Letters

As spring approaches, you may be making plans to improve your garden. In the process, you can provide a healthier environment for wildlife, including the butterflies, bees and birds that we love and that are in decline.

A major reason for the decline is the loss of habitat and the plants that host insects that are the preferred food of birds. The two most effective actions to take are to introduce native plants, trees and shrubs that attract pollinators, and to stop using pesticides.

Plants that are good for pollinators provide rich sources of both pollen and nectar. Many native plants provide the perfect food source for insects that have evolved with those plants in our environment. Native trees and shrubs host larger numbers of beneficial birds and insects than non-native plants and exotic ornamentals, which dominate many gardens and landscapes.

Our advice is not to rip out your crape myrtles and hydrangeas, but rather to add native shrubs and trees, such as the Virginia rose and red maple, that are good hosts for the insects that are the primary food sources of nestling birds.

For flowering natives, consider the use of hollyhocks, sunflowers, zinnias, echinacea, bee balm, black-eyed Susan, yarrow, asters, and butterfly weed, as well as many others. These plants are beautiful in the garden, and, more importantly, they support the life that will make a difference to pollinators and birds. Many local garden centers now identify pollinator plants. If they don’t have them labeled this way, all you need to do is ask.

If you want to learn more about ways to restore a vibrant ecosystem that supports wildlife food webs, check out Doug Tallamy’s book “Nature’s Best Hope.” Each of us can play a part by being better stewards of our own land. He believes that we can make a difference by enlisting homeowners and volunteers everywhere to be an important part of conservation and the creation of a “homegrown national park.”

Doug Tallamy is an entomologist at the University of Delaware and has become an important voice in the drive to restore birds and insects to our environments.

Further, let us introduce you to Edwina von Gal’s recently launched initiative called “2/3 for the Birds”: For every three new plants we add to our gardens, make sure that two are natives. Visit their website to learn more about why and how: 234birds.org.

Learning more about native plants that are found in your area is as easy as entering a zip code at the National Wildlife Federation’s “Native Plant Finder” at nwf.org. And when you visit garden centers, ask to see native plants. If more people want to buy them, garden centers will stock them.

Alicia Whitaker

Susanne Jansson

Conservation Committee

Westhampton Garden Club