clay and limestone

Fist Wednesday Taking Care of Wildlife Challenge: Rewilding Our Urban and Suburban Landscape

noreply@blogger.com (Gail) — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 15:00:00 +0000

Is the theme for the 2026 Nashville Native Plant Symposium that's happening this August and registration opens on June 5th, at 7am!

This symposium builds on the goals set in the Spring 2025 Symposium when gardeners, ecologists, land stewards, and community members met to focus on ecological restoration, native plant landscaping, and pollinator habitat building.

Our second symposium will bring together plant enthusiasts, conservation professionals, and community members to re-imagine our neighborhoods, parks, and home gardens as thriving habitats that support biodiversity and strengthen our regional ecosystems.

We'll gather on August 22, 2026, at the Southeast Community Center for an inspiring and educational day of presentations and opportunities for networking. Featuring keynote speaker Dwayne Estes of the Southeastern Grasslands Institute.

This is an opportunity for participants to make a positive impact on our community and the environment while enjoying a day filled with learning, inspiration and networking.

Hope to see you there.

xoxogail

PS There will be fabulous excursions to sign up for when you register!

What's The First Wednesday Taking Care of Wildlife Challenge About?

The first part of this challenge is to do something, even lots of things, each month that support the critters living in our gardens. Gardening with native wildflowers, shrubs and trees that make sense for our ecoregion is a good place to start or continue (as the case may be). Plants and their pollinators are a classic example of mutualism: they have coevolved through evolutionary time in a reciprocal beneficial relationship. This is also true for other critters that visit and live in our gardens.

Activities that increase our knowledge of the natural world are equally as valuable. Helping others learn about nature is included. Golly gee whiz, there are so many things you can do.

The second part of the challenge is to post about it somewhere: Your blog, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or even your neighborhood listserve. Wouldn't an article in the local paper be a coup for nature! Why post it? Because positive publicity is needed to educate our friends, neighbors and communities about how important even the smallest changes we make as gardeners can be for pollinators, birds, insects and mammals, including humans, that live all around us.

Why now? My neighborhood is changing. Yours might be, too. Every day an older home along with many (if not all) of the mature oak, hickory, maple, Eastern cedar and hackberry trees are cut down. Insects, birds, even mammals lose their home site and food supplies when we lose trees. During construction soil is compacted by bulldozers, trucks and piles of debris cause runoff; surface runoff that can carry pollution to streams and rivers. It's important that our neighbors and our community have information about how important trees are to our ecosystem. Trees contribute to their environment by providing oxygen, improving air quality, climate amelioration, conserving water, preserving soil, and supporting wildlife.

In place of the "bee lawns" composed of Claytonia, Salvia lyrata, Ruellia humilis, fleabane, Western Daisy, Violets, self-heal, clovers, native grasses (in my neighborhood it's poverty oat grass) and sedges, they're being sodded with non-native grasses. These monoculture turf lawns contribute nothing environmentally. Here's what we lose when our diverse lawns are replaced with pristine turf grass:

Gone are the lightening bugs.
Gone are the ground dwelling/nesting native bees.
Gone is the habitat for insects, spiders and other critters.
Gone is plant diversity.
Gone are trees that provided for hundreds of moths, butterflies and other insects.
Gone are the nesting sites for woodpeckers, hummingbirds, Chickadees and other birds.
Gone is a healthy foodweb.

It breaks my heart.

We can't stop the progmess, but, maybe we can make a lot of educational noise and help our new neighbors see the value in providing for critters and ultimately helping the environment.

A gardener can hope!

xoxoGail

Here's an incomplete list of things you might consider doing or changing in your garden, and things you can do for and/or in your community. But don't limit yourself to my list, make your own list or check out the internet for ideas.

Looking for ways to get involved go here for a list of environmental advocacy groups.

Buy the best wildflower, butterfly and bird id books for your state.

Read nature books to your children and grandchildren. Buy them nature books.

Get in the garden with your children and grandchildren.

Give nature books as baby shower gifts (Nature books for infants and toddlers)

Shrink your lawn and make your planting beds larger.

Plant your favorite native perennials and shrubs. Leave them standing after they've gone to seed to continue to provide for wildlife. What you plant in your yard makes a difference to wildlife. I garden for wildlife so every tree, shrub and plant is chosen with wildlife in mind.

Plant more natives and then consider planting even more. "A typical suburban landscape contains only 20-30% native plant species. Try reversing that trend in your own landscape by using 70-80% native species." (source)

Plant for bloom from late spring to early winter. Bees are most active from February to November (longer in mild climates) late winter blooming Hamamelis vernalis and the earliest spring ephemerals (like the toothworts, hepaticas, spring beauties, and False rue-anemeone) are perfect plants for a variety of pollinators.

Commit to never, ever, ever, ever using pesticides in the garden.

Stay away from native plant hybrids and cultivars that are double flowered. They are sterile and have no pollen or nectar for insects and no seeds for the birds. If possible plant “true open-pollinated native wildflowers”

If you want to garden for wildlife and pollinators, don't let lack of space stop you! Plant your favorite wildflowers in large containers. You just might have the prairie or woodland garden you've always wanted...in a pot!

Create a water feature. Provide water year round that is accessible to birds, bees and other critters.

Make a rain garden in low spots to collect and mitigate runoff.

Show some soil! Our native ground nesting bees nest in bare soil, so don't mulch every square inch of your garden.

Get rid of the plastic weed barriers in your garden, it's not good for anything.

Invite bugs into your garden. Plant annuals that attract beneficial bugs.

Learn to tolerate damaged plants. Imperfection is the new perfect.

Don't be in a rush to clean up the fall garden. Leave plant stalks and seed heads standing all winter. Leave those fallen leaves or as many as you can tolerate! Insects over winter in the fallen and decaying leaves. Leave a layer of leaves as a soft landing material under trees for moths and butterflies to over winter. Many caterpillars drop to the ground from the trees in the fall and need a soft landing site and a place to live over the winter.

Allow a fallen tree to remain in the garden. Limbs on the ground are a perfect shelter for small animals such as rabbits, chipmunks and squirrels and a habitat for beetles, termites and other insects.

Make a brush pile. Stack fallen brush, cut tree limbs, broken pots for ground beetles. Ground beetles are excellent at eating "bad bugs". Bugs are also good bird, toad and small critter food.

Rethink what you consider a pest. Lots of good bugs eat aphids. Spiders are important predators and they're great bird food!

Add nesting boxes for birds.

Turn off your yard up-lighting, eave lights and porch lights after 11pm. This is important for nocturnal critters including mammals, snakes, insects, bats, birds (especially during migration). (Birdcast suggestions)

Plant shrubs and small trees that provide berries and nuts.

Keep a nature journal: You can observe visitors to your water feature, make note of when they visit. Notice which flowers attract the most pollinators and which ones are just pretty faces.

Join your state native plant society (Tennessee Native Plant Society)

Join WildOnes even if there's no local group you can join the national organization. (Middle Tennessee WildOnes)

Support your local native plant sellers. (GroWild in middle Tennessee, Overhill Gardens in east Tennessee, Resource Guide TN Native Plant Society)

Encourage your local garden clubs to offer native plant talks.

If your garden club has a plant sale encourage them to sell more native plants.

Get trained as a naturalist (Tennessee Naturalist Program. Almost every state has their own Master Naturalist training program

Take an online course on tree, fungi and wildflower id.

Take an online course on designing with native plants.

Take a walk in your neighborhood and observe nature. To quote Joanna Brichetto in Sidewalk Nature "Look Around. Nature is here, is us, our driveways, our baseboards, parks, and parking lots."

Read! There are hundreds of books on gardening for wildlife, the environment, and rewilding our world. There are delightful blogs with wonderful and informative articles.

If you are already gardening with wildlife in mind then add a few signs that help educate your neighbors. (Xerces Society, Pollinator Partnership)

Join the Xerces Society.

Set up an information station where neighbors can pick up brochures about your garden and other info.

Get certified (National Wildlife Federation, check to see what your state offers)

Support trees by joining the effort to make sure developers don't remove more trees than are necessary for their project. Work to make sure there are tree removal permits and that they are actually enforced in your community.

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener, Tennessee Naturalist and nature writer in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Wildflower Wednesday: Downy Wood MInt

noreply@blogger.com (Gail) — Wed, 27 May 2026 15:00:00 +0000

Downy Wood Mint and I have been gardening friends for over 40 years. The first time I saw it growing in the shady freedom lawn behind the carport shed I thought it was Monarda.

Although, it wasn't, it was definitely a mint with its square stems, opposite leaves and whorled lavender flowers at the top of the stalk!

It's been described as little towers of flowers that wrap around the stems

Blephilia ciliata is a charming flowering plant with upright unbranched stems. The foliage is lance shaped or oblong and opposite along the stems. Leaves and stems are pubescent/hairy and faintly aromatic when crushed. I am so glad to have fond it because it's happier in my garden than Monarda has ever been. It never fails to bloom and it is tolerant of my dry shade. The other wonderful characteristic: it transplants easily.

unbranched stems on display

Hillwood in west Nashville where I live was once rolling farmland and wooded forests before it was sold to developers in the 1940s and 1950s. Today you can still find remnants of the woodland in the hills and in the remaining freedom lawns. I suspect that Downy woodmint can still be found in the woodlands that survived that early development and I wonder how many of my neighbors are even aware that this lovely wildflower and others might be growing along the edges of their yards. I don't know how much longer most of these remnant woodlands will survive the development that's now happening in the neighborhood....Perhaps in the hills, but certainly not on the flatter yards. One thing I am sure of is that the developers who are responsible for the present progmess don't seem to care that they are destroying habitats when they bulldoze the trees and yards to plant their sterile mono-culture lawns.

But, I digress!

watch out little bees there are crab spiders waiting to capture you

Blephilia ciliata's range is throughout most of Eastern North America and parts of the Central United States. It's been found growing in fields, steep slopes, disturbed sites and roadsides. Plants often occur in thin soils over limestone. Long time readers probably totally understand why it's a perfect plant for Clay and Limestone!

In late spring and summer, dense whorls of clustered flowers encircle the stems. The tiny individual flowers are two lipped and pink, lavender or white with purple spots.

It makes a charming ground cover. I call it a gentle colonizer! It's not a rough and tumble wildflower blazing a trail through my garden, instead it, gently and slowly spreads. It is well behaved and supports the surrounding ecology of other plants in the garden.

I love this visiting critter photo

This carefree flower does a good job of attracting pollinators. Scads of native pollinators visit the flowers. According to Illinois Wildflower the flowers attract long-tongued and short-tongued bees, bee flies, Syrphid flies, butterflies, and skippers. The numerous bee visitors include honeybees, bumblebees, Anthophorine bees, little carpenter bees, leaf-cutting bees, Halictine bees, masked bees, and others. That's a lot of critters.

Source

Attractive seed heads form after bloom and pollination. The seed clusters remain on the plant all winter along with the green basal leaves. Downy woodmint is not long lived so you might want to leave seedheads on the plant to self sow. You can also collect seeds to sow around your garden. I suggest you check out Brian's Native Plants for instructions on seed collection.

Unfortunately, like many beautiful and unique wildflowers, you might have trouble finding this plant at local garden centers unless they specialize in native plants. Check with your local native plant nursery for plants and online for seeds (Prairie Moon Nursery sells the seeds).

I hope you know or get to know Blephilia ciliata...It's a delightful little charmer that will brighten a shady or sunny spot in your garden.

xoxogail

The particulars:

Botanical name: Blephilia ciliata

Family: Lamiaceae

Common names: downy wood mint, downy pagoda plant, sunny woodmint and Ohio horsemint.

Type: herbacious perennial

Range: Native to eastern North America and parts of Canada

Hardiness zones 4-8

Height: 1.00 to 2.50 feet

Spread: 0.75 to 1.50 feet

Flower: Showy

Bloom Time: May to August

Bloom Description: Blue, purple, pale, almost white with dark dots

Sun: Full sun to part shade

Water: Dry to medium

Maintenance: Medium

Tolerates: Drought, Dry Soil, Deer resistant

Wildlife value: A magnet for a variety of pollinators including butterflies, moths, bees, wasps, beetles.

Companion plants: You can pair it with other plants that enjoy similar cultural requirements, like Aster laevis, Phlox pilosa, Coreopsis tripteris, Solidago nemoralis, Bouteloua curtipendula, Sorghastrum nutans or Schizachyrium scoparium. It's still growing in the way back freedom lawn.

Comments: Occurs in rich open woods, glades, valleys and ravines, borders of woods, old fields, and along roadsides. It naturally occurs in thin soils over limestone. Needs a few hours of bright sun to flower best. Flowers in mid May in my garden. The seed heads are attractive all winter. Basal leaves remain green all winter. The leaves can be used to make a mild mint tea. NOT browsed by dear or other mammals.

Landscape: This is a good choice for a pollinator garden, wildlife garden, prairie garden, rock gardens, Butterfly garden, water wise gardens, or, in a meadow. If you're patient it will eventually make a lovely ground cover.

Welcome to Clay and Limestone and Wildflower Wednesday. This day is about sharing wildflowers and other native plants no matter where one gardens~the UK, tropical Florida, Europe, Australia, Africa, South America, India or the coldest reaches of Canada. It doesn't matter if we sometimes share the same plants. How they grow and thrive in your garden is what matters most. So please share your wildflowers on your favorite social media site. Share to help educate others!

First Wednesday Taking Care of Wildlife Challenge: Where Have All My Insects Gone?

noreply@blogger.com (Gail) — Wed, 06 May 2026 15:00:00 +0000

Just the other day a neighbor told me she didn't want any more insects in her garden, she said she already had enough!

I don't feel that way at all. There aren't nearly enough insects in my garden these days. I want more! I want to see more native bees, more beneficial insects, more moths, more butterflies, more caterpillars, more hoverflies, more dragonflies, more flies, more beetles...

They're here, but, I'm just not seeing as many as I've seen in past years.

I can't help but wonder if the changes in my neighborhood have affected the loss of insects in my garden.

I am now gardening in a sea of manicured lawns...Our neighborhood is changing from its established 1950s ranch homes with freedom lawns that light up each spring with Spring Beauties, glow in the summer with lightning bugs and are buzzing with bee, butterfly and other pollinators all fall. Houses, lawns and trees are being bulldozed down at a frightening rate. In their place are megahouses with perfectly manicured lawns and the same old same old non-native shrubs, all for "curb appeal".

Here's what we lose when our diverse lawns are replaced with pristine turf grass that is fertilized and treated with pesticides:

Gone are the lightening bugs
Gone are the ground dwelling/nesting native bees
Gone is the habitat for insects, spiders and other critters
Gone is plant diversity
Gone are trees that provided for hundreds of moths, butterflies and other insects
Gone are the nesting sites for woodpeckers, hummingbirds, Chickadees and other birds
Gone is a healthy foodweb

I don't even care if aphids are on plants. Bugs make a garden work better.

INSECTS MATTER! And not just to my garden. They matter to all of us.

Insects are essential for

pollination
decomposition
nutrient cycling
they form the foundation of several food chains and are the primary food sources for birds, amphibians, reptiles, and fish.
pest management

The bad news is that insect populations are declining all over the planet-- not just in my garden. Some factors leading to their loss include urbanization, pollution, pesticide use, loss of habitat, introduced species, and climate change.

Two of the biggest problems affecting insect populations in middle Tennessee neighborhoods are loss of habitat and pesticide use. They're both alarming to me, but, I am very concerned about pesticide use....Especially by homeowners who have easy access to major insect killers. Too many people are intolerant of bugs nibbling on their flowers.

Insects have gotten a bad rap. They're seen as a big problem that must be solved with a big solution. I can't tell you how many conversations I've had with neighbors and friends about mosquitoes. They've been convinced by major ad campaigns and pest service billboards that they just need to fog their yards to keep mosquitoes from interrupting their outside activities. They've been convinced that it's safe and won't harm anything other than mosquitoes. It's not true. Fogging harms all insects.

So I got my own ad campaign/yard sign!

And others! I sure hope they're working!

What's a concerned wildlife gardener to do? We need to work on rebugging our gardens not debugging them.

1. Plant native trees, shrubs and perennials. In other words we must plant smarter.

Beautiful blooms in our gardens are fabulous, but, we can't stop there. Choose plants that are attractive to the many pollinators and other critters that live in and visit our gardens.

Plant lots of colorful flowers that are rich in nectar and pollen and are host plants for the offspring of butterflies, moths and other beneficial critters. Don't deadhead them in winter, remember that the seeds and berries from these plants are often food for birds and small mammals. The standing stalks provide winter cover.

Plant an array of flower shapes that appeal to hummingbirds, bees, moths, flies and butterflies.

Plant for bloom from late spring (native ephemerals) to early winter (witch hazels).

Plant native trees and shrubs because they are host plants for hundreds of important critters that nesting birds need to feed their young. Native woody plants provide cover from predators, nighttime roosts and nesting sites.

Plant shrubs and trees that provide food/nuts and berries for birds and hungry mammals that live and visit our gardens

Provide nesting spaces for bees and other critters.

Accept that plants are beautiful even if chewed on by critters and promise to never, ever, ever, ever use pesticides and herbicides in our gardens. See #3

Plant knowing that the more you plant for critters...crawling, flying and even digging ones, the healthier and more diverse your garden will be.

You don't need a yard to plant native wildflowers: plant in containers placed on your patio or balcony

Simply said: Choose plants that have good wildlife value.

2. Stop using pesticides in your garden:

The first thing to ask yourself is this: If pesticides really worked would we have to use them continually? Personally, I think not, there's a great deal of money in the pesticide industry and frankly, I don't trust their studies, which are often paid for by the pesticide companies.

They're hazardous to our health, especially the health of our children.

Source

Harmless bugs are killed when they're caught in the spray, and other animals are hurt when they drink chemical runoff after gardens and fields drain into local rivers.

3. Make sure plants you plant are pesticide free: Ixnay on Neonicotinoid pre-treated plants.

4. Reduce the size of your lawn

5. Plant a bee friendly lawn: Use Claytonia, Salvia lyrata, Ruellia humilis, fleabane, Western Daisy, Violets, self-heal, clovers, native grasses (in my neighborhood it's poverty oat grass) and sedges

6. Concerned that neighbors will complain: Use educational signs.

7. Get active!

Share info and photos about your native bee friendly gardens on neighborhood organizations

Post on social media

Submit articles to newspapers

Hold an open garden day to let your neighbors see your garden

Have a give away table with info, seeds, plants were walkers can reach them

Start a blog and write about environmental issues

Get to know your councilperson; they can be advocates for native gardens, for protecting trees etc.

Exercise your constitutional right and vote for candidates who actively support conservation efforts.

Contact developers and real estate agents to start their education

8. Be an advocate for nature whenever and wherever you can.

My friend Joanna Brichetto/Sidewalk Nature author and Tennessee Naturalist, is one of the best advocates for nature that I know. She recently posted a powerful video showing mosquito fogging in her neighborhood. She wrote that the air smelled like medicine and it was drifting toward her yard were birds were foraging for nestlings. To further quote her:

"It makes no sense to poison EVERYTHING to try and kill ONE thing. Please help spread the word that mosquito fogging is neither safe nor effective, and that the best way to control mosquitoes is 1) dump all standing water every seven days and 2) make a Mosquito Bucket of Doom."

Follow the link to see the entire post.

