In the new year, we all make resolutions. Some we keep, some we don’t. This year, I hope that we can all resolve to make our gardens even more inviting to native wildlife. We all can take specific steps to support native bees, butterflies, moths, caterpillars and insects.

As a result, our gardens will be even more beautiful and more alive as our native songbirds and our entire ecosystems thrive. ‘Sounds like fun - but how will it happen?’ you ask. Never fear ~ I have a plan to help you learn how to ‘make it so’ as Captain Kirk so famously pronounced!

changes to my services this year~ another year older, another year wiser

But first, a bit of personal news. I’ve been threatening to retire for a few years now. Well, 2023 is the year! The pandemic-fueled demand for gardening services was both exhilarating and exhausting. It was incredibly rewarding to help many of you begin or expand gardens over the last few years, and to discover new friendships and deepen old friendships along the way. But the ‘cost’ to me personally was less time with family, less time in my own garden and a bit more wear and tear than I would have liked on my aging body.

Speaking of family…those of you who follow me on Facebook may know that we lost our beloved cat Harry in the summer of 2021 at the age of 19-1/2. After a few months of missing him, we rescued Graycie and Dino (rhymes with Beano) in spring of 2022 from Kitty Angels where I regularly volunteer. Harry was the best garden companion ever (and thankfully a pathetic hunter…except for that one baby bunny!), and will continue to grace the pages of this website. But Graycie and Dino will forever remain indoor house cats to keep them and the garden critters safe from harm.

So, to be able to spend more time with family, cats and garden, I’ve decided this is the year to finally scale back my business. While I will no longer design or install gardens, I’m not going away completely. My plan is to offer ongoing coaching to help You become the Steward of Your Land, and occasional shopping excursions to my favorite New Hampshire wholesale nurseries for the best native plants. My focus will be on helping you identify the most effective ways to make your garden both sustainable and life-sustaining. There is also a garden tour (or two!) planned for Summer ‘23. Stay tuned for more information!

back to the birds and the bees ~ why should you care?

You may ask ‘WHY would I want more caterpillars and insects?’. Simple answer: Because they are the primary food source for our native birds. And because our native bees and honeybees pollinate 90% of all flowering plants (including food crops). And you’ve probably heard that insect populations are in steep decline after decades of human activity on this planet. As gardeners, we can make a meaningful difference toward reversing this decline.

becoming a naturalist

I’ve been hanging bird feeders and observing our feathered friends for 25 years, but it’s only been the past 5 years or so that I’ve come to understand and fully appreciate the fact that adult songbirds do NOT feed their hatchlings bird seed. WHAT??? Yep, baby birds need baby bird food, i.e., insects and caterpillars! It’s estimated that mom and pop chickadee will need to catch 6,000-10,000 insects and caterpillars for just one brood of chicks.

I can personally attest to the tireless work that chickadees put forth to raise their babies. Every spring and summer our chickadee houses produce multiple broods of chicks, and the parents work NON-STOP from sunrise to sundown to feed their offspring. I’ve observed them taking turns flying back and forth from our bird house to our birch trees carrying caterpillars for the youngsters. As mom leaves the house for our birch tree, dad is busy gathering food from our neighbor’s willow tree only about 20 feet away. They repeat this behavior hundreds of times daily for the 15 or 16 days until the chicks fledge, then again for a couple weeks while the fledglings are acclimating and learning how to forage for their own meals. And they repeat the process again at least one more time each summer!

We are blessed with this daily ‘show’ because we are fortunate to have native ‘host’ trees, shrubs and perennials that support native food supplies, i.e., caterpillars and moths. Without the birch, willow, oak and pine trees on our (and the neighbors’) property, there would be no natural food source for chickadee nestlings. No natural food source = no birds…

It’s a similar story for native bees, butterflies and moths. Quite simply, they need food sources with which they have evolved over millennia, i.e., ‘native’ plants. And for moths and butterflies, it goes beyond sipping nectar and gathering pollen. They need ‘host’ plants that provide essential foliage upon which butterfly and moth caterpillars feed ~ think ‘monarchs and milkweed’ (more on this later!)

how your garden can support more birds and bees!

This winter I’ve been reading voraciously and soaking up knowledge and inspiration from the most important voices in Conservation today (I recommend you read ‘Nature’s Best Hope’ by Doug Tallamy first). With the turn of each page, it has become more clear to me that ‘creating pretty gardens isn’t enough’. We need to create gardens that sustain life first, and please our eyes second.

As 2023 unfolds, I plan to share with gardeners a wealth of valuable information that I’ve learned. My goal is for each of us to create vital ecosystems on our properties that will restore the natural balance and support these wondrous creatures and the Circle of Life upon which we all depend. Upcoming posts will include the benefits of :

• reducing lawn ‘wastelands’

• removing non-native invasive plant specimens

• eliminating the use of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides

• minimizing the use of bark mulch in favor of leaf mulch and/or ‘green mulch’ (using groundcovers as mulch)

• fostering native plant communities ~ ‘Keystone’ trees especially, as well as native shrubs, grasses and perennials to provide year long food supplies as well as overwintering habitat

• managing spring and fall ‘clean-up’ in a way that protects beneficial insects that overwinter in our gardens and leaf litter

this month’s featured client garden

‘Carol’s Accidental Garden’ was a 2021-22 collaboration with the client and Parker Garden Design that turned a patch of struggling lawn into a beautiful garden for dogs and humans to play and relax.

An incredible selection of deciduous and evergreen trees, shrubs, grasses and perennials were installed, creating privacy and a framework for the centrally located pool.

Meanwhile, back to the stack of gardening books and back to Babel where I’m brushing up on my basic Italian in preparation for a summer trip to Italy. Ciao!

~ Barb