Book renews commitment to creating backyard nature preserve
For many of us time in nature, including time in our gardens, has been a way of coping with the restrictions of the past year. We know that time in nature is good for us – body, mind and spirit – and the return of spring is something most of us look forward to with enthusiasm every year.
Last summer, Clive and I spent a lot of time expanding our gardens and adding native plants for pollinators, with plans to expand our plantings of native trees, shrubs and plants this summer in order to support the natural world. However, between the pandemic, climate change, forest fires and all the stories about the loss of biodiversity due to habitat loss and pesticides, it was easy to feel helpless at times. I found myself wondering if our small efforts could really make a difference.
My perspective changed last fall when I read a book called Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard by Douglas Tallamy.
Tallamy, an entomologist at the University of Delaware, believes that the solution to the devastating decline of pollinators and wildlife in general is to plant more native plants to offset the loss of habitat. This book left me with a renewed sense of commitment to creating a mini nature preserve in my own yard. We get so much from nature and Tallamy’s grassroots approach to conservation, his Homegrown National Park approach, gives us a way to give something back to nature in return.
Native pollinators need native trees, shrubs and plants. Some, like the monarch butterfly caterpillar, rely on one single plant, and if milkweed plants disappear so do the monarchs. A loss of pollinators such as butterflies and bees is a real threat to food security and our own wellbeing. There are 400 different types of bees in Ontario, including varieties such as bumblebees, leaf cutter bees, carpenter bees, miner bees and sweat bees. Before honeybees were imported from Europe, native bees did much of the hard work of pollinating Canadian plants. While we focus narrowly on the struggles of non native honeybee colonies, there has been little focus on the plight of native bees, who still do a lot of the heavy lifting in terms of pollination. Focusing so strongly on one species for pollination is not wise. We need to keep native bee populations and other types of pollinators healthy as well, and that means creating habitats and conditions that foster their survival.
Beyond that, many birds rely on native caterpillars and insects for survival. (Gypsy moth caterpillars and ash borer beetles are not native insects. They came here from Europe and Asia. Although some native predators will eat them, not all will, so they can be a real problem.) When insect populations decline, many bird populations follow. Many native trees and shrubs can provide spring blossoms for pollinators as well as berries or nuts and seeds for both migrating birds and overwintering birds. They also provide nesting sites and in many cases shelter from winter storms for overwintering birds.
Our national and provincial park systems, conservation programs like the Nature Conservancy, and forward thinking organic and regenerative farming practices being implemented by farms such as The New Farm (bravo, Brent and Gillian) are of real benefit. However, as more and more habitat is lost to development, these movements are not enough. Our pollinators, birds and wildlife need corridors of protected habitat as they migrate and move about. This is where the rest of us can step up to the plate by making changes in our own yards.
Tallamy’s ‘Homegrown National Park’ project can be done over a period of a few years, and it doesn’t have to be an all or nothing process. He has a 10-step program, and the first step is to ‘shrink the lawn’ and replace more of it with native trees, shrubs and flowering plants. Ideally, the remaining lawn would be full of dandelions and other native flowers in the spring in order to provide food for newly emerging bees. We’ve been planting native trees for the past few years, and last summer we planted native plants (black eyed susans, purple coneflower, liatris, gaillardia, wild geranium and milkweed) in our gardens alongside our existing perennials. This year we are starting on our ‘mini nature reserve’ in the front yard, with the addition of more native trees as well as native shrubs and plants.
Although we’ve worked hard at attempting to remove the invasive goutweed and periwinkle that were taking over our gardens and forest when we bought our home, I know that some of my much loved non native, non invasive perennials (single peonies) are here for the duration. Not all non native plants are a problem, and many are beneficial or non-threatening to native biodiversity. For example, sedum is a pollinator magnet in the fall, and I’ve seen insects drinking water from the dewdrops on my Lady’s Mantle, so they’ve earned their keep.
We also planted regular and giant sunflowers in our gardens last summer. You can usually find Mammoth Russian sunflower seeds at your local nurseries or hardware stores, and with some nurturing they can grow 9-12 feet tall. Not only are they a beacon for pollinators in the summer, birds such as chickadees, goldfinches and jays love eating their seeds later in the fall. Children of all ages love sunflowers, so it’s a double win. If you decide to plant sunflowers, just make sure to avoid pollen free varieties. Bees require pollen for protein and nourishment, and pollen is also vital to the development of young bees.
We are fortunate in Creemore to have the Tree Society and the Horticultural Society. Both of these groups have done great work in the village over the years. Although the pandemic has pushed a ‘pause’ button on everyone’s day to day activities, it has also given us all time to reflect on future directions as well as the legacy we want to leave for our children, grandchildren and generations far into the future. A native oak tree can live for hundreds of years, and creating gardens of native trees, shrubs and plants can have long lasting impacts that can echo down the generations.
It looks like we may not be fully out of lockdown until the fall. Given that situation, I can’t think of a better way to spend a summer than creating tiny nature reserves / Homegrown National Parks in our own yards. Our children and grandchildren will thank us.
Laura Walton is a lifelong nature lover who has been planting trees and gardens in the Creemore area for almost 30 years.
Getting started
• Tallamy’s Homegrown National Park website is a great resource, and his ‘10 Things to Get You Started’ list gives a detailed outline on how to create your own small nature reserve.homegrownnationalpark.org/get-started
• The David Suzuki Foundation’s ‘Homegrown National Park’ website features the Butterflyways Project that focuses on creating pollinator friendly gardens across the country. The ‘Queen of Green’ articles provide a wealth of information on greening up our yards and gardens and creating spaces that are a haven for native species. davidsuzuki.org/take-action/act-locally/butterflyway/
• Information about protecting bees and pollinators can be found at www.ontario.ca/page/pollinator-health#section-4
• Information on native bees, including info on the Bumble Bee Watch Program, can be found at www.ontarioparks.com/parksblog/guess-how-many-bee-species-call-ontario-home/
• Not So Hollow Farm, a native plant nursery just south of Creemore, is a great resource and a source of native trees, shrubs and plants. Owners Ian Payne and Viki Reynolds are always wonderfully helpful and knowledgeable. Although they don’t open until the end of April, their blogs are a great source of information that can familiarize you with native plants and help you plan out your native garden. Visit notsohollowfarm.ca.
• The southern Ontario ‘Grow Me Instead’ website (www.ontarioinvasiveplants.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Southern-Grow-Me-Instead-1.pdf) has a list of native plants that can be grown to replace invasive plant species. Not all non native plants are a problem, and many are beneficial or non-threatening to native biodiversity. Only a few are invasive, and this site provides information and options on how to deal with them.
• Starting a new garden from scratch can be expensive, but if you are willing to grow native plants from seed rather than buying plants it is much cheaper. If you can’t find the native flower seeds at your local nurseries, there are online sources for native plant seeds. Two online sources that I have used are West Coast Seeds and OSC seeds.