Joanna Brichetto Sidewalk Nature

9. Rebugged garden plants don't need to be perfect!

We must be okay with the damage that bugs will do to our garden plants.
We don't use pesticides or herbicides when we see chewed up foliage and petals.
We need to redefine what we think of as perfection and beauty in our gardens.
We invite beneficial insects into the garden when we plant the right plants and create the right conditions.
We celebrate that imperfection means our gardens are teeming with all kinds of wildlife, not just pretty flower faces.
We don't fog our gardens because it kills everything.

To conclude:

When you let go of pesticides and embrace imperfection you become the change our world needs.

You help create a paradigm shift that redefines garden beauty to include imperfection.
You refuse to be shamed or swayed by the judgement of perfection worshipers.
You say no to pesticides that kill our important garden visitors.
You invite more insects into your garden....even when they nibble on your flowers.
You let nursery managers know that you don't need or expect them to offer "perfect plants" in other words, plants that have been pre-treated with insecticides.
You don't poison and kill everything to kill one thing.

Insects matter to our world and I want to see more of them everywhere.

xoxogail

Want to Take the Taking Care of Wildlife In Our Gardens Challenge?

The first part of this challenge is to do something, or lots of things, each month that support the critters living in our gardens. Gardening with native wildflowers, shrubs and trees that make sense for our ecoregion is a good place to start or continue (as the case may be). Plants and their pollinators are a classic example of mutualism: they have coevolved through evolutionary time in a reciprocal beneficial relationship. This is also true for other critters that visit and live in our gardens.

Activities that increase our knowledge of the natural world are equally as valuable. Helping others learn about nature is included. Golly gee whiz, there are so many things you can do.

Why now? Because nature needs us.

Wildflower Wednesday: Zizia aurea

noreply@blogger.com (Gail) — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 15:00:00 +0000

Our April Wildflower Wednesday star is Golden Alexander with its delicate clusters of bright yellow flowers. When I saw them massed in a meadow garden at the Chicago Botanical Garden a few decades ago I knew I had to try them at Clay and Limestone. I look forward to their lovely yellow presence and their pollinator magnetism in early spring.

Blooming begins in late spring and continues for about a month.

I planted a few and they reseeded quite nicely into a small colony. They do look beautiful when massed but, I like them best up close where I can see the pollinator action. And there's always pollinator action to observe!

I see little carpenter bees, tiny beetles and other fast flying critters when the sun finally makes its way over the trees and the garden warms up. They never hold still for photos, so you'll have to trust me about their pollinator activity! And don't be afraid of their reseeding skill. They are spectacular massed.

What can I say about their wildlife value? A lot. They provide essential nectar and pollen for short-tongued bees, wasps, and flies, and are a primary larval host for Black Swallowtail butterflies. They also attract beneficial insects that will predate on garden pests.

Zizia aurea is a classic carrot family member and knowing its characteristics would make identifying it and other Apiaceae easy peasy in a woodland. Look for clustered small white or yellow flowers that make you think of an umbrella spokes! The clusters are called umbels and are actually individual flowers on stalks arranged like the spokes of an umbrella. You can practice identifying in a herb/vegetable garden where you likely to find many carrot family member.

Why plant Golden Alexander:

It offers a vital food source for beneficial insects early in the season when few other flowers are available.
the lady beetles and parasitic wasps that it attracts helps maintain a balanced ecosystem
deer, rabbit and vole resistant
adapts to various soil conditions although it prefers moist soil
the flowers are attractive to many kinds of insects seeking pollen or nectar, especially short- tongued bees. It attract a variety of butterflies, native bees, bumble bees, and honeybees to the garden.
host plant for Black swallowtail butterfly
thrives in full sun to part shade, damp meadows but can survive dry conditions
it's so perfect there are no cultivars!

Golden Alexanders bloom in April in my Zone7, Middle Tennessee garden. Native to Tennessee and Davidson county where I live, they are usually found in wooded bottomlands, stream banks, moist meadows, and floodplains. They're native from Canada to Florida and east of the Rockies. They're a good choice for heavy clay soils in semi-shade to full sun. They're happy in moist soil but, once established they have some drought tolerance. They've been happy at Clay and Limestone and I never worry that our wet winters will kill them. I do give them an extra drink of water during the droughty summers, especially these last few years when we've had severe droughts.

Orange present in county

The Particulars

Genus: Zizia
Species: aurea
Common Name: Golden Alexander
Family: Apiaceae

Flowering: flowers in April-May in my middle Tennessee Zone 7 garden

Native Range: Eastern Canada to southern United States

Zone: 3 to 8

Size: Height: 1.50 to 3.00 feet Spread: 1.50 to 2.00 feet

Bloom: yellow, umbel

Sun: Full sun to part shade

Water: Medium
Soil: Heavy clay

Maintenance: Water in droughty times if newly established. Unwanted seedlings might be an issue, but are easily shared and moved to other parts of your garden.

Foliage: Attractive

Pollinators: Zizia is a food source for short-tongued insects that are able to easily reach the nectar in the small yellow flowers. Black Swallowtail butterflies feed on the nectar and lay eggs on the foliage and when the eggs hatch the caterpillars will feed on its leaves.
Propagation: Plant seedlings in the spring for good success. Seed will germinate after 90 days moist, cold stratification. Germinates at high percentages. Expect it to reseed.
Wildlife: Has never been predated by deer or voles.
Comments: A delightful plant to allow to seed itself about in a damp sunny meadow. Use in a rain garden or in natural garden. Plant with Carex, Aquilegias, Packera aurea and other plants that like moist soil. Golden Alexander also attracts and hosts a number of beneficial insects that are predatory or parasitoid on many common garden pest insects.(Illinois Wildflowers)

If you garden for pollinators, especially butterfly, you won't be disappointed with Golden Alexander. So give it a try. If it's happy you can enjoy a massed golden show.

xoxogail

PS Please remember to never, never, never, never, ever use pesticides in your garden. Also, be sure the plants you plant are free of neonicotinoids. Believe me when I say you want to welcome insects to your garden!

First Wednesday Taking Care of Willdlife Challenge: Early Blooming Spring Plants, Hummingbirds and Coevolution

noreply@blogger.com (Gail) — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 16:30:00 +0000

Are you ready for the hummingbirds? I am and so are several plants in my garden!

Trumpet honeysuckle and Eastern Columbine bloom just in time for migrating Ruby Throated Hummingbirds and that's no coincidence. They have co-adapted with Hummingbirds over millions of years to form a mutually beneficial relationship. Hummingbirds migrate thousands of miles annually from their winter home in Central America and they're movement north coincides with the blooming of these preferred flowers.

When they arrive in middle Tennessee they are hungry and the red tubular and trumpet-shaped flowers of both columbines and trumpet honeysuckles hold more nectar than other flowers and are irresistible to hummingbirds. This co-adapted/mutually beneficial relationship is pretty cool. The long bill and tongue of these hummers fits into the throat of preferred flowers like columbines and trumpet honeysuckle flowers to easily reach the nectar, and while feeding, grains of pollen spill onto the head of the bird and is carried to other Columbines and Trumpet honeysuckle. It's a marvelous mutualistic dance that happens in gardens all over the Eastern United States.

It's almost show time in Middle Tennessee. Historically Hummingbirds arrive in middle Tennessee in late March to mid-April. In fact they have been reported in Franklin, TN a city 20 miles southwest of downtown Nashville.

So get ready!

'Cedar Lane' Trumpet honeysuckle/Lonicera sempervirens

Hummers need a lot of fuel. David Wentworth Lazaroff in his book The Secret Lives of Hummingbirds describes a hummer's lifestyle as high octaine meaning they must consume as much as one-and-a-half times their body weight in nectar every day. He said, “Being a hummingbird is like driving a car with a one-gallon gas tank. There is an almost constant need to refuel."

As anyone who has tried to capture a photo will tell you they are fast moving acrobats of the air. Thank you Joanna for sharing your photo with me. Now I will set up my tripod and camera and try to capture a hovering hummer which a dear friend refers to as the holy grail of hummingbird photos.

Joanna Brichetto photo

Although, it's not easy to capture a photo of humming birds hovering, it's not difficult to attract migrating RTH to your garden. Like all bird visitors and residents they need food, shelter, water, nesting sites and perching sites. Plant native flowers and shrubs with nectar bearing flowers to keep them happy. Hummingbirds are attracted to tubular, nectar-rich flowers in shades of red, pink, and orange.

To provide for hummingbirds that are arriving and to keep them in your garden plant the following:

Aesculus pavia/red buckeye

Impatiens capensis/jewelweed

Aquilegia canadensis/columbine

Campsis radicans/trumpet creeper

Penstemons

Monarda/bergamot/bee- balm

Lonicera sempervirens/trumpet (or coral) honeysuckle

Lobelia/cardinal flower

Silene virginica/royal catchfly and round-leaved catchfly fire-pink

Phlox

Salvias: especially red flowered

The Audubon organization shares some cool facts about our high octane acrobatic visitors that I think are worth sharing.

They have specially adapted wings that not only beat 50 times a second, but they are the only bird family who can hover for extended periods of time. They can fly backwards, forwards and upside down.
These tiny birds are endurance flyers. They beef up their bodies with insects and nectar to make non stop flights from central America to the eastern USA and Canada.
Humming birds run on flower power! They have not only coevolved with several of our spring wildflowers, but also fall blooming Jewelweed. All of which we can plant in our gardens.
Habitat Gardens, wood edges. Summers in a variety of semi-open habitats, including open woods, clearings and edges in forest, gardens, city parks.

Audubon

There may not be as many nectar sources available with this crazy up and down spring we've had in middle Tennessee so please consider hanging feeders. It's fun to watch the hummers up close and it's an easy way to supplement their nectar needs. You don't have to buy nectar, make your own, it's just sugar and water! There are recipes on the internet. Please, do not use the red dyed syrups that are often offered at big box stores. It's also very important to keep the feeders clean.

And remember, never, ever, ever, ever use pesticides or you will end up killing the insects aka bird food that are living in your gardens.

xoxogail

PS It's Spring Migration and millions of other birds are flying over our gardens at night. I'm wondering if you and your garden are ready?

There are things we can do. Very important things!

Go lights out at 11pm to 6am during migration (spring and fall). Turn off outside lights.
Provide food in clean feeders, suet is still important.
Put out hummingbird feeders and keep them clean.
Provide fresh water
Plant native trees, shrubs and perennials. Native woody plants provide cover from predators, nighttime roosts and nesting sites. They also host insects, caterpillars and spiders which are essential food for spring-migrating birds.
Don't use pesticides or you will end up killing the insects/bird food that are living in your gardens.
Leave your leaves where overwintering insects will provide a buffet for birds
Be a responsible pet owner: keep your cat indoors or in an enclosure well away from birds. Cats predate on birds.
Make your windows obvious and strike proof especially the big picture windows. Add decals, paint spider webs, stripes or designs, this will keep birds from colliding into them when they stop at our feeders.
Where night lighting is necessary, use fixtures that direct light only where it’s needed.
Become an advocate: Work to get your community involved in turning off their outdoor lights from 11pm to 6am every night.
Sign the Home Owners Pledge at Bird Safe Nashville.

Take the Taking Care of Wildlife In Our Gardens Challenge

Activities that increase our knowledge of the natural world are equally as valuable. Helping others learn about nature is included. Golly gee whiz, there are so many things you can do.

Gone are the lightening bugs.
Gone are the ground dwelling/nesting native bees.
Gone is the habitat for insects, spiders and other critters.
Gone is plant diversity.
Gone are trees that provided for hundreds of moths, butterflies and other insects.
Gone are the nesting sites for woodpeckers, hummingbirds, Chickadees and other birds.
Gone is a healthy foodweb.

It breaks my heart.

We can't stop the progmess, but, maybe we can make a lot of educational noise and help our new neighbors see the value in providing for critters and ultimately helping the environment.

A gardener can hope!

xoxoGail

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Wildflower Wednesday: Phacelia bipinnatifida and Love at First Sight

noreply@blogger.com (Gail) — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 15:00:00 +0000

It really was love at first sight.

Who could resist the lavender-blue flowers with deeply divided, mottled fern-like leaves that bloom in early spring and attracts bees? Those leaves alone are worth having in your garden. They have lighter, grayish-green, or silvery, watermark-like blotches and can develop a purple tinge in late fall/winter.

My little naturalized colony at its best

It's been so long ago that I can't remember when I added Phacelia bipinnatifida to the garden but, I remember quite clearly the first time I saw a naturally occurring colony on a shady damp hillside. I was going to visit a new friend's garden and was driving up her steep drive, as I turned a bend in the drive every where I looked Purple Phacelia was blooming and bees were dancing from flower to flower. There's something splendid about natives that mass naturally, and this was a dazzling and magical pollinator show.

My little Phacelia colony waxes and wanes from year to year. Purple phacelia/Phacelia bipinnatifida is a biennial wildflower in the Hydrophyllaceae (Waterleaf) family that is native to the southeast USA. Biennials require two growing seasons to complete their life-cycle. The first year is vegetative growth; the second year, they flower and produce seed and shortly after, they die. They're usually quite prolific and will set seed, but, you'll only have flowers every other year. If you want to have blooms every year, you've got to put a little bit of effort into making that happen.

Let's get more detailed about what that effort looks like.

When you are trying to get a biennial established it's important to remember: One year from seed, second year to flower, then it dies. To have flowers every year you have to get a colony started, so you need seeds, first year plants and flowering plants. I really was lucky to be given several plants in bloom and many first year seedlings. Here's how it works! Those first flowers were visited by Bumble bees and other pollinators and got fertilized, they set seed and then died. The fallen seeds germinated and over wintered; the following spring the original first year seedlings bloomed and their flowers were fertilized, set seed, and then died. It's not a complicated process, but it's a brilliant cycle that continues to this day.

I make sure the cycle is not interrupted. Which means that I collect the seeds, and sprinkle them where I want new plants, sometimes I move the tiny seedlings, the first year plants and even the second year plants in late winter to make the colony larger. They always seem to survive!

If you're lucky it forms self seeding colonies that are simply stunning.

As all gardeners know, some years are better then others and this is a lean year. Lean because we've had a several years of low rainfall right when the seeds need moisture to germinate. I've watered enough so that I have flowers every year, but, I will be doubling my efforts this year to reinvigorate my little colony. To insure the colony will make it through the deluge/drought pattern Middle Tennessee has settled into, I'll hand water them during the severely dry times.

Bees and other pollinators that are out and about on warm days love Phacelia. It has wildlife value and supports the following specialized bees: Andrena (Micrandrena) lamelliterga, Andrena (Euandrena) phaceliae, Hoplitis (Robertsonella) simplex.

tightly coiled inflorescence in bud

I am honestly not disappointed that it's a lean year. Especially when I see proof that it's providing for a lot of early spring visitors. I don't have hillsides of Phacelia, that requires much moister soil than I can give it, but, where it's blooming it shines.

To successfully grow our Wildflower star give it part-shade, shade, moisture, (it can take some dryness) in acid, neutral, average loam. It won't turn it's noise up at rich moist, well draining soil!

There are a few online nurseries that sell Purple Phacelia just do a web search. Or if you're lucky and can find a friend with seedlings to share, you can start your own journey to having a colony of flowers that pollinators adore. I hope that post like this open eyes to the beauty of Phacelia.

The Particulars

Botanical name: Phacelia bipinnatifida

Common names: Purple Phacelia, Fernleaf Phacelia, Fernleaf Scorpion Weed, Spotted Phacelia, Loose-flowered Phacelia

Family: Hydrophyllaceae (Waterleaf) family, also sometimes classified in Borage family

Life Cycle: Biennial

Distribution: AL , AR , GA , IA , IL , IN , KY , MD , MO , MS , NC , OH , PA , SC , TN , VA , WV

USDA Plant Hardiness Zone: 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b

Height: 1 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in.

Width: 1 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in.

Light: Dappled Sunlight (Shade through upper canopy all day) Deep shade (Less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight) Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours) Full sun if mesic soil.

Soil: Adaptable-clay, shallow rocky, loamy, sandy and/or high organic matter. PH acidic and neutral. Moisture-well draining and moist

Flower description: Racemes of 4-12 blue to purple flowers are produced from March through April/May. Individual flowers are 1/2 inch across cup shaped with 5-lobed corolla, 5 sepals, 5 stamens, a slender style, and an ovary. The racemes occur at the top of stems with some secondary ones forming in the axils of the upper stems.

Color: Blue/Purple/Lavender

Bloom Time: Spring. March in middle Tennessee.

Propagation: I collect seed by placing a tray with potting soil under the blooming flower. I let most self sow. Seeds ripen shortly after blooming. I let natural rain fall water the seeds and they germinate when temperatures cool in the fall and through the winter. I usually don't notice seedlings until March. Some folks say that the seed needs to be sown fresh, but I am going to try to collect it and place in the refrigerator to see if it will grow when sown later.

Surface sowing is always successful and in my garden fallen leaves don't seem to keep them from germinating, so prehaps light isn;t a requirement.

Wildlife Value: Phacelia support the following specialized bees: Andrena (Micrandrena) lamelliterga, Andrena (Euandrena) phaceliae, Hoplitis (Robertsonella) simplex.

Comments: Deer and bunny safe. This is a plant that should be in every shady garden. Find a friend who will share a few seedlings. Phacelia bipinnatifida should be allowed plenty of room in a naturalistic, woodland setting to move around as it wishes. If you want to maintain it in precise spots, transplant seedlings in the fall to preferred locations.

My thoughts: When it comes to wildflowers almost all the attention centers on perennials. They're marvelous investment plants that you can count on to make a good show in your garden year after year, but, you might want to consider adding a few annuals and biennials that are native to your part of the garden world. They're charming plants and add another dimension to the garden~many of the seedlings and first year plant's foliage is quite attractive. (Gardeners, Do Yourself A Big Favor)

Thanks for reading! xoxogail

First Wednesday Taking Care of Wildlife Challenge: I Challenge You To Use Find a Use for Tree Debris

noreply@blogger.com (Gail) — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 16:00:00 +0000

Dear Middle Tennesseans affected by ice storm Fern, I challenge you to find a use for some of the twigs, branches and tree trunks that are all over your neighborhoods and yards. Although the ice storm was in late January there are still piles of tree debris on many streets.

To Recap what happened in Nashville and much of Middle Tennessee in January

Winter storm Fern caused catastrophic damage to our tree canopy. Metro Parks estimated they lost more than 6000 trees throughout the entire park system. I can't even imagine how many trees have been lost across Nashville neighborhoods. Driving through my neighborhood and beyond I see very few yards that aren't affected by tree loss or damage.

Tree debris is still piled everywhere. It's devastating to see the tattered and thinned tree canopy.

If I had the back and a truck I would grab so much of this wood

I've been especially concerned about how the loss of trees will impact bird populations.

Loss of the tree canopy means:

Habitat disruption: birds have no familiar places to nest or roost
Food scarcity: Trees provide important bird foods-sap, nuts, dormant insects
Humans must provide more nutrient rich foods
Nesting challenges: Loss of traditional nesting sites for returning migratory birds means a huge impact on migratory birds. Think about what awaits Purple Martins since many of their preferred trees were lost in downtown Nashville.
Loss of nesting and food means reduced productivity-No baby birds
Loss of cover and safety issues -Many of the trees downed were evergreens. Fewer evergreens affects safety from predators and harsh weather.

Here's some thoughts on what we can do and to prepare for ice and wind storms in the future (source)

Regularly Prune: Hire an arborist for "crown thinning". That's a selective pruning method that removes 10-30% of interior branches to increase light penetration and air circulation throughout the canopy, reducing disease risk and wind resistance without changing the tree's size or shape. It strengthens branches, reduces weight, and improves tree health. It is not tree topping.

