate “nativescapes,” which take all pollinators (and all stages in their lifecycles) in mind.
In his books Bringing Nature Home and The Living Landscape, Tallamy argues that plant and animal species essential to life are disappearing by the moment, and many that remain are so few in number, they are “...too rare to perform their role in their ecosystem … [and are] considered functionally extinct.”
Lucky for us, Dr. Tallamy will give a talk on behalf of Bedrock Gardens on October 1 at the University of New Hampshire, called “Making Insects: a Guide to Restoring the Little Things that Run the World.” His engaging and optimistic message is that with just a little effort and the smallest of gardens, every nature lover can provide nurturing refuge and habitat, simply by growing native species of trees, shrubs, and plants. Well beyond the “butterfly gardens” of the past (which in their original design provided only nectar for mature butterflies), Tallamy and others advocate “nativescapes,” which take all pollinators (and all stages in their lifecycles) in mind.
| Some of Bedrock's Natives: Trees Acer rubrum - Red maple Acer saccharum - Sugar maple Acer spicatum - Mountain maple Pinus banksiana - Jack pine Pinus strobus - White pine Shrubs Ilex verticillata - Winterberry Myrica pensylvanica - Northern bayberry Vaccinium corymbosum - Highbush blueberry Viburnum acerifolium - Mapleleaf viburnum Viburnum lentago - Nannyberry Perennials Arisaema triphyllum - Jack-in-the-pulpit Aster novae-angliae - New England aster Caulophyllum thalictroides - Blue cohosh Erythronium americanum - Yellow trout lily or dog-tooth violet Eutrochium purpureum - Joe Pye Weed Iris versicolor - Northern blue flag Sanguinaria canadensis - Bloodroot Tiarella cordifolia - Foam flower Uvularia sessilifolia - Wild oats “If you are not seeing life in a garden, something is not right.” ~Jill Nooney |  Tiarella cordifolia - Foam flower  Aster novae-angliae - New England aster  Uvularia sessilifolia - Wild oats |
There are some very dedicated nonprofit agencies putting out this call-to-arms for gardeners, farmers, and lovers of the natural world. One online source that is chock full of tips and handy information, such as charts of native plants, their bloom periods, and the pollinators they attract for 32 different “ecoregions” of the country, is the Pollinator Partnership. Bedrock Gardens (along with Seacoast NH and ME) falls in its Eastern Broadleaf Forest, Oceanic Province zone.
Below are several more sources for you to explore during Spring’s thaw and beyond. All will help you implement even minor changes to your garden this year. In April, I will address the variety of pollinators out there, and offer some tips for attracting and supporting them. For as our very own Jill Nooney says, “If you are not seeing life in a garden, something is not right.”
Below are several more sources for you to explore during Spring’s thaw and beyond. All will help you implement even minor changes to your garden this year. In April, I will address the variety of pollinators out there, and offer some tips for attracting and supporting them. For as our very own Jill Nooney says, “If you are not seeing life in a garden, something is not right.”
Late summer blooms of Eutrochium purpureum, Joe Pye Weed, at Bedrock.
More Nativescaping Resources
(Warning, these websites are habit-forming):
(Warning, these websites are habit-forming):
- Native Seed Network Based in Oregon, the Native Seed Network promotes the use of native plants in ways that support the ecological integrity of both natural and manipulated ecosystems.
- The Massachusetts-based New England Wildflower Society (NEWFS), with thorough New England native plant information, how-tos, and even a native plant sale.*** Other NEWFS website offerings I like include:
- GoBotany Offers very helpful online keys to identifying NE native plants, as well as resources for everyone from professors of botany to beginning botanists.
- Learn A self-paced online course on designing with native plants.
- The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation has been advocating for and educating about pollinators, aquatic invertebrates, and endangered wildlife for nearly 50 years. If it's website is still down for maintenance, check out its facebook page.
- Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas offers a native plant database and image gallery.
Welcome back to what is certain to be an amazing year at Bedrock Gardens! I'm Lisa Peters O'Brien, a.k.a., the Bedrock blogger, and I'm back for the season. I hope you'll stop in to "Digging Deeper" often, or subscribe here, for behind-the-scenes looks of what makes Bedrock Gardens rock and grow. Is there something you'd like to know? Ideas, comments, and questions are welcome. If you like what you read, please share!
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