Plant Your WildLife Habitat

The flowers that are blooming in our WildLife Habitat right now were selected with a purpose.  We wanted to provide food for all kinds of creatures and yes, they are flying in to feast on our plants and eat our berries.   Monarch, Gulf Fritillary, and Giant Swallowtail butterflies have been identified. Skippers, bees, dragonflies, and birds are in residence.

Consider these Suggestions from landscapers around the USA of  The National Wildlife Federation for Your Backyard Habitat:

In every landscape I design and with the volunteer consultations that I do there is one plant that I always suggest: Asclepias (milkweed). I try to use native varieties, and A. incarnata (swamp), A. speciosa (showy) and A. verticillata (whorled) milkweeds are my gold medal winners—the wildlife garden equivalents to Shaun White. I like them not just for their importance in habitats—they are host plants for the monarch butterfly—but because of their educational value for children. My kids love to go out into our flower garden and check to see if there are any new monarch eggs, larvae or chrysalides, and they love watching the butterflies fly in to feed on the nectar.”—Mat Paulson of Moorhead, Minnesota.

 At the Earth-Kind® Water Wise Demonstration Garden we have planted Asclepias currassavica, tropical milkweed. (Love the super star reference made to Shaun White-Olympic snowboarding Gold medalist.)

 “The purple flowers of aromatic aster (Aster oblongifolius) provide color in the late summer and fall and attract swarms of pollinators. The plant’s short, shrublike appearance makes it a good candidate for more formal landscaping applications. The silvery checkerspot butterfly, pearl crescent butterfly, and asteroid moth utilize this plant as a host. Tolerance to poor soil conditions has allowed me to add it to my own suburban residential lot. This aster is naturally found in the eastern and north-central United States.”—Perry Eckhardt of St. Charles, Missouri

“Purple coneflower (Echinachea purpurea) is a great nectar plant in any butterfly garden and is used by many other insects as well. I think it’s like candy to them. Purple coneflower is also a favorite of American goldfinches and sparrows, who love the seeds. Plant big clumps for the best effect.”—

“One of my favorite native beauties, which is also a hit with the birds, is the American beautyberry. This large shrub makes a wonderful understory plant, perfect for shady areas in your yard or along riparian areas in need of restoration. This beautyberry takes care of itself in the maintenance department, requiring little effort on the part of the caretaker. The open branching structure, brilliant green leaves, and fuchsia-colored berries of this plant make it a lovely addition to any habitat garden. The birds will thank you by devouring the tasty berries, and the butterflies will come calling to taste the sweet nectar of the dainty whitish pink flowers.”—Alice Nance of Austin, Texas

Butterfly Weed, Aster, Coneflower, and Beauty Berry are a benefit to our Demonstration Garden and we thought you might like to include them in yours!

Ann