Structural Support: If recommended use steel cables and bracing for trees with co-dominant stems (V-shaped unions).
Young Tree Care: Structural pruning when trees are young creates to create a strong framework
Watering: Ensure trees are watered deep into the soil before winter, as hydrated, healthy trees resist ice damage better.

And now suggestions for the challenge!

If a tree needs to be cut down leave a snag

source

Snags in my garden.

dying Ash that was left as a snag

Oak damaged in storm left as a snag

Use fallen limbs to line your garden beds

Twigs and branches play a crucial role in promoting healthy soil: adding essential organic matter to your garden soil, improving soil structure, enhancing water retention, and providing nutrients as it breaks down over time.

Use smaller twigs and branches as filler in the bottom of large containers. They act as a sustainable filler that improves drainage, boosts aeration, and reduces the weight of the pot. It's my mini-version of Hügelkultur, turning yard waste into a nutrient-rich foundation for my plants.

branches and twigs stacked between metal poles and an old bed frame

Make a brush pile. Stack fallen brush, tree limbs, broken pots for ground beetles. Ground beetles are excellent at eating "bad bugs". Bugs are also good bird, toad and small critter food.

Use a tree stump as support for a larger container.

a slice of cedar with legs

Use pieces of downed branches and trunks as benches in your garden or to make trellises and arches.

Be creative and have fun...We found what arborists call cookies (above) and we plan to dry them add legs to make tables. And look at the critter we found (below) last year that makes us smile every time we pass by it.

Have some fun, feed your creativity, help nature and feel free to add more suggestions and to share your ideas with everyone! xoxogail

Here's a recap of what the First Wednesday Monthly Challenge is all about.

Want to Take the Taking Care of Wildlife In Our Gardens Challenge?

The first part of this challenge is to do something, even lots of things each month that support the critters living in our gardens. Gardening with native wildflowers, shrubs and trees that make sense for our ecoregion is a good place to start or continue (as the case may be). Plants and their pollinators are a classic example of mutualism: they have coevolved through evolutionary time in a reciprocal beneficial relationship. This is also true for other critters that visit and live in our gardens.

Activities that increase our knowledge of the natural world are equally as valuable. Helping others learn about nature is included. Golly gee whiz, there are so many things you can do.

Gone are the lightening bugs.
Gone are the ground dwelling/nesting native bees.
Gone is the habitat for insects, spiders and other critters.
Gone is plant diversity.
Gone are trees that provided for hundreds of moths, butterflies and other insects.
Gone are the nesting sites for woodpeckers, hummingbirds, Chickadees and other birds.
Gone is a healthy foodweb.

It breaks my heart.

We can't stop the progmess, but, maybe we can make a lot of educational noise and help our new neighbors see the value in providing for critters and ultimately helping the environment.

A gardener can hope!

xoxoGail

Wildflower Wednesday: Chasmanthium latifolium, A Year Round Beauty

noreply@blogger.com (Gail) — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 17:30:00 +0000

I love native grasses and there aren't nearly enough in my garden. Shallow soil and shady conditions limit them at Clay and Limestone, but, Chasmanthium latifolium (River Oats) is deliriously happy here and it makes a gorgeous big impression....And I do mean a big impression.

I think it's important to tell the truth about plants I showcase and the truth is that while I love River Oats I need to issue a word of caution--This grass spreads through rhizomes and can be aggressive. It will also reseed itself. In fact it has seeded itself vigorously around my sunnier border and taken over spots once inhabited by other sweet native wildflowers! I don't blame the plant, that's its nature. I hold myself completely responsible that it has run roughshod over other plants.

The first few years in the garden

When I was young and eager to have a wildlife friendly garden I chose River Oats because it had year round beauty and good wildlife value. It was easy to grow and tolerant of many different light and soil conditions. I loved that it was a larval host plant for butterflies as well as a food source for small mammals and birds. Later on I learned that it provided shelter for small mammals and was an important plant for lightening bugs.*

It was in the ground and well established when a gardening friend visited and said this to me when she noticed the large clump of river oats: "Oh my, why did you plant that?" She knew what many of us learn from experience, that river oats can be a bit thuggish in some gardens. That's what I found out...Each and everyone of those spikelets can make a new plant in moist soil. It can in dry soil, too!

But let's talk about its wonderful characteristics!

River oats is a cool season clumping grass that emerges in spring before most native grasses. The bright green arching bamboo like foliage is so welcome after a brown winter.

April green leaves with Phlox pilosa

It's especially lovely in early spring as it mingles with early spring wildflowers.

Leander Bruce photo

The flat nodding green seed heads that resemble oats emerge with the foliage. The spike like flower heads sway gently in the slightest breeze making quite a statement in a spring garden.

It always strikes me as too soon when the flowers ripen into seeds, but that's to be expected with cool season grasses. Most cool season grasses are bunch grasses that grow actively in cool weather and set seed by early summer.

And just look how lovely the yellow gold seedheads look with Physostegia virginiana. How ironic or maybe appropriate that two of the most disobedient plants in my garden dance so well together!

Here are two of my favorite fall photos from the archives.

It seeded itself among the witch hazels, Hydrangea arborescens and a long gone Japanese Maple tree. Below it's mixing well with a fall blooming aster.

a lovely couple

Full on winter finds them still beautiful.

Yellowing up on its way to bronze winter color

Since I garden for wildlife, I don't clean up my garden in winter. This means that I let the River oats and the stems of wildflowers stand all winter. This allows insects that over winter in wildflower stems a safe haven and food for birds who forage the seed heads. River oats foliage insulates and protects the plant, adds winter interest and its thick, clumping habit offers essential cover and nesting materials for birds and small mammals.

If you're really lucky you get to see them in the snow.

wind pollinated

Chasmanthium latifolium has more pluses than minuses, but, plant it only if you don't mind a plant that vigorously reseeds or if you have a space in your garden where it can make its big statement! Long time readers know I am a huge fan of colonizing, rough and tumble, take care of themselves native plants and this is definitely one of them.

I've seen it growing in rich woodlands adjacent to cedar glades where it it co-mingles with Hypericum frondosum, Rhus aromatica and sedges. It can also be found naturally growing in rich woodlands and stream beds slopes. It's perfect for stabilizing a stream bank or a slope that's eroding. If you've ever ~~tried~~ struggled to dig a clump to divide or transplant you know that its fibrous and deep root system would hold back the steepest slope!

I will be doing some editing this spring and summer! Wish me luck!xoxogail

The Particulars

Common Name: Indian Wood Oats, Inland Sea Oats, Northern Sea Oats, River Oats, Wild Oats, Wood-oat

Type: Ornamental grass

Family: Poaceae

Native Range: Eastern United States, northern Mexico

Zone: 3 to 8

Height: 2.00 to 5.00 feet

Spread: 1.00 to 2.50 feet

Bloom Time: August to September

Bloom Description: Green

Sun: Full sun to part shade. Very happy in almost full shade.

Water: Medium to wet

Maintenance: Low, if planted in the right place!

Suggested Use: Use in naturalized areas, along streams or edges of water gardens. Watch its placement especially in smaller gardens as may spread aggressively by rhizomes and seeds.

Comments: Showy flowers look like oats. A good cut flower in arrangements. Great winter interest. Highly resistant to deer.

Wildlife value: Larval host plant for Northern Pearly-Eye (Lethe anthedon) caterpillars. Also a larval host plant to several skipper butterflies. Small mammals and birds are attracted to the seeds. Shelter to small mammals in winter.

*Special note: River oats are an excellent native grass for creating a firefly-friendly habitat, providing necessary shade, moisture retention, and structural support for mating. These ornamental grasses offer protective cover for larvae and resting spots for adult fireflies, particularly in shady or riparian areas.

Welcome to Clay and Limestone's Wildflower Wednesday celebration. On the fourth Wednesday of each month I share information about wildflowers and other native plants. Please join in if you like. You can write a blog post or share your favorite wildflower on social media. Remember, it doesn't matter if they are in bloom or not, and, it doesn't matter if we all share the same plants. It's all about celebrating wildflowers.

January 2026: Taking Care of Wildlife in Our Gardens Monthly Challenge.

noreply@blogger.com (Gail) — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 15:00:00 +0000

Welcome to the 2026 Taking Care of Wildlife in Our Gardens Monthly Challenge. Taking care of nature has been the overarching theme of this blog for a very long time. It's what I do as a gardener, it's what I write about and it's what I encourage all of you to do. January 2026 will be the start of the fifth year of the taking care of nature challenges and it's even more relevant in the midst of the many challenges facing wildlife today.

Wildlife is facing major threats from habitat loss and fragmentation, climate change, pollution, overexploitation (poaching/overhunting), the effects of invasive species, disease, and human-wildlife conflict. Although the population of earth isn't growing as fast as it once was there are still over 70million people added to our world populations each year. The more crowded we get the more we continue with our unsustainable practices that disrupt ecosystems and consequently push species towards extinction.

Radnor Lake in winter

What can we do? I suggest we start taking care of wildlife.There any number of ways we can do this and the Taking Care of Wildlife in Our Gardens Challenge is one I especially recommend.

What the challenge is all about!

The first part of this challenge is to do something or even lots of things each month that supports nature.

Be it for the critters living or visiting our gardens,
volunteering at a nature center or
joining an advocacy group.
Adding native wildflowers, shrubs and trees that make sense for our ecoregion is a good place to start or continue (as the case may be).
Activities that increase our knowledge of the natural world are equally as valuable.
Helping others learn about nature is included.
Golly gee whiz, there are so many things you can do.

The second part of the challenge is to post about it somewhere: Your blog, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or even your neighborhood listserve. Share your activities with everyone. Wouldn't an article in the local paper be a coup for nature!

Why post it? Because positive publicity is needed to educate our friends, neighbors and communities about how important even the smallest changes we make as gardeners/citizens can be for pollinators, birds, insects and mammals, including humans, that live all around us.

Why now? Our neighborhoods are changing. Almost everyday in my own neighborhood an older home along with many (if not all) of the mature oak, hickory, maple, Eastern cedar, hackberry and other trees are cut down. Insects, birds, even mammals lose their home site and food supplies when trees are lost. During construction soil is compacted by bulldozers, trucks and piles of debris causing runoff; surface runoff that can carry pollution to streams and rivers. It's extremely important that information about the role trees play in our ecosystem is shared. Trees contribute to their environment by providing oxygen, improving air quality, climate amelioration, conserving water, preserving soil, and supporting wildlife.

The "bee lawns" in my neighborhood that are composed of Claytonia, Salvia lyrata, Ruellia humilis, fleabane, Western Daisy, Violets, self-heal, clovers, native grasses and sedges are disappearing. Instead, they're sodded with non-native grasses. These monoculture turf lawns contribute nothing environmentally. Here's what we lose when our diverse lawns are replaced with pristine turf grass:

Gone are the lightening bugs.
Gone are the ground dwelling/nesting native bees.
Gone is the habitat for insects, spiders and other critters.
Gone is plant diversity.
Gone are trees that provided for hundreds of moths, butterflies and other insects.
Gone are the nesting sites for woodpeckers, hummingbirds, Chickadees and other birds.
Gone is a healthy foodweb.

It breaks my heart.

We can't stop the progmess, but, maybe we can make a lot of educational noise and help all our neighbors, new and old, see the value in providing for critters and ultimately helping the environment.

A gardener can hope!

Here's 5 things that might inspire you this month.

Join a local WildOnes. They offer fabulous webinars, opportunities to volunteer, garden tours and monthly meetings where you can meet and chat with other members. Here's a link to my local chapter, Middle Tennessee WildOnes. You can join the national chapter and help form a local chapter where you live!
Allow a fallen tree to remain in the garden. Limbs on the ground are a perfect shelter for small animals such as rabbits, chipmunks and squirrels and a habitat for beetles, termites and other insects.
Join your state native plant society (Tennessee Native Plant Society)
Take an online course on designing with native plants. Winter is a great time to begin planning changes in your garden that support wildlife.
Take a walk in your neighborhood and observe nature. To quote Joanna Brichetto in Sidewalk Nature "Look Around. Nature is here, is us, our driveways, our parks, and parking lots.

Thanks for reading and I hope you feel inspired to take up the challenge.

I'd love for you to comment and share your thoughts, your frustrations, your successes in your garden or within your community. Please feel free to suggest topics and I hope you know that any input or feedback you care to offer is greatly appreciated.

May this be the start of a hope filled year for all of us. Happy New Year.

xoxogail

Need more activities? Here's an incomplete list of things you might consider doing or changing in your garden, and things you can do for and/or in your community. But don't limit yourself to my list, make your own list or check out the internet for ideas.

Buy the best wildflower, butterfly and bird id books for your state.

Read nature books to your children and grandchildren. Buy them nature books.

Get in the garden with your children and grandchildren.

Give nature books as baby shower gifts (Nature books for infants and toddlers)

Shrink your lawn and make your planting beds larger.

Commit to never, ever, ever, ever using pesticides in the garden.

Make a rain garden in low spots to collect and mitigate runoff.

Show some soil! Our native ground nesting bees nest in bare soil, so don't mulch every square inch of your garden.

Get rid of the plastic weed barriers in your garden, it's not good for anything.

Invite bugs into your garden. Plant annuals that attract beneficial bugs.

Learn to tolerate damaged plants. Imperfection is the new perfect.

Make a brush pile. Stack fallen brush, cut tree limbs, broken pots for ground beetles. Ground beetles are excellent at eating "bad bugs". Bugs are also good bird, toad and small critter food.

Rethink what you consider a pest. Lots of good bugs eat aphids. Spiders are important predators and they're great bird food!

Add nesting boxes for birds.

Plant shrubs and small trees that provide berries and nuts.

Keep a nature journal: You can observe visitors to your water feature, make note of when they visit. Notice which flowers attract the most pollinators and which ones are just pretty faces.

Join your state native plant society (Tennessee Native Plant Society)

Join WildOnes even if there's no local group you can join the national organization. (Middle Tennessee WildOnes)

Support your local native plant sellers. (GroWild in middle Tennessee, Overhill Gardens in east Tennessee, Resource Guide TN Native Plant Society)

Encourage your local garden clubs to offer native plant talks.

If your garden club has a plant sale encourage them to sell more native plants.

Get trained as a naturalist (Tennessee Naturalist Program. Almost every state has their own Master Naturalist training program

Take an online course on tree, fungi and wildflower id.

Take an online course on designing with native plants.

Take a walk in your neighborhood and observe nature. To quote Joanna Brichetto in Sidewalk Nature "Look Around. Nature is here, is us, our driveways, our baseboards, parks, and parking lots."

Read! There are hundreds of books on gardening for wildlife, the environment, and rewilding our world. There are delightful blogs with wonderful and informative articles.

If you are already gardening with wildlife in mind then add a few signs that help educate your neighbors. (Xerces Society, Pollinator Partnership)

Join the Xerces Society.

Set up an information station where neighbors can pick up brochures about your garden and other info.

Get certified (National Wildlife Federation, check to see what your state offers)

Wildflower Wednesday 2025 Posts in Review

noreply@blogger.com (Gail) — Wed, 24 Dec 2025 16:00:00 +0000

I was worried that this might have been the first year that the Hypericums weren't going to put on their hypercolored show for the Wildflower Wednesday Posts in Review Roundup! At the last minute and after two inches of much needed rain their brilliant colors began to brighten my garden. Each fall when I see Hypericum frondosum's brilliant color I wonder why more American gardeners haven't planted them. It's a wonderful Southeastern US native shrub with four seasons of interest and good wildlife value. It's going to have be the first WW star of 2026!

Gardening in the Middle South is mostly a treat, we have four seasons, but our winter is mercifully short and spring and late autumn make up for the steamy hot summer weather. The last several years have been especially rough with weather extremes of incredible cold, incredible droughts and incredible rains...But we gardeners remain positive knowing that before long the earliest spring ephemerals will break dormancy and the gloriously long bloom of wildflowers will begin.

Here's the Wildflower Wednesday Parade of Stars. Please follow the links to read about our fabulous wildflowers.

Seasons Greetings and Happy New Year. xoxogail

January Wildflower Wednesday: Anemone virginiana

I love this photo of its winter curls...before it goes all fluffy.

I have had a love-hate relationship with a few plants over the years and Tall Thimbleweed was once one of them. It's been so long since I felt that way that I am having trouble remembering exactly why. Perhaps it was its tendency to spread too easily like other Ranunculous/Buttercup family members. But, these days I appreciate all its fine qualities, including its self sowing.

Anemone virginiana aka Tall Thimbleweed has a long flowering period from early to mid-summer. In summer the buds are displayed on slender stems above clusters of attractive lobed leaves that are clustered in a whorl halfway up the stem. The small white spring blooming flowers have five petal-like sepals and greenish-yellow central stamens around a central dome. Mining bees, small carpenter bees, sweat bees, green sweat bees and yellow faced bee will be found visiting the unique flower. (source)

February Wildflower Wednesday: A Winter Blooming Treasure-Hamamelis vernalis

I am not shy about sharing photos of my blooming Ozark witch hazel. Nor do I shy away from making it a Wildflower Wednesday star every few years. It it deserves the attention. I wish more people grew this beauty instead of the non-native hybrids that most nurseries sell; especially when you consider that it's a host plant to 69 moths and butterflies.

You'll love its sweet fragrance wafting toward you on a warm winter day (in the 50s). You'll delight in the yellow/orange crepe paper streaming petals that unfurl as the day warms and furl back up when the temperature drops. Walking by this plant in full bloom is a treat with the cool flowers, the wonderful scent and visiting pollinators.

Hamamelis vernalis is a lovely native shrub/small tree that blooms when you have just about given up hope that winter will end and warmth will return to the world. In my Middle Tennessee garden it often begins blooming in mid January and it's not unusual for it to continue blooming all through February and often into March.

March Wildflower Wednesday: Sweet Betsy Time in the Woodland Garden

I love Trillium cuneatum and revel in its spring emergence every year. It's been years since I showcased this beauty and I think it's a perfect little Wildflower Wednesday star.

It was one of the first native plants that I discovered when we moved here many years ago. Long time readers might remember that I built this garden around the native beauties I found all over the wooded edges of my yard. Sweet Betsy was hiding in the wayback backyard under the oak trees and I transplanted it to my new woodland garden. I remember carefully digging around it to get all the rhizome and roots and gently placing it in the garden. They survived and thrived despite my gardening ignorance.

Trillium cuneatum typically flowers from early March to mid April. It can be found in rich, mostly upland woods, but, it is especially happy growing on Middle Tennessee's Ordovician limestone soils (neutral to basic soil). Trillium will be happy in your garden, if you give it a rich, moist soil, shade, protect it from browsing critters and keep aggressive perennials from crowding it. They can live for a long time and usually do not flower until they are several years old. It's found growing across Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. Sweet Betsy is a great selection for your shade garden. Plants are hardy, drought-resistant (although they prefer moist soil), somewhat deer proof, and extremely long-lived.

April Wildflower Wednesday: Maianthemum racemosum

Maianthemum racemosum (formerly known as Smilacina racemosa) is a colonizer that is spreading very slowly beneath Viburnum rafidulum in my habitat. It mingles delightfully with Green and Gold, Christmas ferns and Purple phacelia. I am very fond of it and appreciate that it is attractive in the garden from early spring to winter frost.

The crooked arching stems and large leaves of early spring are attention grabbers with their slightly zigzag hairy, reddish or green stems between the leaves. The leaves (ovate and alternate) are produced on 1-3 foot, unbranched arching stems that usually last through the summer.

