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About 10 years ago, two gardening friends encouraged the couple to consider using native plants in landscaping around their New Freedom home. Native plants are defined by the National Wildlife Federation as plants that have evolved to live in your area, Cathie Itzoe said.
“Also, we were concerned about the loss of our native plant communities because of habitat destruction around and in our town. This was a way to create a beautiful landscape that would provide the essentials that wildlife needs: Food, water and shelter,” she said.
The Itzoes were familiar with native plants, thanks to bike trips on the Heritage Rail Trail County Park where a variety of hardy wildflowers bloom in abundance.
“Beginning as early as March, the lovely pure-white bloodroot is blooming on the edges of the trail. Soon, you can see violets, wild columbine, azalea, geranium, laurel and the beautiful blue spiderwort. Their beauty and toughness really impressed us,” Itzoe said.
They began
They turned to the NWF Web site, described by Cathie Itzoe as “beautifully designed and simple to understand,” with “complete instructions on backyard habitats and which plants to include for your area,” as a resource, and Penn State Cooperative Extension “was very helpful in answering questions and providing information,” she said. “Our habitat evolved around our increased use of native plants such as bee balm, wild ginger, cardinal flower, goldenrod, black-eyed Susans, meadow rue, phlox and Joe Pye weed.”
Most natives are pretty much maintenance-free once they are settled into your garden, and require very little watering if the proper plants for this area are chosen. They also stabilize the soil and require less pest control, she said.
“We began to plant native shrubs, which provide winter berries for the birds, and gradually replaced plants which were requiring a lot of maintenance and reduced our lawn area. Grass requires chemicals and cutting, which means using a gas-powered lawnmower whose engines are often polluting,” Itzoe said.
They started a compost bin and use the resulting compost or humus as a mulch, which enriches the soil and reduces the need for fertilizer, and they use rain barrels to collect water for use during the dry summer months.
Their backyard habitat provides two sources of water for wildlife year-round.
There is a bird bath with a de-icer that keeps the water from freezing in the winter and a small pond that provides a habitat for frogs, fish, dragonflies and moisture-loving plants such as marsh marigold, arrow arum and water lilies, Itzoe said.
It all sounds like a lot of work, but it is really fun, she said. You combine the benefit of attracting many birds, butter-
flies and beneficial insects from spring through fall and supporting wildlife during the winter months with the opportunity to learn how nature works and how all creatures, plants, birds and humans interact with each other and are dependent upon each other, she said.
“In our small backyard habitat, we see plants flowering from early spring until late fall, starting with the pussy willow, bloodroot, foam flowers and Virginia bluebells. Small animals such as chipmunks visit until fall, and squirrels year-round.
“Many beneficial insects, such as
praying mantis and ladybugs, are essential for pest control. We plant milkweed and other natives to attract butterflies, some of which require specific native plants for their life cycle. Birds nest and raise families in our habitat, such as cardinals, yellow and purple finches, Carolina wrens, doves, woodpeckers and hummingbirds, which love the bright-red cardinal flower and other tubular flowers. A Cooper's hawk likes to come for visits during the winter months. We haven't seen any deer or bears as yet,” Itzoe said.
A wildlife backyard habitat makes the area more interesting, is fun for the whole family and creates a natural environment that provides a peaceful place to relax after a stressful day at work.
It reduces the use of chemicals and conserves water, thus improving water- and air-quality and it can provide a place where wildlife can flourish.
“Since residential and commercial development has eliminated most natural areas, wildlife needs our help, especially during the cold winter months,” Itzoe said. “People are always interested in birds, flowers and butterflies. What could be better than having all of this in your own backyard?”
Information
OTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION for attracting birds and butterflies to your backyard are as close as your local library or bookstore.
· “The Backyard Naturalist” by Craig Tufts, The National Wildlife Federation.
· “The Family Butterfly Book: Projects, activities and a field guide to 40 favorite North American species” by Rick Mikula, Storey Communications.
· “Native Plants in the Creation of Backyard, Schoolyard and Park Habitat Areas” by Marci Mowery, Audubon Council of Pennsylvania.
· “The Bird Garden” by Stephen W. Kress, National Audubon Society.
· “Attracting Butterflies and Hummingbirds to Your Backyard” by Sally Roth, Rodale Organic Living Books.
· “A Field Guide to Wildflowers” by Roger Tory Peterson and Margaret McKenny, Houghton Mifflin Co.
· “The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Eastern Region” by William A. Niering and Nancy C. Olmstead, Alfred A. Knopf Inc.
Creating a habitat
THE NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION invites you to turn your backyard into a wildlife habitat that benefits birds, butterflies and other wildlife by supplying food, water and cover.
· Native plants are a great food source. There are hundreds to pick from, and they usually do not need much maintenance. Check with a local dealer or the Penn State Cooperative Extension to find out what is native to your area.
· A bird bath is an easy way to provide water. Change the water at least every other day to keep it fresh and scrub the birdbath with a brush before refilling it. A backyard pond provides water and cover for water-based wildlife.
· Cover is provided by existing vegetation such as shrubs, or you can build hiding places using logs, brush or rocks. Install nesting boxes for birds. Make a toad abode by turning a clay pot upside down and resting an edge on a rock to allow room for the toad to fit through. A pot with a chunk missing at the edge works great. Keep a saucer filled with water nearby.
You will receive a certificate from the NWF recognizing your yard as part of the National Registry of Backyard Wildlife Habitat sites and the quarterly newsletter “Habitats” with tips and projects to help maintain your site, and you will automatically become an NWF member.
The NWF Web site lists the following native plants for the northeast:
· Eastern red cedar, an aromatic evergreen tree with dark blue berries.
· Black tupelo, also known as the blackgum or sour gum tree, bears fruit with sour pulp.
· Winterberry, also known as Michigan holly, a deciduous holly shrub with very small white flowers and red berry-like fruit.
· Sweet pepperbush, a tall, leafy shrub with clusters of fragrant white flowers that bloom from July to September.
· Red chokeberry, a spreading shrub with clusters of white or pink-tinged flowers.
· Blue vervain, or Simpler's joy, has stiff spikes of blue-violet flowers.
· Rough-stemmed goldenrod, a tall plant with small, light-yellow flower heads.
· Cardinal flowers, or bellflowers, have clusters of bright-red flowers.
· New York ironweed, with tall stems topped by clusters of deep lavender to violet flower heads.
Source: http://www.nwf.org
On the Rail Trail
ENJOY THE BEAUTY OF NATURAL PLANTS AND WILDLIFE with a walk or bike ride along the Heritage Rail Trail County Park, where plants grow naturally and where groups such as the New Freedom Community Gardeners have used their green thumbs to give the beauty of nature a helping hand.
“The gardens along the Rail Trail were designed by the New Freedom Community Gardeners with mostly native perennials, shrubs, and trees because we knew that natives are more adaptable to the hot, dry York County summers and cold winters,” said garden club member Cathie Itzoe.
The gardeners also wanted to raise awareness of how native plants suited to the area can thrive even under poor conditions, and the gardens provide great educational opportunities for children, she said.
“The New Freedom Cub Scouts planted a garden along the trail last spring, which was designed to attract birds. We hope these gardens encourage people to try some of the plants in their own backyards,” Itzoe said.
