Empathetic Gardening: Feeding Everyone Including You
This shooting star (Dodecatheon meadia) is an ephemeral native wildflower. Sheer elegance in bloom, it is also a favorite of bumblebees.
As my garden aesthetic has evolved, it has become more empathetic. By this, I mean I have refocused my plant choices to those that feed me and my soul, but also as many species of wildlife as possible. This doesn’t mean I don’t have a couple of David Austin roses, but I am adding more species of sedges.
I’m up to around 60 species of natives that I’ve added over the years and I’ve gotten much more flexible in my design thinking. Instead of keeping my gardens static, each plant rigorously maintained in its ‘proper’ place, the plants are allowed and even encouraged to grow where they are best suited. The rain garden especially, is a ever-evolving mini-ecosystem as plants fight it out for dominance. The echinacea reseeds itself wherever it likes. I dearly wish the Pycnanthemum virginianum would spread, but it has a lot of competition. I do intervene by weeding and knocking back some of the bigger thugs. The New England aster gets cut back in June to keep it from being shoulder high.
Zizia aurea or golden alexanders are a top nectar plant for predatory flies and wasps. The larvae of these tiny assassins gobble up aphids, among other garden pests. Plus, it’s a host for swallowtail butterfly caterpillars.
As I add plants, I am analyzing them not only on their ‘beauty’ but more so their function. What do these species and cultivars provide in the landscape? If they are larval hosts to moths and butterflies, they’re a shoe-in. If their nectar feeds predatory insects, definitely. Do their roots go deep and survive drought? Do they spread and cover the ground (within reason) so I don’t have to mulch? Do their seeds feed birds and other wildlife? Is it another iris for the collection? I’m asking what do these plants feed, be it me or the creatures that call my yard home. I’m attempting to provide a small oasis in suburbia to welcome as much wildlife as possible.
Of course I have chosen things just because they are pretty! That feeds me. Yet, increasingly, I’m looking for plants that feed lots of things. My dill adds zip to summer salads, but it’s also a larval host for swallowtail butterflies. My just-planted Liatris aspera is a stunner in the July garden, but it’s also nectar-heaven for butterflies.
We are also the wildlife pool party. The fountain is the highlight of the robin families. I also have a handful of birdbaths at different heights and depths for everyone else. I’m pretty sure the big concrete basin that sits on the ground is also a watering hole for the neighborhood coyotes and foxes. And that’s just fine. Less bunnies and chipmunks.
One robin sitting on the fountain bubbler. They are ridiculous.
As you perambulate your estate this season, I’m sure there are areas to add and edit. What will you plant that gives back, not just to you, but to your little piece of the planet?