A reporter's quest: Saving the world, one backyard garden at a time

In case you missed it, the Daily Local News published the wonderful article below on Friday, March 20, written by Anne Pickering. Thank you to the Daily Local News and Anne for allowing us to share this with you.

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It's the first day of spring and while a young man's fancy may turn to love, an older woman reporter's fancy inevitably turns to spring planting and saving the world.

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What on earth does spring planting have to do with saving the world, you may ask. I'm getting to that.I'm actually a lousy gardener. My mother had the green thumb. Anything she planted would miraculously bloom and thrive. The only plant I have is a prayer plant that I keep on a windowsill. It appeals to me because I like to see the leaves close-up at night.

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I don't even have a garden, at least not in Chester County. I have a postage stamp-size backyard garden in New York City. I planted it two years ago and planted all the wrong things. I didn't know that at the time. It's doing well, everything blooms and nothing has died. But I'll be pulling some of the plants up and replacing them because I want to do my part to save the world — the natural world, that is.

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As a reporter, I cover my share of meetings and special events. Last October, I covered the Brandywine Valley Association's annual meeting and heard a talk by Douglas Tallamy, professor and chair of entomology and wildlife ecology at the University of Delaware.

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Tallamy wrote a book called "Bringing Nature Home," about how native plants support the greatest quantity of native animals and insects. And although here in suburbia we have cut down the forests and built subdivisions on the meadows, if we fill those backyards with native trees and shrubs, we can attract many of the birds, insects and small mammals that were displaced.

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Research conducted by Tallamy and other scientists has revealed the close link between insects and the plants they eat. The two have evolved together. To increase the number of birds, you have to provide the food they eat. Most native plant eaters are not able to eat alien plants such as the ornamentals that come from Asia, Europe and the Northwest. Those plants reduce biodiversity while native species increase biodiversity.

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Some of the alien plants I planted in my garden are Norway spruce from Washington state, a pink blossom cherry tree and the butterfly bush. I found out they were aliens from Catherine Smith, the owner of Redbud Native Plant Nursery in Glen Mills.

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Smith only sells native species at her nursery and last year was her best year yet with the increased interest in native plants. "Many of my customers don't really know much about native plants. They come in and say I want to attract hummingbirds or butterflys," said Smith. She recommends coral honeysuckle or the cardinal flower.

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"Hummingbirds will fight over coral honeysuckle and it blooms the entire summer," she said. In terms of butterflies, "You plant a couple milkweed plants and then the monarchs will lay their eggs." The caterpillars turn into monarch butterflies.

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"People get jazzed and kids love it," said Smith. "There is a misconception that native plants are weedy, but that's not true. Everybody has a different style of garden. Aside from attracting birds and wildlife, native plants are very hardy," Smith said. On any day but Saturday, Smith works with homeowners, who frequently bring in a sketch or site plan and ask for her help in choosing plants.

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Another source for information on using native plants is Habitat Resource Network of Southeast Pennsylvania. The nonprofit offers classes in creating backyard habitat. More information can be found at www.habitatresourcenetwork.org.

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