Growing a Better Birdfeeder
A new online tool helps gardeners pick the best native plants to help backyard birds
Dr. Doug Tallamy wrote the book on the importance of native plants, literally! Click here and read more about the relationship of native plants and songbirds.
Coming May 2016 from Dr. Tallamy, in partnership with the National Wildlife Federation, an online tool to tell you native plants for your zip code.
A new online tool helps gardeners pick the best native plants to help backyard birds
Dr. Doug Tallamy wrote the book on the importance of native plants, literally! Click here and read more about the relationship of native plants and songbirds.
Coming May 2016 from Dr. Tallamy, in partnership with the National Wildlife Federation, an online tool to tell you native plants for your zip code.
GO NATIVE!!!
Plants are not optional. We cannot live without them. If asked to invent something that provided everything that plants do for us ---producing oxygen, food, filtered water, clothing and shelter --- we would think it impossible. Yet we have the precious gift of plants that miraculously meet all of these needs.
Plants vary in their needs for survival and play various roles in an ecosystem. Because well-placed native plants are well-adapted to their ecological niche, they grow and thrive with less care and maintenance than alien plants. Thus, gardeners have more time to enjoy the beauty and wonder of their landscape. But the benefits of native plants don't stop there. They are a vital part of a healthy ecosystem.
Native insects depend on native plants for food. Native wildlife often depends on native insects for protein. As all living things are interdependent, the loss of native plants negatively impacts all life. As E.O Wilson said, "A land without insects is a land without most forms of higher life." Thus, we need to value, install, and protect the native plants insects depend on. Don't let a hole in a leaf 'bug' you! Embrace it as a sign of a healthy ecosystem. Strive for balance.
Native plants provide not only food but also shelter, including places to raise young. They also eliminate the introduction both of harmful pests imported on alien plants and of new invasive species.
With the ever-increasing rate of development and habitat destruction, the pressures on wildlife populations are at an all-time high. You have the power to help sustain our native wildlife and its habitat, and thus the biodiversity so critical to life. Make a most significant contribution to your community and world. Go native!
Plants are not optional. We cannot live without them. If asked to invent something that provided everything that plants do for us ---producing oxygen, food, filtered water, clothing and shelter --- we would think it impossible. Yet we have the precious gift of plants that miraculously meet all of these needs.
Plants vary in their needs for survival and play various roles in an ecosystem. Because well-placed native plants are well-adapted to their ecological niche, they grow and thrive with less care and maintenance than alien plants. Thus, gardeners have more time to enjoy the beauty and wonder of their landscape. But the benefits of native plants don't stop there. They are a vital part of a healthy ecosystem.
Native insects depend on native plants for food. Native wildlife often depends on native insects for protein. As all living things are interdependent, the loss of native plants negatively impacts all life. As E.O Wilson said, "A land without insects is a land without most forms of higher life." Thus, we need to value, install, and protect the native plants insects depend on. Don't let a hole in a leaf 'bug' you! Embrace it as a sign of a healthy ecosystem. Strive for balance.
Native plants provide not only food but also shelter, including places to raise young. They also eliminate the introduction both of harmful pests imported on alien plants and of new invasive species.
With the ever-increasing rate of development and habitat destruction, the pressures on wildlife populations are at an all-time high. You have the power to help sustain our native wildlife and its habitat, and thus the biodiversity so critical to life. Make a most significant contribution to your community and world. Go native!
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Aquilegia Canadensis, Wild Columbine:
Looking for a spring bloomer nodding at you with sweet nectar enjoyed by butterflies, bees and hummingbirds? Plant Aquilegia Canadensis, or Wild Columbine, and enjoy it for years. It is a lantern-like flower, with yellow petals and red sepals and spurs, that prefers to grow in well drained-soil and in partial-to-full shade. Semi-evergreen, it tolerates both drought and cold. It self-seeds, resulting in a nice mass of plants that can be shared with friends. Wild columbine has beautiful foliage but is toxic, making it a deer-resistant resistant plant. |
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Euonymous americanus, also known as strawberry bush and hearts-a-burstin', is a deciduous native shrub 2-6 feet in height. The small green leaves with finely toothed margins grow on distinctive, four-angled green twigs and turn shades of red and orange in autumn. Inconspicuous yellowish-green flowers with five petals appear in the spring. The fruit is a warty red capsule about 1 inch across. When ripe, around September or October, the capsule splits open to reveal four or five orange-red seeds framed by the scarlet husks, hence the name "hearts-a-burstin'" (or a-bustin').
