BRINGING NATURE HOME

SAVING THE WORLD ONE YARD AT A TIME!!

Those of us of “a certain age”☺
• Remember when you had to get off the highway just to clean the
“bug juice” off your windshield so you could see?
• Remember when people had screening for the front of their cars to
keep the butterflies and insects out of the engine?
• Remember when you could look up during migration and see
thousands of birds flying south?
• Remember when you could step out in July and there’d be butterflies
all over your yard? When tons of moths were around outside lights?
• What else do you remember??
My first garden…circa 1976 (it’s what everyone planted)
• Daylilys
• English Ivy
• Forsythia
• Peonies
• Iris
• Roses
• Boxwoods
• Hostas
What’s a yard for anyway??
• Just something to look at
• A boundary between the street and front door.
• A place for kids to play
• A place for the pool/patio
• A status symbol
• Others?
How did the modern yard come to be?
• Domains of the rich
• A lawn said you were wealthy and powerful
• People wanted to emulate that.
• Remember when clover used to be a routine part of seed mixtures?
What goes into a big lawn?
• Water
• Chemicals
• Fumes and noise from mowers, weed eaters, trimmers
• Time
• Money
Nature…going, going, gone.
• We have to give up the idea that humans live in houses and cars and
workplaces and nature is somewhere else.
• Connections matter! Bridges of land to other safe habitats.
• Three choices:
1)We can keep squeezing natural world into smaller and smaller spaces
until they can’t survive and go extinct.
2) Humans could disappear and let world go back to natural state.
3)We could learn to share land with other species of plants & animals.
The Need for Vitamin “N”
• Just 15 minutes a day in a peaceful outdoor place , you will be less
stressed, calmer, happier.
• Plant a tree outside a classroom and kids score better on tests.
• Plant a tree outside a hospital window and people heal better.
• Sure you can go hike somewhere. But usually it’s in middle of day
when few animals are stirring. You aren’t there at night, on rainy days,
etc.
• Wouldn’t you enjoy having your land do something more beautiful
and purposeful
What if…..?????

What if every time you

stepped out your door it was
an adventure!!
Words of Wisdom

If suburbia was land with forests and

meadows water would sparkle, birds
would sing, and human spirits would
soar!
3 types of plants
•Helpful
•Neutral
•Harmful
What’s a native??

• Evolved [Link] Daniel Boone saw it , it probably was a native.

• As you drive around the vast majority of what you see around you is
not a native.
• Term can mean different things. For instance, seaside goldenrod is
native to U.S. but not to Ky. Other plants are native to western U.S.
but not east.
• Natives are generally less maintenance. Require less water, spraying,
fertilizers.
What happens when we plant our yards with
plants from other countries?
• Remember that purpose of a plant is to be eaten. It took millions of
years for plants/animals to evolve . Just decades to undo it all.
• Some spread and do irreparable harm to nearby ecosystems (Callery
pears, wintercreeper, privet, burning bush, honeysuckle)
• Caterpillars have dropped an alarming 22% in just last 20 years.
• Caterpillars can only digest certain leaves. Oaks support more than
1000 species. Maples over 300. Ginkos, Japanese maples? Essentially
none!
• Estimates are that about 80% of what’s planted in US is from Asia.
What is an invasive species?
• Typically a non-native species that jumps boundaries and spreads into
natural areas where it negatively impacts the ecosystem.
• Apples and broccoli are not native but not invasive!
• Sometimes it takes years for plants to “go rogue”. Honeysuckle is
prime example.
You can be part of making a difference!!
Homegrown National Park (check out on FB)

• What if half the lawn of every yard was native plants? (You don’t
have to eliminate turf…how about just shrinking it?)
• Would equal 20 million new acres of land
• Bigger than Yellowstone, Everglades, Grand Teton, Great Smoky
Mountains and many more all rolled into one!
What inhibits the change to natives?
• That foreign plants are somehow nicer, more beautiful….better.
(What's funny is in other countries US plants prized…and have
become invasive)
• Worry it will be unsightly
• Fear of insect and wildlife
• What will the neighbors think???
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed
under CC BY-SA
Culture change IS possible
• Remember when everyone smoked everywhere ??
• Remember when you thought a really tan person looked healthy?
• Remember when driving drunk was shrugged off?
Who here feeds, watches birds?
You can’t love birds and hate insects!
• A few nibbled leaves are a small price to pay for the joy of birdsong
and butterflies!
Blending my passions.
I write books related to juvenile justice and child welfare but in my
latest novel, Sleight of Hand, I incorporated my love of nature and
native plants into the narrative by having one of the main characters be
someone who runs a landscape company specializing in native plants.

Here’s an excerpt on this next slide.

