“Odes” and Adding Wildlife to the Garden

In this week’s newsletter ...

1 - It rained, lots - the garden loved it
2 - 1001 Species - Dragonflies
3 - From the Garden Notebook (Welcoming Wildlife)
4 - Which plant family matches your personality?
5 - The cols-bleu with the big truck worryingly looking at the wildlife garden

WET at both ends !!

The week started (and is now ending) with a couple of days of torrential blatter (if that’s a new word to you, look below the following photograph) that kept us mostly indoors. It is just the sort of thing that the plants we grow seem to thrive on, so a good thing overall. The more our wildlife garden matures and the taller and denser the plantings become the more thankful we are that the lawn is no more … that was just plain boring. Face it, there is very little I could do with a lawn other than mow it. This is not a discussion point or criticizing other people’s choices, just the way it works for us. The real mid-summer colours are starting to appear.

Blatter: … “And as he drove on, the rainclouds dragged down the sky after him, for, though he did not know it, Rob McKenna was a Rain God. All he knew was that his working days were miserable and he had a succession of lousy holidays. All the clouds knew was that they loved him and wanted to be near him, to cherish him, and to water him.”

― Douglas Adams, So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish

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I have written earlier about a research project by McGill biologists that was partially conducted in our garden over the fall, winter and early spring. It was looking at winter distribution of Northern Cardinals and we assisted by having a tall radio antenna erected in our garden to track their movements for a few cold months. The study has made it, not into the scientific literature (that will come), but into one of the Montreal newspapers this week … it’s in French, but the photos are great.

https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2024/06/26/le-cardinal-rouge-a-choisi-le-quebec-comme-terre-daccueil-et-voici-pourquoi

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We are now just past the summer equinox (which was at 4:50pm on the 20th June here in Montreal) and the longest day of the year (that’s the 21st, with over 14 hours of daylight). Although it will be a long time before anyone notices, we are on the way towards winter … there’s a thought. Meanwhile it is high summer and I thought to consider Dragonflies this week - one of the quintessential summer insect groups. Should you be reading this in Britain, make a note that “Dragonfly Week”over there is approaching, from 6-14 July - more at this link:

https://www.facebook.com/BritishDragonflySoc

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Dragonflies

During the summer months ahead if you have a garden pond or there is a stream or area of wetland within reach then you should have little trouble finding some of these superb insects. Useful too, as they are rather partial to eating large numbers of mosquitoes and their presence does have a noticeable effect on the number with which we are afflicted. The adults are superb aerial hunters with legs that are specialised for catching their prey in flight - furthermore their maxilla are toothed (hence Odonata) so anything they take a fancy to eating doesn’t stand much chance. They can fly at up to 35mph and have extreme moverability in the air - what’s more they are said to have a 96 percent kill rate, making them the lethal weapons of the insect world. As a group, they are among the oldest creatures on Earth with examples in the fossil record dating back some 300 million years.

There are more than 5,000 known species of dragonflies, all of which belong to the group Odonata and which are commonly referred to as “Odes”. In the hot days of summer, when birds have raised their young and mostly gone quiet, many birders turn their attention to studying and listing Odes for a couple of months.

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Below are a few fairly common Dragonflies that we can reasonable expect to see in the suburbs and nearby wetlands each summer. Make a point of looking out for them in the hot months ahead.

Tule Bluet (actually, although an “Ode,” this is not a Dragonfly, but a Damselfly - a group that is similar to, and related to, dragonflies but usually smaller and with slimmer bodies. They hold their wings folded along the body)

Band-winged Meadowhawk (found on vegetation along the edges of meadows, in weedy ponds, marshes and lakes)

Twelve-spotted Skimmer (Will often return to its hunting perch, providing the careful stalker good views and photo opportunities.)

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Welcoming Wildlife to the Garden

Sometimes, it is easy to feel hopeless about the future of wildlife, but we can all do something simple to help, and that is gardening.

