Beautiful Wildlife Garden» Carole Sevilla Brown

Bees Are Beautiful in the Wildlife Garden

Carole Sevilla Brown — Wed, 23 May 2012 17:59:02 +0000

We hear so much about how the bees are in trouble, but most people don’t realize that most of this discussion centers around honeybees, which are non-native to this country, but have been imported heavily for use in agricultural pollination, and are now seeing great declines dues to colony collapse disorder.

We need to wake up to the fact that many of our native bees are also in great trouble due to habitat loss, pesticides, and other actions by humans.

Some of our team members have written about the lack of bees in their wildlife gardens with great worry. Ursula Vernon mentioned the lack of bees in her habitat garden, and Karyl Seppala has also written about the fact that she wasn’t seeing any native bees in her wildlife garden.

The truth is, our wildlife gardens are one of the last lines of defense to protect these native pollinators. We can create habitat and provide them with everything they need. Doing so will ensure that all of our beautiful native plants receive the pollination services they need, and even that we have delicious tomatoes and other vegetables growing in our gardens.

Here are some suggestions for creating welcoming habitat for native bees in your wildlife garden:

Attracting Native Bees in the Wildlife Garden

Saving Bumblebees — Ellen Sousa says “At this point, there may not be much we can do at the individual level to save the polar bears, but many of the small but important critters that make their home in our gardens for some or part of the year — the bees,butterflies, moths, turtles, toads, frogs — across the planet, across the board, you’ll find these species listed in high numbers on endangered and declining species lists. They’re all suffering from the same problem – widespread habitat loss and declines due to human activity.”

Pollinators and Native vs Non-Native Plants — Beatriz Moisset explains to us why native plants are essential for pollinator survival.

Attracting Native Pollinators – A wonderful resource for learning all you need to know about attracting native bees and other pollinators to your wildlife garden

Design Tips for your Pollinator Garden — Kelly Brenner has great suggestions for designing a welcoming habitat pollinator garden.

Bee Ready — How to provide the best habitat for native bees in your wildlife garden

Mason Bee Boxes — How to attract Mason Bees to Your Wildlife Garden

How to Attract Pollinators — More tips for creating a pollinator Garden

The Pollinator Garden Through the Seasons

Attracting Bumblebees With Early Spring Blooming Plants — How to choose the best plants to attract early spring pollinators, a time when native flowering plants are crucial for early season pollinators.

Plant Fall Flowering Plants as Pollinator Feeding Stations — How to extend the season throughout autumn in your pollinator garden.

Pollinators in the Winter Wildlife Garden — Even though we don’t see many bees in our winter wildlife gardens, they still need safe places to spend the winter, safe from cold, rain, and snow. Learn how to provide the best habitat for overwintering pollinators.

Native Bees and Our Food Supply

Native Plants, Native Bees, and Your Dinner Table — Why are native plants and native bees so important to our food supply?

Speaking Up For the Pollinators – Susan J Tweit narrates a wonderful video showing how little food would be left for us to eat without our native pollinators.

What are your favorite tips for creating welcoming habitat for native bees in your wildlife garden?

The Wildlife Pond at Mount Cuba Center

Carole Sevilla Brown — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:55:51 +0000

Turtles in the Pond at Mount Cuba Center

I was thrilled to be invited to visit Mount Cuba Center last week, to interview some of the staff, and spend several delightful hours wandering around with my camera collecting images of this beautiful place, which is devoted to preserving the native plants of the Piedmont region.

Mount Cuba Center is a 600 acre preserve located in the beautiful rolling hills of Hockessin, DE, not too far south of the Pennsylvania border. I’ve attended several workshops here in the past, including a delightful Bluebird Workshop led by my friend Katherine Patterson.

Every staff member and volunteer I spoke with talked with such respect for the vision of Mrs. Copeland who had worked for 18 years after the passing of her husband to restore the native plants of this region to her property.

Former cornfields are now beautiful woodlands, several wildlife ponds delight the senses, even the foundation plantings around the house are native plants with Fringe Trees and native azaleas.

Marcie Weigelt, Pond Garden Horticulturist at Mount Cuba Center

I was greatly struck by the beauty of the wildlife ponds, filled with tadpoles and turtles, and surrounded by many different species of pitcher plants and other natives of this area. I was surprised to learn that these ponds are cared for by a dedicated Pond Garden Horticulturist, Marcie Weigelt, who graciously spent part of her afternoon describing the pond plantings and her dedication to honoring Mrs. Copeland’s vision.

I think you’ll agree that Marcie has done an amazing job creating beautiful wildlife habitat with the several ponds that comprise the property at Mount Cuba Center.