What do baby birds eat??
Bed preparation
• Working with the land rather than against it.
• No dig. Working with the soil
• No till methods
• A little at a time or “go big or go home”?
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY
 How far to go? You decide!
• Whole hog (trees, shrubs and flowers)
• Trees only (plant an oak!)
• Shrubs only
• Trees and shrubs
• Flowers (especially patio dwellers)
You don’t have to give up a lawn if you don’t want to…just consider
shrinking it. Have your grass to throw a ball but do something more
beautiful and purposeful.
Maybe tiptoe in….
Easy garden
Remove invasives
• Wintercreeper: hand pull small amounts when ground moist or
weedeat on a warm day in fall/winter then apply roundup OR cover
with plastic/leaves/chips/whatever and wait a year or two
• Callery pear, honeysuckle, burning bush, etc.: cut stump method
Bird and insect friendly lawns
• Avoid any insecticide. On lawns if have a bad infestation mow lawn
first and spread granular insecticide.
• White clover is great for bees and there’s a new trend to plant entire
yard in clover. Attractively green and hardly ever needs mowing.
• Don’t use lawn spray services! Ever seen a baby bird staggering
around after mamma robin pulls worms from treated yard? Want to
see fireflies in June?
Leaves mean leave!
Trees shed leaves for reasons. One is to cover their roots and provide food
and moisture.
Leaves are vital for fireflies, bees, butterflies, and more….
Mulch leaves into turf for a smart lawn. Put mower on highest setting. You’ll
see some leaf residue that within days will be gone, sifting down through
turf and providing weed control and essential nutrients.
Decomposing leaves cover up bare spots between turf where it’s a greaty
opening for weed seeds to germinate. Studies show a 100% decrease in
dandelions and crabgrass after adopting this practice for 3 years.
Think of all the time and energy saved by not bagging and hauling around. Or
you can bag every other time and use them as mulch in beds and veggie
gardens.
Soft landings
• At the least provide “soft landings”. Ever glimpsed a caterpillar
dangling from a branch? They’re on their way down. But if hit turf
grass chances of survival are slim.

• Leave a skirt of leaves unraked beneath your trees. Next step (if you
go further) is to plant this area with low shrubs and perennial plants
that are forest-adapted to grow among leaves so you can give your
leaf blower a break.
A sometimes unpopular: Keep cats indoors.
• House cats kill up to 4 billion birds per year in United States alone
Preventing bird strikes
• Window decals
• Bar of soap
Let’s talk bees!
• To provide nectar and pollen from early spring through fall choose
plants that bloom during different times of year. Bees especially love
blue, white, yellow, mauve, and violet flowers.
• Provide a large range of bloom sizes and shapes.
• Tubular flowers allow bees to alight and enter the bloom. Open
flowers provide resources to bees and other beneficial insects.
• 70% of native bee species nest in the ground. Many like undisturbed
land so leaving a few small patches of bare earth (like behind a shed)
provides them a home.
Mosquito bucket
• Creating a mosquito bucket is an effective and eco-
friendly way to control mosquito populations in your yard.
• Materials Needed
• 5-gallon bucket: A standard bucket works well; a dark-
colored one is preferable to attract mosquitoes.
• Water: Use rainwater or let tap water sit for 24-48 hours to allow chlorine to evaporate.
• Organic matter: A handful of leaves, grass clippings, or hay to create a fermenting scent t
hat attracts mosquitoes.
• Mosquito dunks: These contain Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti), which kills mosquit
o larvae without harming other wildlife.
• Optional: A lid with holes, wire mesh, or a sturdy stick to prevent pets or wildlife from fal
ling in.
• Adding some rotting logs and rocks
[Link] the Bucket: Fill the bucket about halfway with water. If using tap water, l
et it sit for a day or two to allow chlorine to dissipate.
2.2
[Link] Organic Matter: Toss in a handful of organic materials like leaves or grass cl
ippings. This will start to ferment and produce a scent that attracts female mosqui
toes.
4.2
[Link] Mosquito Dunks: After a few days, when the mixture starts to ferment,
add a mosquito dunk. Break it into quarters if necessary, and drop it into the bucke
t. This will help kill any mosquito larvae that hatch.
6.2
[Link] the Bucket: To prevent pets or wildlife from drinking the water, cover the b
ucket with a lid that has holes or secure wire mesh over the top.
8.2
[Link]: Position the bucket in a sunny spot to keep it warm, which will accele
rate the fermentation process. Ensure it’s in an area where mosquitoes are prevale
nt.
10.2
[Link]: Check the bucket regularly, adding fresh water as needed to main
tain the level. Replace the mosquito dunk every 30 days or as recommended.
12.2
Deer and the landscape: natives evolved with
deer so some plants developed defenses
• Deer resistant native plants:
• Bee balm, butterfly milkweed, anise hyssop, Purple coneflower, ferns,
asters, little bluestem and northern sea oats grasses. (plant in groups
for best effect)
• Shrubs: Spicebush, American holly, sumac, beautyberry, bayberry
• Some oaks and red maple

Place vulnerable plants near house or high-traffic areas.

Use physical barriers (wire cages) on small trees. Use commercial
repellents like “liquid fence”.
My top ten flowers for sun
• Purple coneflower
• Asters (essential for fall )
• Mountain mint (swarmed by pollinators!)
• Black eyes Susans
• Cardinal flower (hummingbirds…sun if moist enough)
• False blue indigo (so showy)
• Hyssop (covered by pollinators)
• Swamp milkweed (and common but less showy)
• Joe Pye Weed
My top wildflowers for spring
• Virginia bluebells
• Golden ragwort (in right conditions can be prolific)
• Celandine poppy
• Jacobs ladder
• Solomon’s seal
• Wild Ginger (for ground insects)
• Phlox
• Shooting stars
Top Trees
• Oak (the most for caterpillars)
• Yellowwood tree (gorgeous when in bloom)
• Dogwood
• Serviceberry (birds can’t eat berries fast enough)
• Redbud
• American plum
• Red maple
• Hackberry and cherries (not great landscape trees but important for
early bees and other insects)
Top shrubs
• Pawpaw (who can sing the song???)
• Virginia sweetspire
• American holly
• Spicebush (can’t believe this isn’t in everyone’s yard!)
• Ninebark. (color, berries)
• Button bush
• Red twig dogwood
• Clethra summersweet
Vines
• Pipevine (if you’d like hundreds of beautiful blue butterflies all
summer all over your neighborhood!)
• Trumpet vine
• Trumpet honeysuckle
• Crossvine
Brush Piles

Planning for all

Seasons!
Contact info
• Vicki Reed
• Palmyra1717@[Link]

• Visit my website: [Link]