“Twenty years ago, there was a sense that gardens contained bog-standard, unimportant wildlife. Research has now shown that gardens are some of our richest habitats. Villages often have more birdlife than the surrounding countryside.”

A few days ago an article appeared in the Guardian newspaper (UK) titled 33 ways to welcome more wildlife to your garden. … a headline like that is catnip to the diggers and delvers at the 1001 Species Newsletter and I have shared the link further down the page. Of course, the article was written for a British readership and focusses on species to be found over there. Nevertheless, it contains some really good things to do that are universally applicable, as well as easy to implement and so I have taken liberties and edited/rewritten the content for local (Eastern Canada) relevance … much of what follows consists of things we have done in our garden and which we can personally attest to being practical, achievable and enjoyable. Do even a few of these things and you will have visitors. My edited list shrinks the suggestions to just 22 good ideas with some cross over between the items as well - so, not so daunting if you are just setting out on the adventure of transforming a garden.

So … My 22 Ideas

Just grow something. - Turn a grey space green. If you haven’t got a lot of time, knowhow or mental space, just grow something, anything, what you like and can find. It’s a start.

Pots - If you’ve only got room for one pot, you can use it to grow plants that are good for butterflies, or moths. Perhaps lavender in a sunny spot or catmint for shade. Both are classic, bee-friendly plants that may also attract the odd butterfly.

Plant for pollinators - Grow as wide a variety of plants as possible and make as many of them native plants while you are at it. There are hundreds of species of native bees out there, not all bees are honey bees. Maybe begin by planting coneflowers, rudbeckia, various species of asters and golden rod as a framework to get you started.

Structure is important - Ideally, three things are needed for diverse wildlife gardens: dead wood, a water feature and structure, from mature trees to low ground cover … even an area of lawn, if you feel you need some, provided it is not cut too short. Three to four inches is best and actually means the grass will stay greener for longer in periods of drought, than if it is scalped.

Build a log pile - Dead wood is important for a host of species, including fungi, centipedes, beetles, bees, frogs, toads and newts. A stick pile is just as good. Whenever you prune something, add to the pile. It can be in an out of the way corner and you can arrange the logs and sticks as artistically as you like. The Victorians called such arranged structures “stumperies”. Have fun.

Fruit trees can be planted in the garden and will also grow well in big pots if on dwarfing rootstock. Keep them watered, and you check out how to train them to grow along a wall. They offer blossom for pollinators, fruit for you if the birds leave you any, and they look gorgeous. Small cherries, Amelanchier, apples on dwarfing root stock are all manageable in even a small garden.

Grow herbs - Many herbs are easy to grow, (and) have some of the best flowers for pollinators.

Create (areas of) natural habitats - A log pile, a mature shrub for shelter, a little tree, climbers, etc provide lots of nooks and crannies that create homes for the smaller sorts of creatures.

Provide some shelter - Things like bird boxes, bee hotels, and similar. Your log pile provides shelter for small animals, old trees with holes in them, nooks and crannies anywhere. Know where to position them. Plenty of information on the internet. Nature actually prefers a bit of scruffiness if that’s how things turn out.

Feed your birds - Less important in summer when birds can find insects and berries, but supplementary feeding is important in winter and spring. Especially if you have really cold winters like we do.

Composting - A compost heap avoids binning green waste and saves the need and expense of buying compost; offers a diverse habitat and can be home to small creatures, woodlice, millipedes, some bumblebees etc.

If you do have lawn, let it grow - set the mower to its highest setting (three or four inches) and give a chance to short wildflowers. Mow it less often to let them bloom. A bit of longer grass provides cover for invertebrates, frogs and toads and a few little scurrying things, such as voles and mice.