May Wildflower Wednesday: Scutellaria parvula — Small skullcap

Dear readers, There are far too many lovely native wildflowers that are underappreciated or overlooked and Scutellaria parvula is one of them. Even its species name "parvula" means very small and insignificant! It may be small but, it's not insignificant. It's a lovely flower and I hope you are as excited about meeting it as I am to introduce you to our Wildflower Wednesday star.

The flowers of this diminutive beauty are best seen and appreciated close up and that means you gotta get down on your knees to see it's pretty flower face. Trust me when I say, it was so worth the dirty pants to get a close look at this sweet flower. While there I could clearly see the square stems and opposite leaves that are hallmarks of a mint family member.

Photo Source

It stands less than a foot high and its tiny flowers are about 1/3 inch long and are located in the leaf axils in the upper third of the plant. The blue/violet tubular corolla flower has fuse petals that form upper and lower lips. The lower lip with its white patch and blue dots is a perfect landing pad for bees.

June Wildflower Wednesday: Dichanthelium clandestinum

When I walk the rolling hills of this neighborhood I can still see pollinator friendly lawns in front of the 1950s ranch houses and the woodland remnants in the hills that surround the neighborhood. The lawns come alive in March when Claytonia virginica/Spring beauties bloom, followed by Salvia lyrata/Lyre leaf sage, Ruellia humilis/wild petunia, Carex/sedges, Danthonia spicata/poverty oat grass and other native witch grasses. I hope that enough of these lawns will be safe from the developers who are bull dozing the trees and the 1950 suburban ranches to the ground in order to build houses that fill almost the entire lot. They have replaced the pollinator friendly lawns with sod...Gone are the spring beauties, gone are the other pollinator plants and gone are the lightening bugs. Ignorance of the value of saving native, trees, grasses and plants are destroying the habitat of pollinators, birds, insects and mammals. That breaks my heart.

But, in my wild garden you will find many of those plants, along with our Wildflower Wednesday Star, Dichanthelium clandestinum. Deer-tongue grass is one of the witch/panic grasses that I've discovered happily growing in damp spots in the garden. The unbranched leaves of early spring caught my eye and made identifying it easier.

Most of the various panic or witch grasses are members of the Panicum or Dichanthelium genus. Many are hard to identify by this author. Deer-tongue grass is easily identified by its attractive silver flower heads that shimmer in the slightest breeze. The clasping leaves give the plant a bamboo like appearance and the foliage turns yellow-brown in autumn. After a hard frost kills the fall stems and leaves, they are replaced by low winter rosettes of basal leaves. The winter rosettes of this plant make a good evergreen groundcover. The root system is rhizomatous and can form colonies. It's attractive and has good wildlife value....so it's a keeper!

July Wildflower Wednesday Anglepod

For years I thought the name of this plant was angelpod!

Although angelpod is not its name, I think you'll agree with me that our Wildflower wednesday star, Gonolobus suberosus, is a cool plant.

It's called anglepod because it's milkweed like fruiting body has sharp angled edges. Gonolobus suberosus is it's botanical name but it has many common names: anglepod milkvine, anglepod milkweed or angular-fruit milkvine. It has leaves that are heart shaped and opposite. The stems, petioles and leaf veins may show purplish shading that fades as the plant ages. The greenish-yellow star shaped flowers occur in a cluster near the top of the plant. It is naturally occurring throughout the southeastern U.S. from Texas to southeastern Kansas to southern Illinois and Indiana to Maryland and southward to Florida. It's a perennial herbaceous vine that prefers habitats like borders, thickets, and open areas within forests. It's native to middle Tennessee and I am not sure how it got in to my garden, but I am glad it's here and gladly accept the gift.

August Wildflower Wednesday: We celebrate a butterfly and its hostplant, Ptelea trifoliata

A dozen years ago I saw my first Giant Swallowtail butterfly when it stopped by to nectar on the wildflowers. It superficially resembled an Eastern Swallowtail while gliding about, but once it settled on the Asclepias tuberosa, it was clear that it was not one of my regular garden visitors. The coloring was wrong and it had an unusually large wing span. I was pretty sure it was a Giant Swallowtail and just as I've read, that first sighting was dazzling!

What a beauty and the 6.3 inch (16cm) wing span makes it the largest North American butterfly.

Forewing with diagonal band of yellow spots. Tails are edged with black and filled with yellow

The Giant Swallowtail Butterfly/Papilio cresphontes' flight is a graceful series of strong flaps and long glides. It spends its time on the wing, nectaring or patrolling for mates (if male). I waited patiently for it to stop flitting and pose prettily with wings fully spread, but, it was feasting madly.

It's welcome in most gardens, but, is considered a pest in Florida's citrus growing regions where citrus trees are its chosen host plant. Fortunately there are plenty of parts of the US and Canada where it is welcome, including here in my garden in middle Tennessee.

Back then I wasn't growing its host plant, but several years ago I bought two Hop Tree/Ptelea trifoliata hoping that the next Giant Swallowtail that visited would find a place to lay eggs.

They eat and poop and eat and poop ...a lot!

September: Wildflower Wednesday: Goldenrods

Fall's best landing pads of deliciousness.

Goldenrod is a genus of over 120 species of herbaceous perennials in the daisy family (Asteraceae). There are at least 75 native to North America. They thrive in open areas like prairies, meadows, and savannas while some species prefer woodland edges or moist conditions.

Goldenrods are luminous with small, bright yellow flowers in dense clusters on top of tall stems. They begin blooming in mid September in my middle Tennessee garden and continue to bloom throughout October. They put on a beautiful flower show and any insect that needs pollen and/or nectar is sure to be found visiting.You can't ask for a better fall blooming wildlife valuable plant and when you combine them with the ex-asters, you get beauty and happy critters.

Yet gardeners are reluctant to plant them, so let's get the objections over with first!

Goldenrods have a bad reputation for two reasons.

They have been misidentified as the cause of hayfever suffering. They are not responsible for any allergy symptoms you or I are having this fall. The tiny grains of wind blown pollen from ragweed is the culprit. Goldenrod is insect pollinated and the pollen grains are too big to be blown about. Pass that along please!
Their tendency to colonize might be one of the main reasons so many gardeners don't plant them in their gardens. Long time readers know I have a love affair with rough and tumble, take care of themselves, colonizing wildflowers and goldenrods are the champion of colonizing wildflowers. Yes, they can be aggressive spreaders, but they are rugged and adaptable. They grow were many wildflowers cannot survive and they can spread quickly where there is no other native plant competition. Those that have been problematic propagate by a rhizomatous/spreading root system that can quickly take over a small garden. So avoid Canada Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis) and Late Goldenrod (Solidago gigantea) two goldenrod species known for their aggressive spread by rhizomes. If you want to plant a goldenrod but fear their nature, look for clump forming cultivated beauties like Solidago 'Solar Cascade', Solidago caesia/Bluestem Goldenrod, Solidago odora, Solidago rugosa 'Fireworks'. My favorite clump former for shade is Solidago flexicaulis/Zigzag Goldenrod.

October Wildflower Wednesday: There Are Wildflowers That Like to Challenge the Boundaries!

At Clay and Limestone we call several of them good friends and Conoclinium coelestinum is one of the best!

Conoclinium coelestinum

This rough and tumble wildflower makes gardening on my shallow, too often dry garden soil worth the effort! It's an enthusiastic growers but, I decided years ago that a plant with lovely fuzzy lilac flowers that attracts bumbles, small bees, skippers and was a host plant to several moths was worth my having to pull out a few errant plants.

Yes, given the right conditions it can be an enthusiastic colonizer. It begins blooming in late August (Middle South) and continues through early fall and into October. The fuzzy appearing lilac-blue flowers add a softness to my late summer and fall garden when the Susans, Goldenrods, Cup Plant, Verbesinas, Joe-Pye weeds and Ironweeds are making a large and loud scene. It's especially beautiful when allowed to naturalize and make its own big statement.

November: Wildflower Wednesday: Hamamelis virginiana

Today I am thankful for family, friends and my wildflower garden. I am thankful for time I spend outdoors, for the critters that live and visit my garden, for the last blooming flowers and for the gnats, flies, moths and bees that are out and about on warm days.

I am grateful for all of you who read my Wildflower Wednesday posts and don't mind that I am posting this one on Thanksgiving Day instead of on the fourth Wednesday!

unfurled crepe papery petals on a very warm November afternoon.

Today, I celebrate Hamamelis virginiana our Wildflower Wednesday star. Witch-hazel is a fall flowering understory tree with sweetly fragrant small yellow flowers. It is native to woodlands, forest margins and stream banks in eastern North America (including OK and TX) where it's found growing in moist well drained soil in sunny to partial shade conditions.

That's where it's found in nature and it's a darn shame that it is overlooked by most nurseries in favor of selling the flashier non-native witch-hazels. Dear readers, step away from those Chinese witch-hazels and ask for Hamamelis virginiana! You won't be disappointed and that's a promise.* If you can't find it locally there are good online nurseries that sell seedlings.

Hamamelis virginiana starts blooming in October at Clay and Limestone and blooms for at least a month. In outstanding weather you can expect to find a few flowers in early December! Every branch is covered with fragrant spidery crepe paper flowers that never fail to charm as they furl on cold days and unfurl on warm ones!

There are so many wonderful wildflowers to celebrate, I hope you have a list of your favorites. Here's my secret, all the plants in my habitat are my favorites, but, these wildflowers are incredible plants and if you can give them the growing conditions they need, then consider adding them to your garden. If you garden in middle Tennessee they may be perfect for yours.

I love when you visit and leave comments, especially when you share something about your garden. I hope to see you in 2026 and may your garden give you the joy that mine has given me.

xoxogail

First Wednesday Taking Care of Wildlife Challenge Roundup of the 2025 Posts

noreply@blogger.com (Gail) — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 16:00:00 +0000

Dear Readers,

I believe gardeners have a key role in improving the health of our communities, especially when we practice environmentally conscious gardening. That includes protecting our irreplaceable and threatened biodiversity; supporting pollinators; replacing or reducing lawns; composting; avoiding chemical use; planting natives; supporting birds and other wildlife by dimming lights; leaving the leaves; spending time outdoors; and getting kids outdoors...That's just to name a few.

I started the Taking Care of Wildlife Challenge meme several years ago. Taking care of wildlife in our gardens is a huge part of environmentally conscious gardening and something that I wish my neighbors would embrace. The challenge is simply to do one thing or even lots of things each month that supports nature. Then share what you've done with others on social media, the newspaper or your neighborhood listserv. Information like this when shared helps others take action.

Why now? Because things are changing drastically around us. Development is just one of the many human activities that has contributed to habitat loss, habitat fragmentation and habitat degradation. When an ecosystem has been dramatically changed by human activities it may no longer be able to provide the food, water, cover, and places to raise young that wildlife need to survive. Every day there are fewer places left that wildlife can call home. We might not be able to stop the development/destruction but, maybe we can make a lot of educational noise and help others see the value in providing for critters and ultimately helping the environment.

I've included links and a brief summary of each 2025 Challenge. Just follow the links to each post. I hope you find them helpful. Writing them helped me learn even more about living environmentally conscious.

If you have any suggestions for future post, please share them in the comments.

xoxogail

The Posts:

January: First Wednesday Taking Care of Wildlife Challenge

Dear Clay and Limestone readers, I've been assessing whether to keep posting the monthly nature challenge. The overarching theme of this blog for a very long time has been about taking care of nature. It's what I do as a gardener, it's what I write about and it's what I encourage all of you to do. January 2025 will be the start of the fourth year of the taking care of nature challenges and it's still relevant in the midst of the many challenges facing wildlife today, so I've decided to keep on keeping on.

As a reader, I want your feedback and input. I'll be asking questions in each post. I want to know if enjoyed the post? Was it helpful? What did you find most insightful about it? What questions do you still have about this topic? What topics would you like me to cover? Any other input/feedback you have will be appreciated. I hope you comment and share your thoughts, your frustrations, your successes in your garden or within your community.

I hope you know you are important to this blogger. You are after all a big reason why I continue to blog.

February: First Wednesday Wildlife Challenge: Soil is More Than Dirt

Soil is a dynamic, living environment that supports and feeds life. Soil is the earthy material that plants grow in. It is composed of a matrix of minerals, organic matter, air and water. Each component is important for supporting plant growth, microbial communities and chemical decomposition. The soil ecosystem can be defined as an interdependent life-support system. Some scientists refer to soil as Earth's living skin.

Soil after 30+ years of leaving the leaves and top dressing with compost

This post is intended to be an introduction to soils and is not a deep dive into a very complex topic. The purpose of this post is to give you a starting point in case you want to dive deeper. I do hope you're encouraged to learn more about the soils in your part of the world and that you get engaged in activities that promote soil health.

March: First Wednesday Taking Care of Wildlife Challenge: It's Time to Plan for Spring Migration, Birds Need a Few Things

Spring migration is starting. The numbers are increasing quickly from thousands a night flying over to millions when it peaks later this spring. It's not too early, in fact it's time for us to think about how we can protect birds as they migrate over our cities and states.

Migration:

Millions of birds will be returning north to their breeding grounds where abundant food and nesting sites await them. Migration is a natural phenomena that happens every fall and spring. Their journey is physically taxing and the lack of adequate food supplies along the way, bad weather, exposure to predators and the ever increasing danger from colliding into lit up buildings all add to making this journey hazardous.

April: First Wednesday Taking Care of Wildlife Challenge: Immerse Yourself in Spring

Spring is popping out all over and this is a great time to challenge you to get outside and enjoy it all.

Our health and well-being are directly affected by the amount of time we spend in nature. In a review of the research, Gregory Bratman, PhD, an assistant professor at the University of Washington, and colleagues shared evidence that being out in nature is associated with increases in happiness, subjective well-being, positive affect, positive social interactions and a sense of meaning and purpose in life, as well as decreases in mental distress (Science Advances, Vol. 5, No. 7, 2019).

May: First Wednesday Taking Care of Wildlife Challenge: Acting Locally Thinking Globally

I don't know about you, but I am overwhelmed from all the disturbing news about the environment. Air pollution, insect decline, bird losses, deforestation, proliferation of invasive plant and animal species, habitat loss, loss of bio-diversity, water scarcity, over-fishing, ocean degradation, soil degradation, and chemical pollution. Unfortunately, the list goes on and on. It's both terrifying and exhausting and it's completely understandable that we often feel that there's nothing we personally can do to stop the avalanche of destruction.

We can't do it all, but we can do somethings. We have to pick our battles and I've chosen to garden for wildlife and fight for the critters that visit and live in my habitat. It's why I continue to blog and post on social media about native plant gardens and taking care of wildlife. I believe that positive publicity is needed to educate our friends, neighbors and communities about how important even the smallest changes we make as gardeners can be for pollinators, birds, insects and mammals, including humans, that live all around us.

I am borrowing from the thinking globally and acting locally environmental movement. "Think globally, act locally" urges people to consider the health of the entire planet and to take action in their own communities and cities. Now that so many environmental regulations are being erased, it is even more important that individuals come together to protect habitats and the organisms that live within them. It is incredibly important that we become active. You decide what's important to you and at on it.

June: First Wednesday Taking Care of Wildlife Challenge: The Rodenticide Effects

I don't use pesticides in my garden and wouldn't begin to think about using a rodenticide for a mouse problem in my home. So when a friend told me she was having trouble with mice in her hobby room and that her pest control company set out rat bait I couldn't stop myself from sharing my concerns about rodenticides and what the unintended consequences of trying to kill a few mice has on wildlife outside her home.

I explained to her that rodenticides work by preventing a rodent's blood from clotting causing them to bleed internally. Although these poisons target rodents- raptors and other animals, both tame and wild that eat those rodents may be harmed or killed via secondary poisoning, known as relay toxicosis. This happens when the poisoned mice/prey animals leave one's home and wander outside where they attract the attention of hunting raptors and mammals (foxes and bobcats).

Rodenticide poisons are designed to smell and taste good to rodents to entice them to eat them, but they can be just as appealing to wild mammals, including squirrels, opossums, skunks, raccoons, and foxes if the pellets are somehow spilled outside.

Studies have shown that rodenticide poisoning from eating poisoned rodents is more widespread than was thought. Follow this link to this study: A review: poisoning by anticoagulant rodenticides in non-target animals globally to see the serious and widespread nature of this problem. A recent study showed nearly 80% of raptors and other rodent consuming wildlife tested by WildCare were found positive for secondary rodenticide poisoning. (source)

July: First Wednesday Taking Care of Wildlife Challenge: Recomendations For Your Reading and Listening Pleasure

I am taking a July break, but didn't want to leave you without a few good listens and reads. Please feel free to add any of your recommendations in the comments on this post or in social media where this will be posted. xo

I often listen to gardening podcasts while gardening and sometimes on walks. Here are a few I have enjoyed and I hope you will, too. Just follow the highlighted links.

Here's a list of a few of my favorite native plant garden blogs and websites.

Sidewalk Nature: Joanna Brichetto's blog/website and her tag line says it all~ Look Around. Nature is us, our yards, sidewalks, parks, and parking lots.

Humane Gardener : Nancy Lawson's tag line is Cultivating compassion for all creatures great and small.

WildOnes: Wild Ones promotes native landscapes through education, advocacy and collaborative action. The link will take you to the Middle Tennessee chapter

Home Grown National Park : Join the native plant homegrown garden movement. The website has links to keystone plants in your eco-region.

Nuts For Natives: A self taught gardener (like many of us) who loves native plants.

Have a safe and wonderful July. xoxogail

August: First Wednesday Taking Care of Wildlife Challenge: When Noise is Harmful

Yesterday, I hollered for Michael at the top of my voice and he couldn't hear me over the noise of 2 mowers and a leaf blower in the yard next door. To top that off, just as the new house construction across the street was nearing completion, I heard the sounds of a house being bulldozed. More noise on the way.

I really miss the quiet. I can go inside to get a break from the noise, but, I worry about the effects all that noise has on the critters that live and visit my garden.

Noise pollution is serious.

Noise pollution in my neighborhood has had significant negative impacts on my well-being. I no longer spend a lot of time outside because the construction noise is so unpleasant.

Noise is the second largest environmental cause of health problems, just after the impact of air pollution. Approximately 10 million persons in the US have permanent hearing loss from environmental noise or noise related trauma. Scientists measure sound in decibels using scales to determine harmful sounds. Sound levels above 85 decibels are potentially harmful to a person’s ears. See the chart below to see how many sound sources in our lives are impacting our well being and our hearing.

Research (source) has shown that it can also significantly harm wildlife by interfering with their ability to communicate, navigate, find food, care for their offspring and avoid predators. This can lead to stress, reduced breeding success, and even population declines. In birds, alterations in foraging, vocalizations and nests were noted; laboratory studies, on the other hand, carried out on small mammals, highlighted spatio-temporal cognitive alterations and memory loss. Researchers concluded that greater attention to all ecosystems should be given as soon as possible so as to try to achieve a balance between human activity and the well-being of terrestrial fauna. (source)

September: First Wednesday Taking Care of Wildlife Challenge: Fall Migration is Happening and You Know What To Do

First things first, turn off your outdoor lights at night. We do this every night but it's especially important now.

We can expect millions of birds to fly over many of our cities.