Please enjoy some of the astounding sights I was privileged to observe while visiting the wildlife ponds at Mount Cuba Center, starting with the amazing variety of Pitcher Plants:

And the huge numbers of Tadpoles and Frogs:

Tadpoles in the Wildlife Pond at Mount Cuba Center

Frogs at the Wildlife Pond at Mount Cuba Center

And some other beautiful sights:

Jack in the Pulpit at Mount Cuba Center

Lady Slipper Orchids at Mount Cuba Center

The Wildlife Pond at Mount Cuba Center

Do you have a favorite place to observe native plants in natural settings? Please let me know about it by leaving a comment below!

Red Admiral Butterfly Explosion

Carole Sevilla Brown — Wed, 09 May 2012 16:56:52 +0000

Wildlife gardeners are noticing a significant explosion of Red Admiral butterflies moving north this year. And some naturalists are reporting hundreds of these butterflies passing by within just a few minutes. This amazing sight has even been noticed by the news networks, and our team member Pat Sutton was interviewed by Phaedra Laird of NBC 40 WMGM-TV about why we are seeing such a huge migration this year.

Jack Connor has also been documenting the amazing observances of large numbers of migrant Red Admirals. And Donna Long has also written about the Red Admiral irruption.

I first discovered this phenomenon this week by reading my twitter stream, as you can see by just a few of the tweets I saw:

From @AboutInsects:

Had a few red admirals bonk into my helmet during my bike ride yesterday. Not very good at evasive action, are they?

From @Tom_Reed

red admirals and question marks streaming in from the ocean at stone harbor point.

probably a 4:1 ratio of admirals to q-marks.

the rate of butterflies per minute had been around 100, but is closer to 200-250 over the last 5 minutes. amazing sight.

From @bug_girl

More coverage of the incredible red admiral butterfly migration this spring http://ow.ly/aLCtS

From @nbc40wmgm

RedAdmiral butterflies invade region in mega flight http://fb.me/v9TGSzxR

From @RickShort21

http://twitpic.com/9ha3bh - Large swarms of redadmiral butterflies have been spotted in Utica NY

From @cbgarden

You’re not seeing things! There are more red admiral butterflies in CLE this year, and our expert explains why:

From @aquilaaquila

RedAdmiral (Vanessa atalanta) flight estimated in millions by eButterfly! http://www.ebutterfly.ca/ and

Red Admiral butterflies nectar at rotting fruit

So why are we seeing such an explosion of Red Admiral butterflies migrating north this year? To answer this, we first need to understand the life cycle of the Red Admiral.

My favorite source of information about butterflies is Butterflies of the East Coast: An Observer’s Guide by Rick Cech and Guy Tudor. From this guide I learned that Red Admirals overwinter as adult butterflies, but that they withdraw from the northern parts of the east coast to the Carolinas and south, although some may linger in the north through the winter. In the spring these butterflies move back north to repopulate wildlife gardens and natural areas throughout the northeast.

According to Cech and Tudor, mega flights of Red Admiral butterflies have been recorded about once every 10 years (1981, 1990, 2001) And now, apparently in 2012.

Since we experienced such a mild winter this year, it’s likely that those lingering butterflies not only survived the winter, but are thriving. Southern migrants are returning with a bang not seen in this magnitude since 2001.

So, how do we support these beautiful butterflies in our wildlife gardens? Adult Red Admirals feed on sap and decaying matter, but are also fond of nectar. From my friend Pat Sutton I learned to put out shallow dishes of fruit, and have been blessed to have swarms of these butterflies visit my garden.

But we cannot just provide food for adult butterflies. We also need to add host plants for the females to lay their eggs on, which in the case of the Red Admiral is nettles. You’ll want to add them in an out of the way section of your garden, and you’ll need to wear gloves when working near this plant, but you will be providing a much-needed resource in attracting Red Admirals to your wildlife garden.

Have you noticed huge numbers of Red Admirals this year?

I Will Be Like the Hummingbird

Carole Sevilla Brown — Wed, 02 May 2012 17:10:57 +0000

“I will be like the hummingbird. I will do the best I can.” ~ Wangari Maathai

Each of us has been given the opportunity to make a difference for wildlife and for the health of our environment by taking relatively simple action. When we choose to create welcoming habitat for wildlife in our gardens, we are doing something that has immediate beneficial impacts for the wildlife and environment around us.

It’s so easy to feel like nothing we can possibly do would make such a difference when there are so many big problems in the world around us.

