Backyard Biodiversity

Spring is a great time to make your yard a little more friendly for wildlife. This year, I am focusing on plants and pollinators. Thankfully, the Georgia Native Plant Society made it easy by holding an excellent native plant sale. I was like a kid in a candy store.

If only all of the local growers could convene in a nearby park for my convenience every weekend! After careful consideration of every plant there, I ruthlessly made my decisions and I slung my loot over my shoulder.

All plants had informational signs, describing preferred habitat, flowering season and color. This is the sign for my favorite flower, Georgia aster (Symphiatrichum georgianum).

Georgia aster is a state-protected plant that was proposed for listing under the federal Endangered Species Act. Collaboration between state and federal agencies allowed this plant to receive the support it needed without being listed. This is a great success story species.

Here is my haul. It looks like such a small group of plants altogether. But, these species will hopefully pack a punch for biodoversity.

I carefully chose a variety of flowering plants, some of which will bloom in the spring and early summer and others that will bloom in late summer and early fall. These plants will provide nectar for the pollinators that I hope to attract.

From top left, going clockwise: Whorled sunflower (Helianthus verticilatus), Eastern bluestar (Amsonia tabernae montana), Georgia aster (Symphiatrichum georgianum), Jacob's ladder (Polemonium reptans), Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia), Prairie coneflower (Echinacea simulata), Orange coneflower, (Rudbekia fulgida), and Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens).

In addition to the nectar plants, I am including parsley, milkweed and dill. These plants are the primary food source for certain caterpillar species, namely swallowtails (parsely, dill) and monarchs (milkweed).

Parsley, Milkweed, Dill

So many of our native trees and shrubs serve as caterpillar host plants as well, such as tulip tree, black cherry,  cottonwood, dogwood, and hackberry, to name but a few. With the preponderance of native trees and shrubs in the area, I decided to focus on adding more nectar plants to help support adult butterflies. By including food for both caterpillars and adult butterflies, I hope to support some native pollinators.