Birds migrate south as winter approaches because insects and other foods are dwindling. They're traveling to areas that have food and nesting. Some birds stay put because they can find adequate food and water, others are traveling anywhere from a hundred miles to several hundred. The birds that are being monitored by Bird Cast are long-distance migrators. "They typically move from breeding ranges in the United States and Canada to wintering grounds in Central and South America. It's an arduous journey and over 350 different species of North American birds are long distance migrators." (source)

October: First Wednesday Taking Care of Wildlife Challenge: Take Your Troubles To Your Garden

It has a great big heart and arms that envelope a troubled spirit.

That's what I did this morning. I was feeling frustrated, exhausted and sad, but, sitting in my garden I noticed that my heart stopped racing, my breathing slowed down and my thoughts were filled with peace instead of worries. I decided to focus on what was happening around me.

November: First Wednesday Taking Care of Wildlife Challenge I Challenge You To Leave The Leaves

It's autumn in Nashville. The temperature is cooler, there's been more rain, the sky is an intense blue and the trees in my garden are a turning a delightful golden color.

As wonderful as fall is there's also the infuriating, obnoxious and ear damaging noise of leaf blowers. Every fall my neighbors pay lawn service contractors to haul away one of our most valuable ecological resources-fallen leaves.

We don't have to have our leaves hauled away! We can Leave the Leaves for Wildlife! I am challenging you to think differently about fall cleanup and take the challenge to leave your leaves.

Why? Because fallen leaves are one of our most valuable resources for the health of our gardens and our environment.

So very glad you stopped by.

Gailxoxo

Wildflower Wednesday: Hamamelis virginiana

noreply@blogger.com (Gail) — Thu, 27 Nov 2025 16:00:00 +0000

Today I am thankful for family, friends and my wildflower garden. I am thankful for time I spend outdoors, for the critters that live and visit my garden, for the last blooming flowers and for the gnats, flies, moths and bees that are out and about on warm days.

I am grateful for all of you who read my Wildflower Wednesday posts and don't mind that I am posting this one on Thanksgiving Day instead of on the fourth Wednesday!

unfurled crepe papery petals on a very warm November afternoon.

That's where it's found in natureand it's a darn shame that it is overlooked by most nurseries in favor of selling the flashier non-native witch-hazels. Dear readers, step away from those Chinese witch-hazels and ask for Hamamelis virginiana! You won't be disappointed and that's a promise.* If you can't find it locally there are good online nurseries that sell seedlings.

I can't imagine gardening without a few witch hazels trees in my garden. On warm days its honey scent wafts around the garden on the slightest breeze.

It's growing in a small woodland garden beneath the swaying branches of a shagbark hickory and The Dancing Tree/Ostrya virginiana that I rescued from the strangling wisteria when we first moved here. It's perfect for woodland gardens and generously shares the ground beneath with woodland favorites like Christmas ferns, wild ginger, Phacelia bipinnatifida, Trilliums, Dutchman's Breeches and other spring ephemerals.

I love the textured deep green leaves that turn a golden yellow in the fall. Sometimes the flowers bloom before the leaves drop and the stem-hugging clusters of bright yellow flowers are hidden.

Pollinator visiting the last blooms of the year

But, that gives me an opportunity to get a close look at each flower and at any pollinators who happen to stop by for a bit of nectar. Witch-hazel is also known to attract robins, juncos, titmice and cardinals. I love having a tree with pretty flowers, a sweet scent and with good wildlife value.

stem-huggin

H virginiana is a great all around small tree/shrub for most gardens. Those of you who garden for wildlife might consider planting it for the good wildlife value it adds to a shady garden.

In case you are still thinking non-native because it's easy to find. Check this list out!

A tough, adaptable plant suitable for a variety of garden settings (Hardiness Zones: 4-9)
Tolerates clay soil and poor drainage
Since it's often the last blooming plant found in most woodlands it's invaluable for providing nectar to late visiting pollinators
It's upright spreading branches are good nesting sites for birds.
Some moth caterpillars predate on it
The dispersed seeds are eaten by birds and small rodents. Now don't turn your nose up at the mere mention of rodents, yes, they are pesty, but, they are also extremely important critters for hungry owls and hawks.
Lovely fragrant, bright yellow flowers that bloom from October through November.
Great fall foliage color
It's native to eastern North American, including Louisiana and Texas.

Except for a few native ex-aster that might have survived a killing frost, witch-hazel is probably the last blooming plant found in most woodlands. I treasure it for providing one last stop for nectar gathering pollinators and for all those characteristic listed above. It's a wonderful specimen plant, but because it colonizes, it does make a wonderful screening plant or hedge. Spring ephemerals, native sedges, ferns and shade tolerant perennials are great companions.

fruit and exploded seed capsule

Ooh, ooh, ooh~One more cool factoid! The seeds are expelled with a loud pop that sends them yards away from the parent plant. I've been looking for offspring but, so far none. The seeds must be tasty to my garden critters.

The Particulars:

Botanical name: Hamamelis virginiana

Common Name: common witch hazel

Type: Deciduous shrub

Family: Hamamelidaceae

Native Range: Eastern North America

Zone: 3 to 8

Height: 15.00 to 20.00 feet

Spread: 15.00 to 20.00 feet

Bloom Time: October to December

Bloom Description: Golden yellow centers tinged a light red

Sun: Full sun to part shade

Water: Medium

Maintenance: Low Suggested

Cultivation: Light shade to partial sun, mesic conditions, and sandy or loamy soil. More flowers are produced in response to greater amounts of sunlight.

Comments: Useful as a hedge, let it naturalize in a woodland garden, useful in a rain garden and it has lovely fall color.

Wildlife value: Birds, pollinators and mammals (Illinois Wildflowers to see moth table)

Tolerate: Deer, Erosion, Clay Soil

How any one could think this tree unlovely or unworthy of a place in their garden is beyond my understanding! The crepe papery blooms look especially enchanting with a backdrop of golden Shagbark hickory and Hophornbeam leaves and the Autumn blue sky!

For those of you celebrating Thanksgiving...I wish you a joy filled day with loved ones and calorie free foods!

Warmest thoughts of you.

xoxoGail

*If you want this lovely tree you'll need to check with a native plant nursery. We are fortunate that we have several native plant nurseries not too far away that carry beautiful native trees, shrubs and perennials. Check with Joy at Wonder Gifts and Gardens and Terri at GroWild

Welcome to Clay and Limestone's Wildflower Wednesday celebration. I am so glad you stopped by. WW is about sharing and celebrating wildflowers from all over this great big, beautiful world. Join us on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Remember, it doesn't matter if they are in bloom or not; and, it doesn't matter if we all share the same plants. It's all about celebrating wildflowers.

First Wednesday Taking Care of Wildlife Challenge: I Challenge You To Leave the Leaves

noreply@blogger.com (Gail) — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 18:00:00 +0000

It's autumn in Nashville. The temperature is cooler, there's been more rain, the sky is an intense blue and the trees in my garden are a turning a delightful golden color.

We don't have to have our leaves hauled away! We can Leave the Leaves for Wildlife! I am challenging you to think differently about fall cleanup and take the challenge to leave your leaves.

Why? Because fallen leaves are one of our most valuable resources for the health of our gardens and our environment.

Leaves can:

protect your plants’ roots from drying out or freezing
suppress weeds
preserve soil moisture
decay into leaf mold which is a great soil amendment
return nutrients to the soil
shelter seeds so they can bloom
be part of a soft landing for insects
btw, a thin layer on your lawn will not smother it, instead it can do all the things we've listed in this list for your lawn

And...you can still have fun with leaves. Build a brush shelter with your favorite little kid. Use branches, sticks and stems, and leaves to make brush piles that will shelter native wildlife. It's also okay to jump into a leaf pile.

Leaves are a significant part of a soft landing. "Soft landings are created by planting native, shade-adapted plants, grasses, ferns, and leaf litter under under keystone trees (or any other regionally appropriate native tree). These plantings provide critical shelter and habitat for one or more life cycle stages of moths, butterflies, and beneficial insects such as bumble bees, fireflies, lacewings, and beetles. In addition to plants, soft landings also include leaf litter, duff, and plant debris. " (Heather Holm) Soft landings also provide critical shelter for toads, lizards and turtles and mammals.

soft landing for

I wish I could convince our neighbors that fallen leaves are valuable and not the enemy. Their leaf blower brigades are here and they're blowing all the leaves off their lawns and their foundation beds onto tarps that are emptied into trucks and hauled away.

They return weekly to wage a noisy and destructive war against every leaf and small twig that might have landed on the lawn. This war against nature is costly for the environment; the fertilized and manicured mono-cultural lawn is made even more valueless for wildlife and the ecosystem. There's nothing in a mono-cultural lawn for insects or birds to eat and they've eliminated all the leaves that could have been a part of the soft landing.

People argue that the leaves will smother their lawn and plantings? I have a bee friendly lawn and so far, it hasn't smothered my wildflowers, my sedges or my perennials. But, if that's a concern, then do what I do when leaves are too deep.

What do I do...I gently rake or kindly sweep the leaves that fall on my walkways and driveway into the garden beds. I relocate especially deep piles of leaves by gently raking them onto a tarp and moving them to a wilder part of the garden. But, most leaves stay where they fall.

Tennessee Environmental Council/Generate Some Buzz

My shallow clay soil is richer and healthier from 40 years of letting leaves stay where they fall. Decaying leaves have mulched my wildflowers, added organic matter to the soil, improved the soil structure, and provided nutrients for the microbial communities. And it doesn't cost a thing.

I challenge you to leave your leaves, at the very least some of your leaves. There are so many great reasons why.

You never know what's on the back of a fallen leaf until you look

But you don't have to take my word for it! Saturday, November 15 starting at 10 am you can learn more about the science of leaving the leaves and celebrate the season At Warner Park Nature Center.

I plan to be there and i hope to see some of you there, too.

There are so many animals that live in leaves: spiders, snails, worms, beetles, millipedes, mites, and more—that support the chipmunks, turtles, birds, and amphibians that rely on these insects for food. It’s easy to see how important leaves really are to sustaining the natural web of life.(Xerces Society source)

xoxogail

Take the Taking Care of Wildlife In Our Gardens Challenge

Activities that increase our knowledge of the natural world are equally as valuable. Helping others learn about nature is included. Golly gee whiz, there are so many things you can do.

Gone are the lightening bugs.
Gone are the ground dwelling/nesting native bees.
Gone is the habitat for insects, spiders and other critters.
Gone is plant diversity.
Gone are trees that provided for hundreds of moths, butterflies and other insects.
Gone are the nesting sites for woodpeckers, hummingbirds, Chickadees and other birds.
Gone is a healthy foodweb.

It breaks my heart.

We can't stop the progmess, but, maybe we can make a lot of educational noise and help our new neighbors see the value in providing for critters and ultimately helping the environment.

A gardener can hope!

xoxoGail

Looking for ways to get involved go here for a list of environmental advocacy groups.

Buy the best wildflower, butterfly and bird id books for your state.

Read nature books to your children and grandchildren. Buy them nature books.

Get in the garden with your children and grandchildren.

Give nature books as baby shower gifts (Nature books for infants and toddlers)

Shrink your lawn and make your planting beds larger.

Commit to never, ever, ever, ever using pesticides in the garden.

Make a rain garden in low spots to collect and mitigate runoff.

Show some soil! Our native ground nesting bees nest in bare soil, so don't mulch every square inch of your garden.

Get rid of the plastic weed barriers in your garden, it's not good for anything.

Invite bugs into your garden. Plant annuals that attract beneficial bugs.

Learn to tolerate damaged plants. Imperfection is the new perfect.

Make a brush pile. Stack fallen brush, cut tree limbs, broken pots for ground beetles. Ground beetles are excellent at eating "bad bugs". Bugs are also good bird, toad and small critter food.

Rethink what you consider a pest. Lots of good bugs eat aphids. Spiders are important predators and they're great bird food!

Add nesting boxes for birds.

Plant shrubs and small trees that provide berries and nuts.

Keep a nature journal: You can observe visitors to your water feature, make note of when they visit. Notice which flowers attract the most pollinators and which ones are just pretty faces.

Join your state native plant society (Tennessee Native Plant Society)

Join WildOnes even if there's no local group you can join the national organization. (Middle Tennessee WildOnes)

Support your local native plant sellers. (GroWild in middle Tennessee, Overhill Gardens in east Tennessee, Resource Guide TN Native Plant Society)

Encourage your local garden clubs to offer native plant talks.

If your garden club has a plant sale encourage them to sell more native plants.

Get trained as a naturalist (Tennessee Naturalist Program. Almost every state has their own Master Naturalist training program

Take an online course on tree, fungi and wildflower id.

Take an online course on designing with native plants.

Take a walk in your neighborhood and observe nature. To quote Joanna Brichetto in Sidewalk Nature "Look Around. Nature is here, is us, our driveways, our baseboards, parks, and parking lots."

Read! There are hundreds of books on gardening for wildlife, the environment, and rewilding our world. There are delightful blogs with wonderful and informative articles.

If you are already gardening with wildlife in mind then add a few signs that help educate your neighbors. (Xerces Society, Pollinator Partnership)

Join the Xerces Society.

Set up an information station where neighbors can pick up brochures about your garden and other info.

Get certified (National Wildlife Federation, check to see what your state offers)

Please take the challenge! xoxogail

Wildflower Wednesday: There Are Wildflowers That Like to Challenge the Boundaries!

noreply@blogger.com (Gail) — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 15:00:00 +0000

At Clay and Limestone we call several of them good friends and Conoclinium coelestinum is one of the best!

Conoclinium coelestinum

There's the rub, you have to be willing to let blue mistflower do its thing to get the big effect of its lovely misty presence. That means living with the rough, but not unattractive leaves until the summer wains and the blooming begins.

The tall red stems are place holders while you're waiting and trust me the wait is worth it. I think they're quite attractive.

I discovered it years ago in the front garden where all the Susans once reigned supreme. The lilac blue blossoms against the pale green foliage was spectacular. It was an especially wet summer and I have to make a point to keep it watered if I want those delightful fuzzy blooms. It never disappears but it is lovelier when the soil is consistently moist.

Doesn't it look smashing with the gold flowers of Gaillardia? You can use it anywhere. I like it with the Rudbeckias, Coreopsis, the ex-asters and I'm thinking that it would be nice with grasses or edging the woodland garden. It's a perfect plant for a meadow, a pond edging, naturalized in a wet area. The possibilities are endless...except extremely dry soil.

compact corymbs or clusters with up to 70 flowers per cluster

It's a shame that many gardeners under appreciate the charms of rough and tumble colonizers like Hardy Ageratum. Like many of the species related to Eupatorium, blue mistflower is a copious nectar producer and attracts butterflies of many species. When in more open areas, monarchs will spend a lot of time feeding on this plant, especially if near milkweeds. I've seen skippers, swallowtails and bees visiting the nectar-rich flowers, while birds goldfinches, juncos, and sparrows, are known to feed on the seeds, which also offer nesting material and cover for wildlife. If you want more, and once you see it massed you will, it's easily propagated from seeds, cuttings, rootball divisions or layering. It thrives best in a well-drained acidic to neutral soils in a sunny environment. If you want easy care this is a great wildflower, but, it does naturalize easily spreading by rhizome and seed (and is pulled out just as easily).

If you have the space and temperament to let this plant go, please do. Conoclinium coelestinum is a plant that looks its best when allowed to naturalize. Cut it back in mid summer to keep it looking bushy and beautiful, and then let it do its beautiful thing.

xoxogail

PS If you want to provide for fall pollinators you must never, ever, ever, ever, use pesticides in your garden. I mean never!

Family: Asteraceae

Botanical name: Conoclinium coelestinum

Common Names: Ageratum, Blue Boneset, Blue Mistflower, Hardy Ageratum, Mistflower Wild Ageratum

Life Cycle: Perennial

Native range:

source

USDA hardiness zones 5 through 10

Flower Color: Blue, Pink, Purple/Lavender

Flower Inflorescence: Corymb

Value To Gardener: Long bloom season

Height: 1 ft. 6 in. - 3 ft. 0 in.

Width: 1 ft. 6 in. - 3 ft. 0 in.

Aspect: It grows in full sun to part shade such as low woods, wet meadows, and ditches.

Bloom Time: Fall

Flower Size: < 1 inch

Flower Description: Flat-topped clusters of disc flowers that lack rays. It has numerous small, fluffy, tubular, blue-purple flowers (to 1/ 2” across) and blooms from July to October.

Stem Color: Green, Purple/Lavender, Red/Burgundy

Stems and leaves: Stems are clothed in pairs of attractive triangular, ovate or heart shaped leaves.

Maintenance: Medium to high care due to water needs and possible need to edit it

Propagation Strategy: Division, Root Cutting and Seed

Wildlife Value: Host plant to 13 specialist moths, including Eastern tailed-blue, hackberry emperor, American snout and aster flowerhead caterpillar. Mistflower provides abundant nectar for monarchs, swallowtails, queens, soldiers, pearl crascents, white peacocks, little yellows, and many other butterflies. Attracts native bees and skippers.

Comments: Like many of the species related to Eupatorium, blue mistflower is a copious nectar producer and attracts butterflies of many species. Can be confused with Fleischmannia incarnata another member of the Eupatorium tribe Excellent in a meadow, naturalized area, a pond edge, butterfly garden, native garden, pollinator garden, and mass planted.

This species is pest resistant and foliage is unpalatable to deer and other herbivores.

Thank you for stopping by and welcome to Clay and Limestone's Wildflower Wednesday celebration. WW is about sharing and celebrating wildflowers from all over this great big, beautiful world. Join us on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Remember, it doesn't matter if your wildflower is in bloom or not; and, it never matters if we all share the same plants.

First Wednesday Taking Care of Wildlife Challenge: Take Your Troubles To Your Garden

noreply@blogger.com (Gail) — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 09:00:00 +0000

It has a great big heart and arms that envelope a troubled spirit.

Robins were gobbling the ripe purple Callicarpa americana berries

Bees were all over the asters and goldenrods.

They were climbing into the Salvia azurea blooms and the Titmice were bathing in the birdbath.

One gorgeous golden bumble loved the False dragonhead.

I am so glad I took my troubles to the garden.

This garden is where I found my voice, a point of view and learned some patience. I found my voice first as a pollinator gardener when I fell in love with bumbles and then realized they were my introduction to all of the critters that live in a garden habitat. When ever I get to a place where I am feeling the big feels spending time just being in the garden is the best way for me get reacquainted with all of myself.

Wherever you go, go with all your heart. ~Confucius

xoxogail

In case you wondered-Research shows being outside has a positive impact on our health, both physically and mentally. (source)

Boosts immune system: You get a vitamin D infusion that helps fight viral infections. The forest air you breathe in is full of phytoncides, chemicals shed by forest plants. Phytoncides’ antifungal and antibacterial qualities stimulate your body to increase the white blood cells responsible for fighting tumor- and virus-infected cells.
Enhances cognitive functions: It's a balm for our busy brains
Improves heart health: Lowers blood pressure
Promotes better sleep
Reduces stress: Improves mood. Just 20 minutes spent in any space that evokes nature can significantly reduce cortisol (stress hormone) levels.
Supports mental health: Time in nature can improve your mood and reduce the symptoms of anxiety and depression. It can alter the brain activity in your prefrontal cortex — the part regulating emotions.

Get more nature in your life

Visit a City Parks: Take a walk, it doesn't have to be a long walk.
Unplug and Be Present: Leave your phone behind and focus on the sounds, sights, and smells of nature.
Regular Exposure: Aim for at least 120 minutes of nature contact per week for the best results. That's about 17 minutes a day...
Embrace the Seasons: Take advantage of the changing seasons to spend time outdoors. It's cooling down and the leaves are starting to get their fall colors on. Get outdoors and look up at the trees.