But I am taking inspiration from an amazing woman who refused to believe that the actions of one person did not matter. I think you’ll be inspired, too:

[This is a clip from Dirt! The Movie, which I am very eager to see]

“It is the people who must save the environment. It is the people who must make their leaders change. And we cannot be intimidated. So we must stand up for what we believe in.” ~ Wangari Maathai [April 1, 1940 - September 25, 2011]

Wangari Maathai was a true visionary, a passionate environmentalist, the guiding force behind the Greenbelt movement, and the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace prize “for her contributions to sustainable development, democracy, and peace.”

Wangari changed the course of a nation by the simple act of planting trees. There were huge problems in her country: drought, war, hunger, and so much more. But Wangari Maathai didn’t wait for the government to fix these problems. She said “Each of us must do what we can.”

[This is a clip from Taking Root: the Vision of Wangari Maathai, also on my list of "must-see tv"]

“It’s the little things citizens do. That’s what will make the difference. My little thing is planting trees.” ~Wangari Maathai

What’s your little thing? Planting a meadow? Creating a butterfly or hummingbird garden? Making pollinator or bird habitat?

“You cannot protect the environment unless you empower people, you inform them, and you help them understand that these resources are their own, that they must protect them.” ~Wangari Maathai

Clean air. Clean water. Healthy ecosystems. Thriving wildlife populations. These resources do belong to us, and we must certainly rise up to protect them!

“We are called to assist the Earth to heal her wounds and in the process heal our own – indeed, to embrace the whole creation in all its diversity, beauty and wonder. This will happen if we see the need to revive our sense of belonging to a larger family of life, with which we have shared our evolutionary process.”

“We cannot tire or give up. We owe it to the present and future generations of all species to rise up and walk!” ~Wangari Maathai

So now it is time for each of us to be like the hummingbird and do what we can. Choose your “little thing” and get started today. And I’d love to hear all about what you’re doing. Please tell me about it by leaving a comment under this post.

Wildlife Gardens Expand Urban Wildlife Corridors

Carole Sevilla Brown — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 16:53:16 +0000

Adult Bald Eagle soars above the impoundment at Heinz National Wildlife Refuge

There are so many reasons to create wildlife gardens, but the main reason for me is that seeing wildlife in my garden takes me to my happy place. In fact, the sole reason that I garden at all is to create welcoming habitat for wildlife to share my space with.

We have destroyed so much habitat that we have simply left wildlife no place to go. This is especially true in urban areas.

In the US, only 5% of available land has been protected, which means that there is just not enough space in these protected lands for all of our wildlife to survive. Add to that the fact that these protected lands are subject to “multiple use” clauses.

Multiple use means that our protected open space, whether national park, forest or wildlife refuge, state forest, park, or wildlife management area, or city park, these lands are often logged, mined, grazed by cattle, hunted, or become recreation areas where snowmobiles, ATVs, runners, bikers, and people with dogs make use of the tiny amount of space left for wildlife.

When we choose to create welcoming habitat for wildlife in our gardens, we are expanding the space where birds, butterflies, and other wildlife can thrive and survive.

The John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge is adjacent to the Philadelphia Airport

Near my home in Philadelphia lies the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, which you can see from this photo is adjacent to the Philadelphia International Airport.

Amazingly enough, a pair of Bald Eagles has chosen to nest there for the second year in a row. And I went in search of that nest earlier this week.

If you follow those phone wires in the photo of the airport around to the left, you can spot the Bald Eagles nest. Can you spot it?

Here, I’ll zoom in a little closer.

And a little closer still.

Ah, there it is!

On the way around the impoundment to the nest I also got to see:
A Cardinal hiding in the brush

A Groundhog

An adorable family of baby Mallard ducks

Many stunning Tree Swallows showing off their iridescent blue colors

A gorgeous Great Blue Heron

And was blessed to get amazing photos of a Red Tailed Hawk perched right next to the pathway.

Visiting the natural areas around me is always great reinforcement to continue to create welcoming habitat for wildlife in my garden and to work to help my neighbors do the same. Our wildlife gardens really do matter.

Also, check out this amazing Eagle nest came shared by Kelyn in the comments:

Hi Carole! Just thought I’d pass along the link to the “Eagle Cam“. I’m a gardener at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens, and we’ve had a pair of eagles living on the property for several years now. The Eagle Cam is set up in the tree near the nest so viewers from all over the world can watch as the eagles raise their young. Unfortunately, last year the female was struck by a plane, so we haven’t seen any new eaglets this year, but videos from past eaglets in the nest are very cool! There’s even footage of the bachelor bringing new females back to his nest! I hope you and your readers check it out and enjoy it!

What exciting wildlife do you get to observe nearby your wildlife garden?