Euonymus americanusis often found in moist forests and adjacent to streams. It prefers moist, well-drained soil and partial shade but can tolerate full shade, thus does best in naturalistic settings in the shade of larger shrubs and trees. Plant it close to the path where the amazing, bursting red hearts can be appreciated! Some songbirds and wild turkey enjoy the seeds, while the leaves are extremely tasty to cottontail rabbits and deer. |
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When winter approaches, do you look for a hardy, low-growing evergreen to add to your garden? Polystichum acrostichoides, the Christmas Fern, is a great option.
This clumping evergreen fern grows 1-2 feet tall and looks great with woodland shrubs and perennials, adding a welcome rich green color at a time when most plants are dormant. It prefers moist, well-drained to dry, shady, or partial shade locations; however, it tolerates a variety of conditions including sun, shade, dry, moist, hot and cold. This fern is recognized for having pinnae that resemble Christmas stockings.
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Native plants are important for so many reasons: they provide food sources for wildlife and are critical to our pollinators. Plus, they are pleasing to the eye!
Rudbeckia hirta (Black-eyed Susan) is a favorite in this area. It is heat-tolerant and drought-resistant, and it thrives in our soil. It blooms from early summer until late fall and provides a gorgeous color to our gardens. Perhaps the most wonderful and unique thing about rudbeckia is that it is an important food source for goldfinches, which are the last birds to go to nest. It just so happens that the rudbeckia seeds are available at the same time the goldfinches need them. Isn't nature wonderful!? |
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Phlox divaricata, commonly referred to as Wild Blue Phlox or Woodland Phlox, is a native phlox with beautiful powder-blue, fragrant flowers that grace the garden in early spring. These flowers attract butterflies, including swallowtails, gray hairstreaks, and western pygmy blues, as well as Hummingbirds. Our friends with bushy cottontails and long ears (rabbits!) -- as well as voles -- also enjoy a nice root salad of phlox. Being a perennial adapted to woodland gardens, it prefers partial-to-full shade and rich, fertile, well-drained moist soil. It grows to about a foot tall. As the leafy shoots spread along the ground, they root at the nodes, making an attractive, approximately two-foot-wide colony of semi-evergreen groundcover. This phlox has sticky, hairy stems and tubular flowers about 1.5 inches wide with five, flat, notched, petal-like lobes.
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Fothergilla (witch-alder) is a native shrub that has tremendous fall foliage. Its leaves turn brilliant shades of red, yellow and orange for a splash of autumn beauty before they fall to the ground and expose the pleasing form of the shrubs' bare branches. Fothergilla is also noted for fragrantly honey-scented, bottlebrush-like clusters of small, white spring flowers that cover the plant just before the rich green leaves unfurl. It has a multi-stemmed, upright oval-to-
rounded form, maturing at a height of 6-10 feet with smaller cultivars available. A beautiful native shrub for all seasons, fothergilla is easy to maintain. It likes full sun to partial shade and moist, well-drained soil, preferably slightly acidic.
Looking for a Great Small Tree?
The native White Fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus) is an outstanding small, deciduous and graceful ornamental tree or shrub. It is often multi-branched with an average mature height and width of 12-20 feet. You won't want to miss the large, 4- to 8-inch-long loose clusters of lightly fragrant white flowers that cover the white fringetree in spring for about two weeks just as the leaves begin to emerge. They are adaptable to varied soil types but prefer
moist, deep, well-drained, acidic soils. They like full sun to partial shade, but the ideal situation is sunshine during the day and shade from the hot afternoon sun.
Overall, it is a very nice, low-maintenance option with features you can enjoy each season of the year.
The native White Fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus) is an outstanding small, deciduous and graceful ornamental tree or shrub. It is often multi-branched with an average mature height and width of 12-20 feet. You won't want to miss the large, 4- to 8-inch-long loose clusters of lightly fragrant white flowers that cover the white fringetree in spring for about two weeks just as the leaves begin to emerge. They are adaptable to varied soil types but prefer
moist, deep, well-drained, acidic soils. They like full sun to partial shade, but the ideal situation is sunshine during the day and shade from the hot afternoon sun.
Overall, it is a very nice, low-maintenance option with features you can enjoy each season of the year.
A favorite native plant is sanguinaria canadensis, or bloodroot. You will find it peeking up through the pine straw in the very early spring in a shady spot in the garden. Its a sure sign of spring when this beautiful wildflower is blooming.
It forms low, compact clumps; it's a hearty bloomer, and the blooms last for quite a while. A perennial, it grows in part sun to full shade.