Finally, spend time in your own garden or habitat. Be aware of what you're thinking and saying to yourself. Let go of criticisms and making a list of all the things you need to do. Don't weed, don't straighten up, just sit quietly and be. Take a look at what you've created. Celebrate the insects, birds and other critters that live in and visit your garden. You have so much to celebrate. Be at peace with yourself.

"If we are not fully ourselves, truly in the present moment, we miss everything." Thich Nhat Hanh

Want to Take the Taking Care of Wildlife In Our Gardens Challenge?

The first part of this challenge is to do something or even lots of things each month that supports critters living in our gardens. Gardening with native wildflowers, shrubs and trees that make sense for our ecoregion is a good place to start or continue (as the case may be). Plants and their pollinators are a classic example of mutualism: they have coevolved through evolutionary time in a reciprocal beneficial relationship. This is also true for other critters that visit and live in our gardens.

Activities that increase our knowledge of the natural world are equally as valuable. Helping others learn about nature is included. Golly gee whiz, there are so many things you can do.

Why now? My neighborhood is changing. Yours might be, too. Every day an older home along with many (if not all) of the mature oak, hickory, maple, Eastern cedar and hackberry trees are cut down. Insects, birds, even mammals lose their home site and food supplies when trees are cut down. During construction soil is compacted by bulldozers, trucks and piles of debris causing runoff; surface runoff that can carry pollution to streams and rivers. It's important that our neighbors have information about how important trees are to our ecosystem. Trees contribute to their environment by providing oxygen, improving air quality, climate amelioration, conserving water, preserving soil, and supporting wildlife.

In place of the "bee lawns" composed of Claytonia, Salvia lyrata, Ruellia humilis, fleabane, Western Daisy, Violets, self-heal, clovers, native grasses (in my neighborhood it's poverty oat grass) and sedges, they're sodded with non-native grasses. These monoculture turf lawns contribute nothing environmentally. Here's what we lose when our diverse lawns are replaced with pristine turf grass:

Gone are the lightening bugs.
Gone are the ground dwelling/nesting native bees.
Gone is the habitat for insects, spiders and other critters.
Gone is plant diversity.
Gone are trees that provided for hundreds of moths, butterflies and other insects.
Gone are the nesting sites for woodpeckers, hummingbirds, Chickadees and other birds.
Gone is a healthy foodweb.

It breaks my heart.

We can't stop the progmess, but, maybe we can make a lot of educational noise and help our new neighbors see the value in providing for critters and ultimately helping the environment.

A gardener can hope!

xoxoGail

Looking for ways to get involved go here for a list of environmental advocacy groups.

Buy the best wildflower, butterfly and bird id books for your state.

Read nature books to your children and grandchildren. Buy them nature books.

Get in the garden with your children and grandchildren.

Give nature books as baby shower gifts (Nature books for infants and toddlers)

Shrink your lawn and make your planting beds larger.

Commit to never, ever, ever, ever using pesticides in the garden.

Make a rain garden in low spots to collect and mitigate runoff.

Show some soil! Our native ground nesting bees nest in bare soil, so don't mulch every square inch of your garden.

Get rid of the plastic weed barriers in your garden, it's not good for anything.

Invite bugs into your garden. Plant annuals that attract beneficial bugs.

Learn to tolerate damaged plants. Imperfection is the new perfect.

Make a brush pile. Stack fallen brush, cut tree limbs, broken pots for ground beetles. Ground beetles are excellent at eating "bad bugs". Bugs are also good bird, toad and small critter food.

Rethink what you consider a pest. Lots of good bugs eat aphids. Spiders are important predators and they're great bird food!

Add nesting boxes for birds.

Plant shrubs and small trees that provide berries and nuts.

Keep a nature journal: You can observe visitors to your water feature, make note of when they visit. Notice which flowers attract the most pollinators and which ones are just pretty faces.

Join your state native plant society (Tennessee Native Plant Society)

Join WildOnes even if there's no local group you can join the national organization. (Middle Tennessee WildOnes)

Support your local native plant sellers. (GroWild in middle Tennessee, Overhill Gardens in east Tennessee, Resource Guide TN Native Plant Society)

Encourage your local garden clubs to offer native plant talks.

If your garden club has a plant sale encourage them to sell more native plants.

Get trained as a naturalist (Tennessee Naturalist Program. Almost every state has their own Master Naturalist training program

Take an online course on tree, fungi and wildflower id.

Take an online course on designing with native plants.

Take a walk in your neighborhood and observe nature. To quote Joanna Brichetto in Sidewalk Nature "Look Around. Nature is here, is us, our driveways, our baseboards, parks, and parking lots."

Read! There are hundreds of books on gardening for wildlife, the environment, and rewilding our world. There are delightful blogs with wonderful and informative articles.

If you are already gardening with wildlife in mind then add a few signs that help educate your neighbors. (Xerces Society, Pollinator Partnership)

Join the Xerces Society.

Set up an information station where neighbors can pick up brochures about your garden and other info.

Get certified (National Wildlife Federation, check to see what your state offers)

Visit

Wildflower Wednesday: Goldenrods

noreply@blogger.com (Gail) — Wed, 24 Sep 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Fall's best landing pads of deliciousness.

Yet gardeners are reluctant to plant them, so let's get the objections over with first!

Goldenrods have a bad reputation for two reasons.

They have been misidentified as the cause of hayfever suffering. They are not responsible for any allergy symptoms you or I are having this fall. The tiny grains of wind blown pollen from ragweed is the culprit. Goldenrod is insect pollinated and the pollen grains are too big to be blown about. Pass that along please!
Their tendency to colonize might be one of the main reasons so many gardeners don't plant them in their gardens. Long time readers know I have a love affair with rough and tumble, take care of themselves, colonizing wildflowers and goldenrods are the champion of colonizing wildflowers. Yes, they can be aggressive spreaders, but they are rugged and adaptable. They grow were many wildflowers cannot survive and they can spread quickly where there is no other native plant competition. Those that have been problematic propagate by a rhizomatous/spreading root system that can quickly take over a small garden. So avoid Canada Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis) and Late Goldenrod (Solidago gigantea) two goldenrod species known for their aggressive spread by rhizomes. If you want to plant a goldenrod but fear their nature, look for clump forming cultivated beauties like Solidago 'Solar Cascade', Solidago caesia/Bluestem Goldenrod, Solidago odora, Solidago rugosa 'Fireworks'. My favorite clump former for shade is Solidago flexicaulis/Zigzag Goldenrod.

If you stop by my garden today, you'll see Tall goldenrod/Solidago altissima holding court with New England ex-aster/Symphyotrichum novae-anglia. I love watching the Bumbles dance from aster to aster and goldenrod to goldenrod.

Goldenrods are considered a keystone species that supports hundreds of different species across the food web. The plant provides food, shelter, and breeding grounds for a vast ecosystem of insects, which in turn sustain larger animals.

Critter particulars: Sources

Insects

Moths and butterflies: As many as 143 species of Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) in North America are known to feed on goldenrod leaves and shoots during their larval stage. Goldenrods are especially critical for the monarch butterfly's migration, providing a vital source of nectar in the fall. (Moth Table)
Bees: More than 40 species of native bees are specialists that rely on goldenrod pollen. Queen bumble bees and honey bees, too, feed on goldenrod nectar to build up fat reserves before winter.
Wasps: Many different wasps use goldenrod. This includes parasitic wasps that lay eggs in goldenrod galls, predatory wasps that hunt other insects on the plant, and many more that feed on its nectar.
Flies: Goldenrod gall flies/Eurosta solidaginis lay their eggs inside the stem, causing a gall to form where the larva can safely grow and overwinter. Other types of flies, such as hoverflies and midges, also feed on goldenrod.
Beetles: Numerous beetle species consume goldenrod, from pollen-eaters like the locust borer to predators like the goldenrod soldier beetle, which eats aphids.
Other insects and arachnids: True bugs (like aphids and stink bugs), grasshoppers, thrips, and ambush bugs all feed on goldenrod.

Birds

Insect-eaters: Birds like woodpeckers and chickadees consume the insects and larvae that shelter in the galls on goldenrod stems, which is a key food source during the winter.
Seed-eaters: Once the flowers fade, the seeds provide nourishment for songbirds like eastern goldfinches, juncos, and sparrows during the colder months.
Game birds: Larger birds such as turkey, grouse, and pheasant have been known to eat goldenrod leaves and seeds

Mammals

Seed-eaters: Small mammals like squirrels, raccoons, and opossums eat the seeds from the goldenrod.
Browsers: Though often considered deer-resistant, mammals like white-tailed deer, rabbits, and other rodents will sometimes browse the leaves.

Just a few photos of some of the frequent visitors on goldenrods in my garden

Skippers are frequent visitors on goldenrods.

Locust borer

Ambush bug waiting for unsuspecting critters

Green Sweat Bee

More Bumbles

Honeybee from neighbor's hive

Ailanthus webworm moth

Why I recommend goldenrods for your garden.

Bloom when needed most: bees are provisioning their nests for the winter and monarch butterflies are feeding on nectar that they need for their migratory journey south.
They're also a valuable food source for a wide range of pollinators, moths, and other butterflies in other words they support the local ecosystem.
Support more species of moths and butterflies than most plants
Host plants: they provide food for the larvae of certain insects, which are then eaten by birds like woodpeckers and chickadees.
Tough and adaptable to most garden conditions.
Low maintenance.
Their roots support soil structure and help prevent erosion.
Beautiful in bloom.
They make a spectacular impact
Provides seeds over the winter for chickadees, finches, nuthatches and pine siskins as well as shelter in the dried stalks for predatory spiders and wasps.
Some like Zig zag goldenrod have beautiful fall color.

The Particulars

Genus: Solidago

Family: Asteraceae

Common name: Goldenrod

Life Cycle: Perennial

Flower Color: Gold/Yellow

Flower Inflorescence: Corymb, Panicle, Raceme

Flower Bloom Time: Fall/Summer

Native range: Throughout US

Light: Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) Except the ones that prefer shade

Moisture: Medium to dry

USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b

Propagation: Division, seed

Comments: Goldenrod is a herbaceous perennial adaptable to poor soil, tolerant of drought once established and has potential to reseed. Consider them for a butterfly garden, drought tolerant garden, native plant habitat, pollinator garden, rain garden, naturalistic garden and a meadow. There's sure to be a perfect one for your garden conditions.

Wildlife Value: Birds eat the plant's seed. This plant supports Wavy-lined Emerald (Synchlora aerata) larvae. It also attracts butterflies, bees, and wasps. The genus Solidago supports the following specialized bees: Andrena (Callandrena s.l.) asteris, Andrena (Callandrena s.l.) braccata, Andrena (Cnemidandrena) hirticincta, Andrena (Cnemidandrena) nubecula, Andrena (Callandrena s.l.) simplex, Perdita (Perdita) octomaculata, Melissodes (Eumelissodes) fumosus, Colletes simulans, and Colletes solidaginis. It is a common host of the beneficial beetle, the goldenrod soldier beetle.

Goldenrod gall

Dear Readers, Thank you for stopping by to see our September Wildflower Wednesday star! Goldenrods don't scare me! I hope that I've been able to show you that there's much more good than bad in these golden beauties that light up our fall gardens and provide for critters. Check with a local native plant nursery in your part of the world to find the best goldenrods for your garden. xoxogail

PS If you want to provide for fall pollinators you must plant landing pads of deliciousness like Goldenrods. And you must never, ever, ever, ever, use pesticides in your garden. I mean never!

First Wednesday Wildlife Challenge: Fall Bird Migration is Happening and You Know What to Do!

noreply@blogger.com (Gail) — Wed, 03 Sep 2025 14:00:00 +0000

First things first, turn off your outdoor lights at night. We do this every night but it's especially important now.

We can expect millions of birds to fly over many of our cities.

Nuthatches don't usually migrate from middle TN. They are frequent visitors to bird feeders

Migration is a natural phenomena that happens every fall and spring. Their journey is physically taxing and the lack of adequate food supplies along the way, bad weather, exposure to predators and the ever increasing danger from colliding into lit up buildings all add to making this journey hazardous.

Crossing Davidson county, Tennessee where I live September 2024

There are things we can do. Very important things!

Provide food
Fill your garden with native plants that attract insects that birds will need or have seeds that birds eat both provide needed fuel. Plant these: sunflowers, purple coneflowers, black-eyed Susans, and various asters, goldenrods, and native grasses like Big Bluestem and Little Bluestem. For birds that prefer nuts, plant native oaks, hickories, and hazels. Leaving these plants standing with their seed heads intact through fall and winter provides a crucial food source for migratory birds.
Provide fresh water
Make your windows obvious, especially the big picture windows. Windows are reflective and confuse birds.Add decals, paint spider webs, stripes or designs, this will keep birds from colliding into them when they stop at our feeders.
Go lights out at 11pm to 6am during migration (spring and fall)
Become an advocate: Work to get your community involved in turning off their outdoor lights from 11pm to 6am every night.
Join local groups advocating for birds and other critters: Bird Safe Nashville, Nashville Urban Bird, The Nature Conservancy of Tennessee, Tennessee Environmental Council
Investigate where migrating birds might be staging near you. For years Purple Martins have been roosting in the trees in downtown Nashville. Last year they were roosting in the trees in the parking lot of Titan's stadium and this year they are roosting in the trees along John Lewis Way S and 6th Ave S. Nashville.

Sept 1, 2025 downtown Nashville

Let's take a closer look at how we can provide food and water:

Because we get a lot of joy from observing them in our gardens, Michael and I feed the birds and provide water year round. I garden for wildlife so the garden has been designed with critters in mind. In fact, nearly every plant has been chosen with birds, insects and other critters in mind. My native shrubs provide food, nesting and shelter for mammals and birds, as well as being a host plant to butterflies, moths and other insects that keep my wildflower garden thriving. Native plants are also a haven for tasty insects which so many migrants, particularly the Warblers need for fuel.

I hope that there's enough food in the garden for hungry migrating birds that stopover; if not, there will always be supplemental seed and suet in feeders and water in the bird baths and raised ponds. Biologists refer to places as “stopover” habitats, areas where birds stop to rest, eat, and seek shelter from predators. Some stopover sites are so large they can even be called “staging areas” because so many birds come together to rest and then continue their migration. One of the most famous staging areas around the world is along the Platte River in central Nebraska, where more than 500,000 sandhill cranes gather in a spectacle of migration! (source) That's on my "got to see list".

We asked John, the owner of The Woodthrush, what we could be doing for migrating birds. He said that water was super important for migrating birds. We are keeping our. birdbaths topped up with clean water if any travelers stop by, especially important in the middle of our drought.

According to University of Rhode Island researcher, physiological ecologist Scott McWilliams, here's what's going on with migrating birds. "The digestive systems of birds adjust to meet the changing energy demands of migration. The birds’ bellies increase in size and the cells get larger so they can eat more and store energy for their long flights. The digestive systems of migratory birds essentially shut down during migration so most of their energy can be used in flight. When they stop to eat along their routes, they eat less, until finally their systems re-adjust when they arrive at their destinations where food is plentiful again." (source)

Here's a little bit more about birds and water that you might like to know.

Birds need water just as much as they need food. The birds that live and visit our garden need dependable water to survive. Each day, an adult bird needs to drink enough water to make up 5 percent of its body weight to replace the water lost from waste removal, respiration and evaporation. Water performs a number of important functions: bathing, to clean feathers and remove parasites. They get some of their water/moisture from the insects and fruit they eat, but, they need to drink water every day.

How we can provide water:

Bird baths. Place them near cover so birds can hide from prey. Place in shade so water stays fresh. Change water often. I heat mine all winter so there is water for birds when it's freezing out.
Place water dishes on the ground since many birds prefer drinking water like this.
If you have the resources a pond or stream would be ideal.
Raised bed ponds with a way for birds to safely drink.
A shallow galvanized container with rocks for birds to perch on works well, too.
Misters, water wigglers, and drippers invite birds to come to bird baths and natural pools.
When desperate for rain, as we've been lately, I turn on an over head sprinkler and watch the birds fly in and out of the water. It's magical, they arrive the minute the water is turned on. It makes me happy and takes care of many of the critters. I do it for the birds post.

Migrating birds need this very important thing to happen.

Birds that migrate or hunt at night navigate by moonlight and starlight. Migratory birds depend on cues from properly timed seasonal schedules. Artificial lights can cause them to migrate too early or too late and miss ideal climate conditions for nesting, foraging, and other behaviors. It can also cause them to be attracted to illuminated building where they can collide and die. (source)

Collision hazards for birds come in many forms and can affect many types of birds. In fact, nearly one billion birds collide with glass in the U.S. alone each year. Most of these (preventable) fatalities happen at homes and buildings shorter than four stories tall. Please make note of that fact...Birds are in danger of our lit-up homes, not just sky-scrappers, wind-turbines or towers.

According to research scientist Christopher Kyba, for nocturnal animals “the introduction of artificial light probably represents the most drastic change human beings have made to their environment.”

“Predators use light to hunt, and prey species use darkness as cover,” Kyba explains. “Near cities, cloudy skies are now hundreds or even thousands of times brighter than they were 200 years ago. We are only beginning to learn what a drastic effect this has had on nocturnal ecology.” (source)

Migrating Purple Martins 2024

One last thing.

So, this is my plea to you all. Please turn off your outdoor lights from 11pm to 6am every night. I wish you would consider turning off your eave lights, tree up-lighting and porch lights every night, but if not always, please, turn them off during bird migration. For more information about the effects of artificial lighting on all living creatures go to my post First Wednesday Challenge: Every Day Needs A Night.

Thank for reading, xoxogail

PS. Birds you might not recognize could be stopping by to nosh at your feeders and take a dip in your water features. To help you id them I recommend the Cornell University Merlin Bird Id.

First Wednesday Monthly Challenge

Want to Take the Taking Care of Wildlife In Our Gardens Challenge?

Activities that increase our knowledge of the natural world are equally as valuable. Helping others learn about nature is included. Golly gee whiz, there are so many things you can do.

Gone are the lightening bugs.
Gone are the ground dwelling/nesting native bees.
Gone is the habitat for insects, spiders and other critters.
Gone is plant diversity.
Gone are trees that provided for hundreds of moths, butterflies and other insects.
Gone are the nesting sites for woodpeckers, hummingbirds, Chickadees and other birds.
Gone is a healthy foodweb.

It breaks my heart.

We can't stop the progmess, but, maybe we can make a lot of educational noise and help our new neighbors see the value in providing for critters and ultimately helping the environment.

A gardener can hope!

xoxoGail

Looking for ways to get involved go here for a list of environmental advocacy groups.

Buy the best wildflower, butterfly and bird id books for your state.

Read nature books to your children and grandchildren. Buy them nature books.

Get in the garden with your children and grandchildren.

Give nature books as baby shower gifts (Nature books for infants and toddlers)

Shrink your lawn and make your planting beds larger.

Commit to never, ever, ever, ever using pesticides in the garden.

Make a rain garden in low spots to collect and mitigate runoff.

Show some soil! Our native ground nesting bees nest in bare soil, so don't mulch every square inch of your garden.

Get rid of the plastic weed barriers in your garden, it's not good for anything.

Invite bugs into your garden. Plant annuals that attract beneficial bugs.

Learn to tolerate damaged plants. Imperfection is the new perfect.