Make a mini-meadow (a mead) - this is what we did and it has been hugely successful. Sow a (geographically appropriate) meadow seed mix and keep it looking neat, by cutting a border around it or a path through it which tells neighbours and visitors that it’s intentional. Plant or sow native species that bees and butterflies and birds will recognize and be able to benefit from - here that might include coneflowers, Rudbeckia, various aster species, Joe Pye weed and similar. Raise some from seed or buy them from native plant nurseries and plant where you want them - the more the merrier.

Encourage “weeds” - Get away from the idea that weed equals bad. Almost always a weed is just a plant in the wrong place. Active gardening leads to more diversity. Of course, there are exceptions - garlic mustard should be eradicated on sight.

Be mindful when positioning your infrastructure – Get a little bird bath or ground bowl, but don’t put it by dense shrubbery, because birds when like to splash about they need a clear view of predators. Perhaps have a water butt and water directly to the base of plants in the morning, evening or both.

Turn down the lights - Artificial light is one of the drivers of insect decline. Intense security lighting and all-night lights are some of the worst offenders. At least use timers and proximity/motion switches to keep the garden as dark as possible for as long as possible.

Make a pond - A pond, doesn’t have to be large, becomes a real focal point and introduces a habitat for a wide range of species, including dragonflies and damselflies, the impact can be enormous. If you can have a small waterfall as well with a recirculating pump you will see so many more birds than without one - see the far end of our pond in the photo below.

Do no harm - Killing aphids leaves ladybirds with fewer sources of food. This spring I found greenfly on a rose but a few days later they had all been taken by birds. It’s really important not to put things in the garden that are known to be harmful. Ask yourself: what’s the least harm I can do to solve a specific problem? Don’t use pesticides, herbicides and insecticides. Welcome bees, wasps and aphids – they’ve all got a role to play.

Save dead leaves - Don’t blow and bag in the fall. Let dead leaves lie as a mulch on your borders and tuck them around your plants. It’s good for plants and your soil. Make a leaf pile. That’s a home for beetles, frogs and toads.

Grow a hedge - instead of erecting fencing. They have enormous value for wildlife: nesting sites and berries for birds, leaves for moths and sleeping places for small mammals to say nothing of the fact that they are much more durable in high winds. If you are in Europe and are lucky enough to have hedgehogs, this is where they will be found.

Let plants go to seed - Don’t clear plants away as soon as the flowers have gone, but let the seedheads form. Birds will eat the seeds and letting the seed heads stand in winter, especially if you have deep snow like I do, provides essential nutrition to get birds through the cold months. The dried stalks are also used by many insects such as solitary native bees to overwinter and to lay eggs for the next year. Time enough to tidy up in spring.

Take your time - The idea used to be: give a little bit of the garden to wildlife and keep the rest for yourself. Now, we try to make the whole garden wildlife-friendly but you can do it over time, a bit more each year - each spring ask yourself: what can I do this year? You don’t have to do everything in one go. You will be rewarded with some instant wins. Bees will come pretty well straight away. As soon as you plant trees or shrubs, you’ll get more birds.

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Which plant family matches your personality?

Don’t cringe, I haven’t lost leave of my senses. This almost serious question comes from The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in London and provides a rather unusual way to direct visitors to finding the particular plant collections they may be most interested in seeing … presumably on the basis that no-one can expect to have time to see everything while there.

https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/plant-family-personality

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The Scary Guys with the Big Truck

There is a post doing the rounds on Facebook, illustrated with a suburban pollinator front garden and the following comment:

Just had a moment of absolute terror when I looked outside to see not one but TWO town pickup trucks and three guys in safety vests looking at our little wildlife sanctuary/monarch waystation (formerly the front lawn). Ran outside to fiercely protect our wild little space from The Man. Turns out they were here because one guy’s wife wants to start a butterfly garden and his co-worker was like “I know a spot you need to see!” So we all looked at the butterflies and bees and had ourselves a good time talking about native plants and pollinator pathways! And now I’ll be sharing seeds and plants with new friends!

Happy ending