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Saturday Morning Garden Blogging Vol. 21.16 - Going Native: Gardening for Nature [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-04-19

All Are Welcome! This is a weekly blog with a fun vibe that often veers off gardening, so stop on by and join the conversation. We are here every Saturday at 8AM Central with new content and chit chat continuing throughout the week. We have a core crew that checks in each day, all comments are read. Which makes us the best diary series on DK.

You are probably aware of a growing movement to transform yards into welcoming habitat for local wildlife, especially pollinating insects and birds. This idea has been promoted by Doug Tallamy’s Homegrown National Park project - an ambitious effort to link private gardens together to provide natural habitat. Tallamy’s website has lots of great information and links to his inspiring video presentations: https://homegrownnationalpark.org/tallamys-hub-1

‘Homegrown National Park® Is a grassroots call-to-action to regenerate biodiversity and ecosystem function by planting native plants and creating new ecological networks.’

My side yard before naturescaping — just uninviting lawn with no habitat value.

A main impetus for Tallamy’s project, and for that of many other groups such as the Xerces Society https://xerces.org/, Wild Ones https://wildones.org/ and the National Wildlife Federation https://www.nwf.org/ are reports of truly alarming declines in insects, especially bees, and also in bird species. Recent surveys of butterflies in the US has shown steep drops in many species of these beautiful flyers, not only of Monarchs.

As Doug Tallamy emphasizes, caterpillars of butterflies and moths are a vital food resource for bird nestling. Most birds, in fact, even hummingbirds, rely on insects for all or part of their diet.

So what can we do? Well, a lot, and even small changes in your yard can make a difference.

I’ve been participating in a program of the local Audubon Society in Eugene OR to encourage homeowners to improve habitat for wildlife, with a focus on pollinating insects and birds. We’ve based our local program on the Portland OR Backyard Habitat Certification Program, which has useful generic information: backyardhabitats.org/...

I’ve learned that creating natural habitat involves adding, subtracting, and leaving:

Adding: Native plants, particularly native trees, shrubs and flowering plants that produce seeds or berries for birds and that host caterpillars, and wildflowers that provide nectar and pollen. Many native bees rely on specific plants for pollen. One or more water sources – a bird bath, fountain, or even a bug bath (a shallow dish with gravel and stones kept moist for bees, butterflies and other insects) will really enhance a habitat.

A Golden Crowned Sparrow splashing in one of my bird baths

Subtracting: Eliminating invasive plant species that don’t offer much if any wildlife value, and as much as possible substituting native plants in your garden in place of non-native exotics and cultivars which dominate commercial nurseries, removing part or all of the lawn to create native plant oases, and - very important – avoiding use of pesticides and herbicides.

I replaced a non-native hydrangea with a native Red-flowering Currant, which in spring is covered with nectar-rich blooms for hummingbirds and queen bumble bees, and in fall has berries for birds

Leaving: Fallen leaves are nutritious mulch that improves soil, are habitat for beetles and other insect prey for ground feeding birds, and also may contain overwintering pupa of butterflies and moths. Also leave dead stalks of flowering perennials, which offer seeds for birds in fall and winter, and shelter for insects. Wait until spring to cut these stalks back. Messy gardens are great for wildlife!

My front yard in fall — the lawn has been covered and planted with natives, and fallen leaves from a neighbor’s oak tree are left in place to shelter insects and nourish the soil.

Naturescaping is creating groupings of plants in a yard containing 50% or more species native to your region. You can certainly retain mature and treasured non-native trees and shrubs. Just add native plants. Herb and vegetable gardens can be part of the landscape too.

A naturescaped area of my garden, mostly native shrubs and perennials, but also herbs — oregano, thyme, chives and parsley. The white blooming shrub is Ocean Spray, white flowers are Common Yarrow, yellow flowers are Oregon Sunshine, a native aster, and tickseed. A native Serviceberry, a Evergreen Huckleberry and a couple of Sword Ferns are in there as well.

I’ve been working for the last three years to rehabilitate the yard in my home in Eugene by all of the above. When I moved in much of the yard was lawn, with a mature non-native Kousa Dogwood, Japanese Maple, and Variegated Boxwood hedges lining the front walk. I’ve kept those trees and hedges (birds like to perch and shelter in them).

Tho other part of the front yard with lawn around the the Kousa Dogwood removed and replaced with a mix of Blanketflowers and other native wildflowers, along with lavenders. A couple of mature azalea bushes along the side and the Variegated Boxwood hedges along the front walkway have been left in place.

I now have replaced all of the lawn area with native plant groupings. I don’t use chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Instead I add compost and rely on native bugs like spiders, hoverflies and wasps to keep aphids and other plant pests in check.

A Black-margined Flower Fly, a species of hoverfly native to the Western US. Larvae of hoverflies prey on aphids. This one landed on a kale plant gone to flower in my garden.

Even in my small yard (about 2200 sq ft of planting area), I’ve managed to squeeze in 23 species of native small trees and shrubs (some in multiples), and 35 species of ferns, grasses, perennials, and reseeding annuals. Ferns and grasses are good sheltering habitat for insects, and host some butterfly and moth caterpillars. And I still have space for herbs and vegetables.

Pollinating insects have responded big time. So far, I’ve documented about two dozen species of native bees and hoverflies collecting nectar and pollen from my flowering natives. Just on one species of native aster I’ve found 19 species of bees, including ubiquitous non-native honeybees, and several hoverflies. Note that most native bees, and even wasps, don’t sting.

A female Western Leafcutter Bee collecting Douglas Aster pollen on her abdomen.

A species of Pebble Bee endemic to the western US on a Douglas Aster flower. Pebble Bees make nests from small pebbles and sand grains glued together with plant resin.

Anything you can do in your yard to add natural habitat is golden. Start small and keep adding, subtracting and leaving. In no time you’ll see more native insects, birds and perhaps other wildlife gratefully visit your own preserve.

A Western Tiger Swallowtail sipping from Common Milkweed blooms of a neighbor who is also naturescaping her yard.

There are many resources to learn about what plants native to your region to consider for your garden. Regional Native Plant Societies: theplantnative.com/… are a good place to start. The Xerces Society has guides on habitat restoration and lists of native plants for pollinators by region of the US: xerces.org/… The National Wildlife Federation has resources for creating wildlife habitat with lists by zip code of native plants that host caterpillars: nativeplantfinder.nwf.org/... Wild Ones provides examples of native plant groupings for specific locations: nativegardendesigns.wildones.org Native plant nurseries can give advice on what to plant where in a yard.

Earth Day is coming up! Let me know what you are doing in your garden to improve habitat for native bugs, birds and other wildlife. Photos a plus!

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