Make a brush pile. Stack fallen brush, cut tree limbs, broken pots for ground beetles. Ground beetles are excellent at eating "bad bugs". Bugs are also good bird, toad and small critter food.

Rethink what you consider a pest. Lots of good bugs eat aphids. Spiders are important predators and they're great bird food!

Add nesting boxes for birds.

Plant shrubs and small trees that provide berries and nuts.

Keep a nature journal: You can observe visitors to your water feature, make note of when they visit. Notice which flowers attract the most pollinators and which ones are just pretty faces.

Join your state native plant society (Tennessee Native Plant Society)

Join WildOnes even if there's no local group you can join the national organization. (Middle Tennessee WildOnes)

Support your local native plant sellers. (GroWild in middle Tennessee, Overhill Gardens in east Tennessee, Resource Guide TN Native Plant Society)

Encourage your local garden clubs to offer native plant talks.

If your garden club has a plant sale encourage them to sell more native plants.

Get trained as a naturalist (Tennessee Naturalist Program. Almost every state has their own Master Naturalist training program

Take an online course on tree, fungi and wildflower id.

Take an online course on designing with native plants.

Take a walk in your neighborhood and observe nature. To quote Joanna Brichetto in Sidewalk Nature "Look Around. Nature is here, is us, our driveways, our baseboards, parks, and parking lots."

Read! There are hundreds of books on gardening for wildlife, the environment, and rewilding our world. There are delightful blogs with wonderful and informative articles.

If you are already gardening with wildlife in mind then add a few signs that help educate your neighbors. (Xerces Society, Pollinator Partnership)

Join the Xerces Society.

Set up an information station where neighbors can pick up brochures about your garden and other info.

Get certified (National Wildlife Federation, check to see what your state offers)

Wildflower Wednesday: We celebrate a butterfly and its hostplant, Ptelea trifoliata

noreply@blogger.com (Gail) — Wed, 27 Aug 2025 16:00:00 +0000

What a beauty and the 6.3 inch (16cm) wing span makes it the largest North American butterfly.

Forewing with diagonal band of yellow spots. Tails are edged with black and filled with yellow

Back then I wasn't growing its host plant, but several years ago I bought two Hop Tree/Ptelea trifoliata hoping that the next Giant Swallowtail that visited would find a place to lay eggs.

That's exactly what happened the last two summers. This summer the two trees have hosted over two dozen caterpillars...and both trees have been defoliated. But, I am okay with that and if they don't recover, I will order another tree because the caterpillars are fabulous to watch....And maybe next year I will get to see a Giant swallowtail lay eggs.

Once they mate the female lays one bright orange egg on a host plant leaf. I found the orange eggs on several leaves and continued to find eggs and new instars every few days.

The eggs hatch anywhere from 4 to 10 days later.

There are five larval instars stages and the earlier instars are more realistic bird-dropping mimics than the later stages and are often found on the leaf surface just as you would find bird droppings. Mature larvae usually rest on stems or leaf petioles (Hagen 1999) when not eating and are more active at night for protection from predation.

They eat and poop and eat and poop....a lot!

They are very hungry caterpillars. Before it even emerges from its egg, the very first thing a caterpillar does is eat! Caterpillars chew their way out of its egg, and then it eats the rest of the eggshell. After that, it starts eating and eating its host plant leaves until it's molted and ready to "unzip" it's skin to reveal the chrysalis.

Until they're ready to climb away to find a place to pupate into the chrysalis stage.

Btw, I have searched everywhere within 30 feet of the trees and have been unable to locate a chrysalis. It's late August and it's common for swallowtail caterpillars to overwinter in their chrysalis and wait until spring to emerge. Diapause, is a dormant state where the insect's development is halted to survive what ever weather is thrown at them. Where ever they are they are well hidden, so I've borrowed a photo (below).

source

Our Wildflower Wednesday hostplant star, Ptelea trifoliata, aka, wafer ash is a deciduous small tree or large shrub in the citrus family (Rutaceae). It is native to North America, where it is found in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

According to Illinois Wildflowers: Hoptree is not only a host plant for the Giant swallowtail butterfly but also "attracts small bees, wasps, flies and ants. These floral visitors feed on the nectar of the flowers primarily, although some small bees also collect pollen. Another specialist feeder is the thrips Neohydatothrips pulchellus, which sucks juices from the leaflet undersides. Other insects that feed on Wafer Ash include the caterpillars of the moth Yponomeuta atomocella (Brown-Bordered Ermine Moth) and the larvae of the Scolytid beetle Phloeotribus scabricollis, which bore into the bark and wood.

It's a multi-stemmed rounded, small understory tree or shrub that can be found growing in areas with calcareous soils including rocky bluffs, glades, ravines, thickets and prairies, open woodlands, and river bluffs which means it would be very happy in middle Tennessee gardens. The flowers are not particularly showy, but fruits are ornamental. Very adaptable and easy-to-grow tree which is good for both moist and dry conditions. I planted them in large containers in partial shade so that I could make sure they would get enough water to survive our extremely dry summers. Now that's adaptable.

Hoptree flowers bloom in mid-spring and are fragrant. The flowers are visited by bees, butterflies, flies and wasps seeking nectar and helping pollination.

The fruits are samaras, which is a type of dry fruit (not fleshy like a berry), each with a single seed encased in a papery covering with a winged edge surrounding the seed, designed to help the wind disperse it.

(source: Photograph Gene Sturla)

The Particulars

Botanical name: Ptelea trifoliata

Common Name: hop tree, common hoptree, wafer ash, stinking ash, and skunk bush

Type: Tree

Family: Rutaceae (often called citrus family)

Native Range: Eastern and central United States

Zone: 4 to 9

Height: 15.00 to 20.00 feet

Spread: 15.00 to 20.00 feet

Bloom Time: May in Middle Tennessee

Flower: Fragrant, Panicle. Mostly a dioecious plant (source: Edward W. Chester, photograph) They need enough sun to flower. I might have to relocate my containers.

Fruit: Found in pendulous clusters that resemble hops.

Leaves: Trifoliate, deciduous leaves with leaflets on a petiole up to 2 inches long that will turn yellow in the fall. I am hoping that i have leaves next spring after the caterpillars defoliated my trees!

Description: Greenish white

Sun: Part shade to full shade or even full shade

Water: Dry to medium

Maintenance: Low, Can handle some drought

Soil: Dry soil, Shallow-Rocky Soil

Wildlife Value: Birds and small mammals enjoy the fruits as a food source. Host plant to the larva of giant swallowtail butterfly (Papilio cresphontes). The caterpillars resemble bird droppings. Carrion flies pollinate the flowers.

Suggested Use: Hedge, Flowering Tree, Butterfly Garden, Drought Tolerant Garden, Native Garden and Winter Garden

Comments: The Giant Swallowtail is on the move. It's moving further north and further west! In the last few years it's been spotted in Los Angelos, CA and Ontario, Canada. You might want to check out this article about its migration to Canada.

Deer: White-Tailed Deer don't seem to be a problem. The leaves and twigs have an unpleasant scent and bitter taste.

Links: For a really excellent look at the hoptree in winter and its chemical defense system go to Mary Ann Borge's article.

Welcome to Clay and Limestone and Wildflower Wednesday. This day is about sharing wildflowers and other native plants no matter where one gardens~the UK, tropical Florida, Europe, Australia, Africa, South America, India or the coldest reaches of Canada. It doesn't matter if we sometimes share the same plants, how they grow and thrive in your garden is what matters most. Sharing native wildflowers on social media is one of the best ways to educate others of their value to wildlife and the ecosystem. Please share your wildflowers with others through your writing or your photos.

xoxogail

First Wednesday Taking Care of Wildlife Challenge: When Noise is Harmful

noreply@blogger.com (Gail) — Wed, 13 Aug 2025 15:00:00 +0000

I love listening to the sounds of birds in the early morning and the last robin singing as the sun goes down. I don't often get to hear either these days. Things starting changing in our neighborhood when the 1950s brick homes with large yards became hot for development. They didn't want the homes, they wanted the land. Now, it's no longer as quiet as it once was.

Videos I take of bumblebee's buzzing among the native wildflowers are accompanied by the constant drone of traffic and construction noise.

I really miss the quiet. I can go inside to get a break from the noise, but, I worry about the effects all that noise has on the critters that live and visit my garden.

Noise pollution is serious.

Noise pollution in my neighborhood has had significant negative impacts on my well-being. I no longer spend a lot of time outside because the construction noise is so unpleasant.

Here's the noise that's found disruptive and harmful to human and critter well being.

Traffic noise: Possibly the biggest source of noise pollution in cities and suburbs. It comes from cars, trucks, motorcycles and construction vehicles. This noise impacts animals even in natural areas that are near busy roads.
Construction noise: Jackhammers, machinery, and other construction activities generate intense noise that can disrupt animal behavior and well-being. (source) The constant beep-beep of vehicles backing up totally disrupts my peace of mind.
Loud music and gatherings: Music played at high volumes, especially during parties or events, can bother mammals in the vicinity.
Domestic animals: Barking dogs, particularly when frequent or loud, can be a significant source of neighborhood noise that is disruptive to other mammals and even humans. I suspect that most people are unaware of noise ordinances for barking dogs.
Yard work equipment: Lawnmowers, leaf blowers, and other power tools used for yard maintenance can generate high levels of noise.
Other sources: Airplanes flying overhead, industrial noise, and even noise from appliances and fireworks can contribute to the overall soundscape and impact animals.

Impact of noise on mammals

Behavioral changes: Animals have been observed changing their territorial movements, abandoning their nests, changing feeding patterns to avoid noisy areas.
Communication interference: Noise can mask the calls animals use for mating, warning signals, or social bonding, messing with their communication and potentially impacting breeding success and survival rates.
Increased stress levels: Chronic noise exposure can increase stress hormones in mammals, impacting their health, immune system function, and overall well-being. A University of Georgia study even found that highway noises can elevate heart rates in monarch caterpillars.
Reduced foraging efficiency: Noise can distract animals while foraging, reducing their efficiency in finding and handling food.
Habitat abandonment or displacement: Some mammals may choose to leave or avoid areas with high noise levels, leading to habitat fragmentation and reduced access to resources, according to the Morris Animal Foundation.
Hearing loss: Prolonged exposure to loud noise can lead to temporary or even permanent hearing loss in mammals. That's humans, too.
Speaking of humans: From the EPA."Problems related to noise include stress related illnesses, high blood pressure, speech interference, hearing loss, sleep disruption, and lost productivity. Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) is the most common and often discussed health effect.

What can we do. Yes, even small changes can make a big impact.

You've probably noticed how chatty birds are in the early mornings, that's when they are busy communicating with each other. Mowing and blowing in our yards disrupts that communication; we should do noisy yard work later in the day (after 9am). Better yet, start raking instead of blowing grass and leaves away, it's good exercise and very quiet. You could do what I do...Leave the leaves.
After dark is another critical time for wildlife so if you're having a party, turn the music down and while you're at it turn off the lights after 11pm.
To keep sound out of your yard, densely plant native trees, evergreens or deciduous shrubs to act as noise blockers. If you've driven past my yard, you might have wondered why I still have some forsythia hedging. It's there because it protects my yard from street noise.
Do your own hearing a favor, as well as animals' hearing, by switching from gas- to battery-powered tools, including leaf blowers, string trimmers and chainsaws. Better yet, replace lawns with native plants that don’t need mowing.
Get involved with local groups that are working to change noise laws. Start with your homeowners association, schools, businesses and churches to get them to limit loud, destructive activity on their properties. When we understand the disruptive effects of noise pollution, we along with our community leaders can work towards creating quieter environments that are more beneficial for both people and mammals.
Find out about your local city noise ordinances. For instance in Nashville construction noise is regulated, particularly in residential areas. Generally, construction work cannot occur between 7:00 PM and 7:00 AM, except during June, July, and August, when the restriction extends from 8:00 PM to 6:00 AM. Also, construction activities are generally prohibited on Sundays. Specifically, the current Metro Nashville noise ordinance prohibits construction work on Sundays between midnight Saturday night and midnight Sunday night. This applies to all construction, demolition, and related activities that generate noise.
We need to be aware of the noise we create. Always observe noise ordinances at home and in public places...Especially parks and nature centers.

To learn more about the body of scientific literature exploring the effects of noise on wildlife and humans, see the the Natural Sounds & Night Skies Division's Annual Synthesis of Studies on the Effects of Noise: a systematic, comprehensive up-to-date query of the scientific literature. To date, more than 800 peer-reviewed studies on the effects of noise on wildlife have been published. The synthesis summarizes the noise sources and effects, and highlights suggested readings from the most current research. (source)

I can't stop the development that's happening all around me and probably near many of you, but I believe that at the very least I can share noise pollution information with neighbors. That's why I publish the First Wednesday Challenge. Maybe, we can get organized to tackle this serious and growing problem.

Thanks for stopping by and for caring about wildlife...xoxogail

Looking for ways to get involved go here for a list of environmental advocacy groups.

Buy the best wildflower, butterfly and bird id books for your state.

Read nature books to your children and grandchildren. Buy them nature books.

Get in the garden with your children and grandchildren.

Give nature books as baby shower gifts (Nature books for infants and toddlers)

Shrink your lawn and make your planting beds larger.

Commit to never, ever, ever, ever using pesticides in the garden.

Make a rain garden in low spots to collect and mitigate runoff.

Show some soil! Our native ground nesting bees nest in bare soil, so don't mulch every square inch of your garden.

Get rid of the plastic weed barriers in your garden, it's not good for anything.

Invite bugs into your garden. Plant annuals that attract beneficial bugs.

Learn to tolerate damaged plants. Imperfection is the new perfect.

Make a brush pile. Stack fallen brush, cut tree limbs, broken pots for ground beetles. Ground beetles are excellent at eating "bad bugs". Bugs are also good bird, toad and small critter food.

Rethink what you consider a pest. Lots of good bugs eat aphids. Spiders are important predators and they're great bird food!

Add nesting boxes for birds.

Plant shrubs and small trees that provide berries and nuts.

Keep a nature journal: You can observe visitors to your water feature, make note of when they visit. Notice which flowers attract the most pollinators and which ones are just pretty faces.

Join your state native plant society (Tennessee Native Plant Society)

Join WildOnes even if there's no local group you can join the national organization. (Middle Tennessee WildOnes)

Support your local native plant sellers. (GroWild in middle Tennessee, Overhill Gardens in east Tennessee, Resource Guide TN Native Plant Society)

Encourage your local garden clubs to offer native plant talks.

If your garden club has a plant sale encourage them to sell more native plants.

Get trained as a naturalist (Tennessee Naturalist Program. Almost every state has their own Master Naturalist training program

Take an online course on tree, fungi and wildflower id.

Take an online course on designing with native plants.

Take a walk in your neighborhood and observe nature. To quote Joanna Brichetto in Sidewalk Nature "Look Around. Nature is here, is us, our driveways, our baseboards, parks, and parking lots."

Read! There are hundreds of books on gardening for wildlife, the environment, and rewilding our world. There are delightful blogs with wonderful and informative articles.

If you are already gardening with wildlife in mind then add a few signs that help educate your neighbors. (Xerces Society, Pollinator Partnership)

Join the Xerces Society.

Set up an information station where neighbors can pick up brochures about your garden and other info.

Get certified (National Wildlife Federation, check to see what your state offers)

Wildflower Wednesday: Anglepod

noreply@blogger.com (Gail) — Wed, 23 Jul 2025 15:00:00 +0000

For years I thought the name of this plant was angelpod!

Although angelpod is not its name, I think you'll agree with me that our Wildflower wednesday star, Gonolobus suberosus, is a cool plant.

I discovered it while checking out pollinator visitors on the ever expanding mountain mint. I almost walked into the vine that was draped across the path where it was climbing from a Frostweed plant onto the Smokebush, its tendrils were wrapped tightly around the shrub as it climbed to the top of the tree.

The characteristic five sided milkweed-like fruiting body was the first thing I saw. Then I noticed the 5 petaled starfish shaped flowers. They're small and typically greenish-purple or yellow. The petals surround a five-sided central disk with a yellow nectary that offers a sweet treat for pollinators.

If you look closely at the above photo you may even see a blurry fly nectaring on the flower. Flies are the primary pollinator for this native plant. I read that the flowers have a slight carrion smell that attracts flies, but, I didn't notice any scent when I was snapping photos.

Finding anglepod in my garden was exciting...I love discovering wildflowers that seem to just appear and its appearance following a very wet spring makes me wonder if the two are connected. Perhaps the seed was in the seedbank and the wet spring allowed it to germinate. On the other hand it might have been here all along and I finally noticed it.

This quote from my friend Joanna Brichetto explains why I am thrilled to have it in my garden.

"Anglepod is one of the three "secret" milkweeds in Nashville: volunteer vines that no one sells but that shows up anyway. People may not notice another weedy vine with heart shaped leaves, but Monarch butterflies do." It's a "host plant for Monarch and other specialists who only use milkweed leaves and seeds for food."

the 5 sided central disk surrounded by the nectary

Ecological value

Larval host plant: is a host plant for some milkweed-associated insects.
Food source: Although not a preferred host, it can still provide food for Monarch caterpillars.
Shelter: The dense foliage of the vine can offer shelter for small animals.
Pollination: Its flowers attract insects for pollination

The Particulars

Botanical name: Gonolobus suberosus

Common Name(s): Anglepod Anglepod Milkvine Angularfruit Milkvine

Family: Apocynaceae

Life Cycle: Perennial

Light: Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)

Water: Medium

Maintenance: Needs a structure to climb-a tree, a shrub or a screen

USDA Plant Hardiness Zone: 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a

Height: 6.00 to 10.00 feet

Spread: 3.00 to 6.00 feet

Bloom Time: June to August

Bloom Description: Showy Yellowish-Green with purple center s on some

Fruit: Pods, about 4″ long and 1½” wide, are five-sided with two wide sides and three narrow sides, each separated by a pronounced angular ridge, hence its common name. Dry pods split along the middle of the inner narrow side. (source)

Propagation: Seed, wind dispersed like other milkweeds

Wildlife Value: Larval host for monarch and queen butterflies and other critters that specialize on feeding on milkweed

Comments: Potential medicinal uses: Some people use the plant for its potential medicinal properties. Found in rich woods, streambanks, and shaded thickets—often scrambling through shrubs or low tree branches. Ideal for native shade gardens, woodland borders, or educational plantings focused on native milkweed relatives. Contains latex-handle with care.

(source)

There are two varieties of Gonolobus suberosus in the southeastern USA. For this post I am using the general descriptions of Gonolobus suberosus. There is overlap and some discussion about the differences. Go here for a science journal article.

These are:

Gonolobus suberosus var. granulatus - West of the Appalachian Mountains
Gonolobus suberosus var. suberosus - Primarily of the Appalachian Mountains and eastward

Welcome to Clay and Limestone and Wildflower Wednesday. This day is about sharing wildflowers and other native plants no matter where one gardens~the UK, tropical Florida, Europe, Australia, Africa, South America, India or the coldest reaches of Canada. It doesn't matter if we sometimes share the same plants, how they grow and thrive in your garden is what matters most. Sharing native wildflowers on social media is one of the best ways to educate others of their value to wildlife and the ecosystem. Please share your wildflowers with others through your writing or your photos.

xoxogail

First Wedneday Taking Care of Wildlife Challenge: Recommendations For Your Reading and Listening Pleasure

noreply@blogger.com (Gail) — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 15:00:00 +0000

I often listen to gardening podcasts while gardening and sometimes on walks. Here are a few I have enjoyed and I hope you will, too. Just follow the highlighted links.