Are you looking for a native plant with fall and winter interest? Ilex verticullata, appropriately referred to as winterberry holly, is one to add to your yard. This plant will not only bring winter color to your yard, but also make our birds and beneficial insects happy. The bright red berries tend to persist into the winter when most plants are dormant and winter doldrums can set in. The birds, especially bluebirds, robins and cedar waxwings, tend to wait to eat these berries until they have been softened by the frosts. Be aware that you should plant both a male and a female plant; they are dioecious, having separate male and female plants. Generally, one male winterberry will be sufficient for pollinating 9-10 female plants.
Going Native? Consider replacing your invasive butterfly bushes with buttonbush, a Carolina native. These pictures prove the butterflies approve! The buttonbushes start blooming puffballs in June, and continue through the month of July. The bushes do not need yearly aggressive pruning like butterfly bushes do. While they love wet feet (moist soil) they will do well in better drained areas as well. Butterflies will approve of this choice for your garden.
Orange Coneflower (Rubeckia fulgida): a Survivor
This summer has been a sizzler, with record-breaking temperatures and parched conditions. You and some of your plants may be struggling to endure the heat and humidity. As rain has been sparse at best and water restrictions are needed, this is a great time to appreciate our drought-tolerant natives. In fact, for Rubeckia fulgida (Orange Coneflower or perennial Black-eyed Susan), reduction in water availability slows down its aggressive growth potential.
If you want a hardy, showy perennial that is a survivor once established and looks great in mass plantings, invest in some native Rubeckia or, better yet, find a friend to share some with you. Rubeckia is a perennial that blooms profusely, with showy yellow flowers containing darkbrown cone centers midsummer through mid-fall. They are attractive to our pollinators, including bees, butterflies and Hummingbirds .They also produce fruit that Goldfinches and other small birds love. To take advantage of winter interest in the cone heads and enjoy these beautiful birds, don't dead-head.
This summer has been a sizzler, with record-breaking temperatures and parched conditions. You and some of your plants may be struggling to endure the heat and humidity. As rain has been sparse at best and water restrictions are needed, this is a great time to appreciate our drought-tolerant natives. In fact, for Rubeckia fulgida (Orange Coneflower or perennial Black-eyed Susan), reduction in water availability slows down its aggressive growth potential.
If you want a hardy, showy perennial that is a survivor once established and looks great in mass plantings, invest in some native Rubeckia or, better yet, find a friend to share some with you. Rubeckia is a perennial that blooms profusely, with showy yellow flowers containing darkbrown cone centers midsummer through mid-fall. They are attractive to our pollinators, including bees, butterflies and Hummingbirds .They also produce fruit that Goldfinches and other small birds love. To take advantage of winter interest in the cone heads and enjoy these beautiful birds, don't dead-head.
Native Tree with "A-Peel"
If you are guessing this refers to the Betula nigra (river birch), you are correct. This is a beautiful, fast-growing native shade tree that reaches a mature height of 40-80 feet. It is often multi-trunked and outstanding in the field in the winter months for its attractive, peeling bark. It flowers in very early spring with tiny flowers in showy catkins. The river birch likes partial to full sun and prefers moist soil. A very good option for stream-bank plantings to help control erosion,the river birch is also beneficial to wildlife, including a variety of songbirds and browsing animals. In fact, in the research study "Lepidopteran Use of Native & Alien Ornamental Plants" the native birch support 413 butterfly/moth species, the 4th-highest ranking native woody plant in the Mid-Atlantic region. For a complete list, click here.
If you are guessing this refers to the Betula nigra (river birch), you are correct. This is a beautiful, fast-growing native shade tree that reaches a mature height of 40-80 feet. It is often multi-trunked and outstanding in the field in the winter months for its attractive, peeling bark. It flowers in very early spring with tiny flowers in showy catkins. The river birch likes partial to full sun and prefers moist soil. A very good option for stream-bank plantings to help control erosion,the river birch is also beneficial to wildlife, including a variety of songbirds and browsing animals. In fact, in the research study "Lepidopteran Use of Native & Alien Ornamental Plants" the native birch support 413 butterfly/moth species, the 4th-highest ranking native woody plant in the Mid-Atlantic region. For a complete list, click here.
Mecklenburg County created a comprehensive list of plants native to North Carolina, the conditions they prefer and their contribution to wildlife. Please download these lists to your computer and use them as you are planning your wildlife habitat.
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Contact information: [email protected] or call 704-236-0929
Habitat and Wildlife Keepers, P. O. Box 1201, Matthews, NC 28106
Habitat and Wildlife Keepers, P. O. Box 1201, Matthews, NC 28106
