Serving Nature in Suburbia

by Karen Vorbeck Williams

Awareness of our environmental degradation has worried me for a long time. That’s why I am an organic gardener. During the winter of 2019 I decided that, come spring, I would plant a pollinator garden. Famously, the bees and the butterflies are in trouble. Maybe I could help!

Before you plant a garden, you need to decide which plants to plant and where to plant them. I decided to go with the native Rhode Island plants I could find or order and pollen-rich flowering plants to fill in the gaps. Where? In full sun, along the fence in the back yard. I’d tried to grow a veggie garden there, but was disappointed by the whole experience—especially the disease-ridden tomato plants, the enormous amount of produce I couldn’t use or give away, and my enjoyment of the Saturday morning farmer’s market in town.

Most everything was planted by May, even some veggies. Sugar snap peas along the fence, scarlet runner beans climbing the tutor, cilantro, basil, parsley tucked here and there among the goldenrod, butterfly weed, New England asters, Heliopsis, bee balm, zinnias, sunflowers, larkspur, tall garden phlox, Nepeta, violets, foxgloves, Mexican sunflowers, etc. You get the idea. I was completely surprised when a tomato plant germinated from a long-forgotten seed that survived the winter. It gave me just the right number of tomatoes to eat.

Plant it and they will come—butterflies, hummingbirds, dragonflies, fancy moths including the hummingbird moth, bees of every sort. I swear that my bees know and love me. I can wade through the flowers buzzing with bees and nobody bites me. I can’t name all the pollinators that came to my garden because I have lots to learn about insects. Birds loved the sunflower seeds and the birdbath there. It was fun to stick cut sunflowers through the fence and watch the birds feed on them.

In shady places, I added native shade plants and this spring (2020) enjoyed their blooms. I also planted a section of clover lawn, hoping violets and dandelions would eventually join in and flower.

I was given a big surprise this season. In exactly the same spot where the volunteer tomatoes grew last year, two new volunteers came up this summer. As I write it is early August and I’m enjoying their delicious fruit. I also got volunteer sunflowers, cilantro, and one scarlet runner bean plant showed up. It is sending its bright red-orange flowers along the fence and up the sunflower stalks.

As I said earlier, most of us are aware of the problems bees and butterflies are having and we know the reasons. But, we are mostly ignorant about why the bird populations have dwindled and too many of us don’t give a care if all the beetles, bugs, dragonflies, wasps, flies, grasshoppers, spiders, moths, ants, and earwigs disappear.

Without understanding that there are natural and less toxic ways to garden and care for our landscapes, some use chemicals to aid them. Long ago, before chemicals were invented, people had lawns and gardens and farmers grew the food for towns and cities without them.

It is not my goal here to teach the dangers of chemicals for our children, dogs, wildlife, rivers, ponds, and oceans. Learning about the world we live in and its perils is up to all of us. Everyone who has buying power has a choice. Everyone who has a lawn and garden can learn healthy ways to care for them. 

Most of us know that some insects are beneficial, but entomologists and naturalists can show us why all insects are beneficial to the natural world. Humans are only part of creation—that’s something we tend to forget. Insects are part of the ecosystem, as are birds. The workings of ecosystems are fascinating to learn. They have evolved over many millions of years changing gradually. Lawn, garden and farming practices have taken a huge leap toward dangerous practices ever since the 1930s when pesticide use began.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if my neighbors wanted to plant beautiful wildlife gardens? They stop to talk to me over the fence, they admire the flowers, and read the sign I posted explaining the pollinator garden’s purpose. I’ve gotten to know more of my neighbors because of that garden. I would be so happy if my small effort inspired my new friends to grow insect and bird havens right here in suburbia.

RESOURCES:

Documentaries: https://cosmolearning.org/biology/documentaries?topic=321

Books: Bringing Nature Home by Douglas W. Tallamy

            Insects of New England and New York by Tom Murray

Photos by Karen Vorbeck Williams