Mark Fraley Podcast is a good listen and I especially recommend his interview with Dr Kim Sadler, MTSU, Center for Cedar Glade Studies. If you're a middle Tennessee resident plan a visit. I love their stark beauty. Also, he has interviewed Joanna Brichetto several times.

In Defense of Plants podcast. His most recent is Fireflies and Plants. Revisit a conversation between Dr. Sara Lewis and Matt Candeias as they discuss some of the intriguing connections between fireflies and plants.

The Joe Gardener podcast Episode 421 Doug Tallamy Answers the Question, How Can I Help?

Ted Talks Daily: Why Climate Action is Unstoppable and climate realism is a myth with Al Gore

Growing Greener podcast with Thomas Christopher

The Plantastic Podcast: Sam Hoadley is interviewed about plant trials at Mt Cuba

Native Plants Healthy Planet podcast: Check out what Tom and Fran have to say and whom they might be interviewing

Backyard Ecology podcast: Shannon Trimboli is the host. Folks she's just north of Tennessee in Kentucky so her programs are apropos for middle Tennessee. Recent podcasts.

Bug Banter Xerces Society podcast Many great talks.

Margaret Roach https://awaytogarden.com/podcast/: I especially enjoyed her interview with Kelly Norris. Kelly is an ecological landscaper and author of several books.

Here's a list of a few of my favorite native plant garden blogs and websites.

Sidewalk Nature: Joanna Brichetto's blog/website and her tag line says it all~ Look Around. Nature is us, our yards, sidewalks, parks, and parking lots.

Humane Gardener : Nancy Lawson's tag line is Cultivating compassion for all creatures great and small.

WildOnes: Wild Ones promotes native landscapes through education, advocacy and collaborative action. The link will take you to the Middle Tennessee chapter

Home Grown National Park : Join the native plant homegrown garden movement. The website has links to keystone plants in your eco-region.

Nuts For Natives: A self taught gardener (like many of us) who loves native plants.

Have a safe and wonderful July. xoxogail

Want to Take the Taking Care of Wildlife In Our Gardens Challenge?

Activities that increase our knowledge of the natural world are equally as valuable. Helping others learn about nature is included. Golly gee whiz, there are so many things you can do.

Gone are the lightening bugs.
Gone are the ground dwelling/nesting native bees.
Gone is the habitat for insects, spiders and other critters.
Gone is plant diversity.
Gone are trees that provided for hundreds of moths, butterflies and other insects.
Gone are the nesting sites for woodpeckers, hummingbirds, Chickadees and other birds.
Gone is a healthy foodweb.

It breaks my heart.

We can't stop the progmess, but, maybe we can make a lot of educational noise and help our new neighbors see the value in providing for critters and ultimately helping the environment.

A gardener can hope!

xoxoGail

Looking for ways to get involved go here for a list of environmental advocacy groups.

Buy the best wildflower, butterfly and bird id books for your state.

Read nature books to your children and grandchildren. Buy them nature books.

Get in the garden with your children and grandchildren.

Give nature books as baby shower gifts (Nature books for infants and toddlers)

Shrink your lawn and make your planting beds larger.

Commit to never, ever, ever, ever using pesticides in the garden.

Make a rain garden in low spots to collect and mitigate runoff.

Show some soil! Our native ground nesting bees nest in bare soil, so don't mulch every square inch of your garden.

Get rid of the plastic weed barriers in your garden, it's not good for anything.

Invite bugs into your garden. Plant annuals that attract beneficial bugs.

Learn to tolerate damaged plants. Imperfection is the new perfect.

Make a brush pile. Stack fallen brush, cut tree limbs, broken pots for ground beetles. Ground beetles are excellent at eating "bad bugs". Bugs are also good bird, toad and small critter food.

Rethink what you consider a pest. Lots of good bugs eat aphids. Spiders are important predators and they're great bird food!

Add nesting boxes for birds.

Plant shrubs and small trees that provide berries and nuts.

Keep a nature journal: You can observe visitors to your water feature, make note of when they visit. Notice which flowers attract the most pollinators and which ones are just pretty faces.

Join your state native plant society (Tennessee Native Plant Society)

Join WildOnes even if there's no local group you can join the national organization. (Middle Tennessee WildOnes)

Support your local native plant sellers. (GroWild in middle Tennessee, Overhill Gardens in east Tennessee, Resource Guide TN Native Plant Society)

Encourage your local garden clubs to offer native plant talks.

If your garden club has a plant sale encourage them to sell more native plants.

Get trained as a naturalist (Tennessee Naturalist Program. Almost every state has their own Master Naturalist training program

Take an online course on tree, fungi and wildflower id.

Take an online course on designing with native plants.

Take a walk in your neighborhood and observe nature. To quote Joanna Brichetto in Sidewalk Nature "Look Around. Nature is here, is us, our driveways, our baseboards, parks, and parking lots."

Read! There are hundreds of books on gardening for wildlife, the environment, and rewilding our world. There are delightful blogs with wonderful and informative articles.

If you are already gardening with wildlife in mind then add a few signs that help educate your neighbors. (Xerces Society, Pollinator Partnership)

Join the Xerces Society.

Set up an information station where neighbors can pick up brochures about your garden and other info.

Get certified (National Wildlife Federation, check to see what your state offers)

Wildflower Wednesday: Dichanthelium clandestinum

noreply@blogger.com (Gail) — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 16:00:00 +0000

Photo by Stephanie Brundage

Deer tongue grass occurs in the eastern half of the US and a few states west of the Mississippi River. It prefers damp soil, so look for it in shady moist woodland areas, in moist sandy soil, in ditches, and along roadsides. The genus name comes from the Greek words di, meaning twice, and anth, meaning flowering, referring to plants that may have two flowering periods. The species name means hidden, referring to the tiny flowers that hide within the leaves. (source)

I like it for its looks and wildlife value. According to Illinois Wildflower dozens of birds eat the seeds, at least 5 different skipper larva feed on it and dozens of beetles and other insects feed on the leaves. The site has links to both bird and insect tables if you want more info. When left standing in winter it provides shelter for birds and small mammals. Is grazed by mammals, but isn't particularly nutritious for cattle.

The tiny flowers are produced on open, airy clusters called panicles and are nearly impossible to photograph

A Special Note:

Imagine my surprise to discover that Deertongue actually has a cultivar! Tioga’ deertongue (Dichanthelium clandestinum (L.) Gould) is a cultivar released in 1975 in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Agricultural Experiment Station, and Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station. (source) Tioga was developed to be used for re-vegetating disturbed areas where site conditions limit the use of other species. It's quite adaptable! It tolerated droughty sites and can tolerate moist soils and streambanks. Apparently it's ability to lodge ( bend over and creates a mat) ) helps this cultivar spread. The old stems and leaf parts form a layer of mulch that aids in seedling establishment and critter cover.

THE PARTICULARS

Botanical name: Dichanthelium clandestinum

Grass family (Poaceae)

Common name: Deertongue, Deer-tongue Witchgrass, Witch Grass

Perennial cool season grass

Inflorescence: A panicle that is typically 3 1/2 to 5 1/2 inches long and 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 inches broad.

Leaf: Green

Size: 24"

Bloom Time: May through Sept

Partial sun/shade (4-6 hrs light daily)

Hardiness Zones: Zone 4 to Zone 9

Range: Eastern US, including Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas. Also eastern Canada

Soil Preference: Clay, loam, sand, damp

Pollination: Early flowers are wind pollinated, later ones are self pollinating

Landscape Uses: Massing, Natural garden, used to re-vegetate disturbed areas with infertile soils

Comments: It's most attractive in the early spring when the silver flower heads shimmer in the slightest breeze. The clasping leaves give the plant a bamboo like appearance and the foliage turns yellow-brown in autumn. It's attractive and has good wildlife value. In the right conditions this grass can spread aggressively.

Care: No known diseases or insect pests.

Wildlife Value: Dozens of birds eat the seeds, at least 5 different skipper larva feed on it and dozens of beetles and other insects feed on the leaves. When left standing in winter it provides shelter for birds and small mammals. Is grazed by mammals, but isn't particularly nutritious for cattle.

PS. My dear readers, you might consider allowing our Wildflower star and other native grasses to grow in your garden or even in your lawn. Think of all the good you'll do for skippers and other critters. Seeds can be found online, so give them a try! xoxogail

Welcome to Clay and Limestone's Wildflower Wednesday celebration. WW is about sharing and celebrating wildflowers from all over this great big, beautiful world. Join us on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Remember, it doesn't matter if they are in bloom or not, and, it doesn't matter if we all share the same plants. It's all about celebrating wildflowers.

First Wednesday Taking Care of Wildlife Challenge: The Rodenticide Effects

noreply@blogger.com (Gail) — Wed, 04 Jun 2025 16:00:00 +0000

Source Nancy Lawson

To quote Nancy Lawson, rodenticides wreak havoc across the animal kingdom.

It doesn't have to happen.

What to do if you have a rodent problem

Rats and mice are a serious problem in a home. Not only can they spread disease, they can do incredible property damage. Using poisons to solve this problem does not work- the mice/rats will keep returning because there's food, shelter and an entrance to both. The following posters have excellent information about how we can prevent rodents from entering our homes and what to do if they do.

Here's a suggestion that may seem counter intuitive -invite natural predators like owls, hawks and snakes into your garden! Rodents are a huge part of the diets of owls, hawks and eagles. Raptors are efficient rodent controlling predators that maintain the ecological balance by keeping prey populations in check.

My hope is that they are gobbling up all those rodents before they can head into my house.

To encourage natural predators like snakes, hawks, owls, foxes and bobcats to hunt in your garden, focus on creating a diverse and welcoming environment for the things they prey upon. Mice and chipmunks like to hide in brush and rock piles. The are also drawn to gardens that provide them with food (seeds, berries, nuts) and water. Now that you've made the prey comfy, make sure predators feel welcome~provide ample shelter and perches for hawks and owls and hiding places for snakes! In other words you need to make your garden wildlife friendly. It's what we've done here at Clay and Limestone. I know you can do it.xoxogail

P.S. Still thinking that rodenticides are the answer? Children, especially young children, also accidentally ingest rodenticides — more than 10,000 every year in the United States. So do pets: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports that more than 100 dogs, cats and other pets die annually from rodenticide exposure. (source)

One more thing before I go. If you don't like what I've shown or want more info, just search the internet for solutions to your rodent problems. Here are links to helpful sites.

Raptors Are The Solution

Center For Biological Diversity

Hungry Owl Project

Want to Take the Taking Care of Wildlife In Our Gardens Challenge?

Activities that increase our knowledge of the natural world are equally as valuable. Helping others learn about nature is included. Golly gee whiz, there are so many things you can do.

Gone are the lightening bugs.
Gone are the ground dwelling/nesting native bees.
Gone is the habitat for insects, spiders and other critters.
Gone is plant diversity.
Gone are trees that provided for hundreds of moths, butterflies and other insects.
Gone are the nesting sites for woodpeckers, hummingbirds, Chickadees and other birds.
Gone is a healthy foodweb.

It breaks my heart.

We can't stop the progmess, but, maybe we can make a lot of educational noise and help our new neighbors see the value in providing for critters and ultimately helping the environment.

A gardener can hope!

xoxoGail

Looking for ways to get involved go here for a list of environmental advocacy groups.

Buy the best wildflower, butterfly and bird id books for your state.

Read nature books to your children and grandchildren. Buy them nature books.

Get in the garden with your children and grandchildren.

Give nature books as baby shower gifts (Nature books for infants and toddlers)

Shrink your lawn and make your planting beds larger.

Commit to never, ever, ever, ever using pesticides in the garden.

Make a rain garden in low spots to collect and mitigate runoff.

Show some soil! Our native ground nesting bees nest in bare soil, so don't mulch every square inch of your garden.

Get rid of the plastic weed barriers in your garden, it's not good for anything.

Invite bugs into your garden. Plant annuals that attract beneficial bugs.

Learn to tolerate damaged plants. Imperfection is the new perfect.

Make a brush pile. Stack fallen brush, cut tree limbs, broken pots for ground beetles. Ground beetles are excellent at eating "bad bugs". Bugs are also good bird, toad and small critter food.

Rethink what you consider a pest. Lots of good bugs eat aphids. Spiders are important predators and they're great bird food!

Add nesting boxes for birds.

Plant shrubs and small trees that provide berries and nuts.

Keep a nature journal: You can observe visitors to your water feature, make note of when they visit. Notice which flowers attract the most pollinators and which ones are just pretty faces.

Join your state native plant society (Tennessee Native Plant Society)

Join WildOnes even if there's no local group you can join the national organization. (Middle Tennessee WildOnes)

Support your local native plant sellers. (GroWild in middle Tennessee, Overhill Gardens in east Tennessee, Resource Guide TN Native Plant Society)

Encourage your local garden clubs to offer native plant talks.

If your garden club has a plant sale encourage them to sell more native plants.

Get trained as a naturalist (Tennessee Naturalist Program. Almost every state has their own Master Naturalist training program

Take an online course on tree, fungi and wildflower id.

Take an online course on designing with native plants.

Take a walk in your neighborhood and observe nature. To quote Joanna Brichetto in Sidewalk Nature "Look Around. Nature is here, is us, our driveways, our baseboards, parks, and parking lots."

Read! There are hundreds of books on gardening for wildlife, the environment, and rewilding our world. There are delightful blogs with wonderful and informative articles.

If you are already gardening with wildlife in mind then add a few signs that help educate your neighbors. (Xerces Society, Pollinator Partnership)

Join the Xerces Society.

Set up an information station where neighbors can pick up brochures about your garden and other info.

Get certified (National Wildlife Federation, check to see what your state offers)

Wildflower Wednesday: Scutellaria parvula — Small skullcap

noreply@blogger.com (Gail) — Wed, 28 May 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Dear readers, There are far too many lovely native wildflowers that are underappreciated or overlooked and Scutellaria parvula is one of them. Even its species name "parvula" means very small and insignificant! It may be small but, it's not insignificant. It's a lovely flower and I hope you are as excited about meeting it as I am to introduce you to our Wildflower Wednesday star.

Photo Source

Those dots on the lower lip are not just for looks they're actually nectar guides. Nectar guides or floral guides as some scientists prefer to call them, are markings or patterns seen in flowers that guide pollinators to their rewards. These markings may appear as lines, spots, or "blotches". Flowers use all kinds of signals/visual displays to attract bees, butterflies and other insects to the nectar source, after all they want pollination to occur! That's how mutualism works: both species benefit, bees collect nectar and pollen from flowers, providing themselves with food and resources, while simultaneously helping the flowers reproduce by transferring pollen from one flower to another.

Nature is truly marvelous.

interesting seedpods

Small skullcap is a denizen of limestone outcrops, cedar glades, shallow soil prairies, clearings, savannas, glades, ledges and bluffs, in open forests, in pastures, as well as along railroads and roads in eastern and central north America.

I've seen it growing in a somewhat protected area in my own neighborhood and suspect that once upon a time it could be found in bee friendly lawns all over here. There are areas of limestone outcropping and with its calcareous soil which makes a great place for small skullcap to be found.

Photo taken in protected area in my neighborhood

Small skullcap is happier without competition and the rough and tumble wildflowers at Clay and Limestone are just too much for it, so I grow it in a container. I am editing to create space for it and other small plants and I will let you all know how they all fair.

Source

I suggest that gardeners plant Scutellaria parvula in the front of their garden bed. It may spread by rhizomes to form a small colony and/or it may seed among your other wildflowers, but it's by no means aggressive, even if it is a member of the mint family.

Missouri Wildflower Nursery has a cool four star rating system for native plants they sell and they've given small skullcap a 3 star rating, which means it has lovely flowers, but they don't think the foliage is beautiful all season. Personally, I like when plants go to seed and I think skullcaps seeds look pretty cool. Btw, they sell Scutellaria parvula if you're interested. Local gardeners, we can find it at Growild.

The Particulars

Botanical name: Scutellaria parvula

Family: Lamiaceae (mint family)

Common names: small skullcap, little skullcap and dwarf skullcap

Species: There are three commonly accepted varieties of Scutellaria parvula which are distinguished by the type and location of hairs on the plant. Two are in Davidson county, TN where I live: Scutellaria parvula Michx. var. australis and Scutellaria parvula Michx. var. australis

Range: Native to eastern US

Zone: 3 to 8

Leaf arrangement: Opposite with square stems

Habit - Perennial forb with fibrous roots and slender Moniliform rhizomes

Bloom time: spring into summer

Flower color: Purple/Blue

Light: Full sun to medium shade

Moisture: Dry, average

Size: 12 inches maximum height

Wildlife value: The flowers are cross-pollinated by various bees, including Mason bees (Osmia spp., Hoplitis pilosifrons), Little Carpenter bees (Ceratina spp.), and Halictid bees (Halictus spp., Lasioglossum spp.). Bees usually suck nectar from the flowers, although some of them also collect pollen. Less common floral visitors include skippers and Syrphid flies, which are less effective at cross-pollination. Insects that are known to feed on the foliage of Small Skullcap include the caterpillars of Prochoreutis inflatella (Skullcap Skeletonizer Moth), the leaf beetles Phyllobrotica lengi and Phyllobrotica limbata, and Asphaera lustrans (Shiny Flea Beetle). Source Illinois Wildflower

Reproduction: If you transplant small skullcap you'll notice that it has formed a string of beads underground; these are the moniliform rhizomes that it produces as a means of reproduction. Stems arise from the "beads".

Comments: Not a preferred food of mammals.

Happy Gardening and while you're walking around do get down on your hands and knees to get a good look at all the sweet low growing small beauties.

xoxogail

Welcome to Clay and Limestone and Wildflower Wednesday. This day is about sharing wildflowers and other native plants no matter where one gardens~the UK, tropical Florida, Europe, Australia, Africa, South America, India or the coldest reaches of Canada. It doesn't matter if we sometimes share the same plants, how they grow and thrive in your garden is what matters most. Sharing native wildflowers on social media is one of the best ways to educate others of their value to wildlife and the ecosystem.

First Wednesday Taking Care of Nature Challenge: Acting Locally While Thinking Globally

noreply@blogger.com (Gail) — Wed, 07 May 2025 19:15:00 +0000

A Few Things We Can Do:

1. Turn off unnecessary lights at night...Especially during spring and fall migration. Millions of birds will be returning north to their breeding grounds where abundant food and nesting sites await them. Migration is a natural phenomena that happens every fall and spring. Their journey is physically taxing and the lack of adequate food supplies along the way, bad weather, exposure to predators and the ever increasing danger from colliding into lit up buildings all add to making this journey hazardous.

Consider doing this year round to protect critters that depend upon the dark. Where night lighting is necessary, use fixtures that direct light only where it’s needed. Become an advocate: Work to get your community involved in turning off their outdoor lights from 11pm to 6am every night.

Highways, habitat and skies lit with artificial light interfere with the vision, foraging, and dispersal activities of many mammals. Sea turtle hatchlings rely on the moon and starlight reflecting off the ocean at night to direct them to the safety of the water. Artificial light interferes with amphibians

Examples of Nocturnal Animals:

Mammals: Bats, owls, foxes, raccoons, hedgehogs, opossums, cats (some are crepuscular, meaning active at dawn and dusk), and rodents like mice and rats are common examples.

Birds: Owls, nightjars, and night herons are nocturnal bird species.

Insects: Moths, fireflies, and crickets are nocturnal insects.

Reptiles and Amphibians: Some snakes, geckos, and frogs are nocturnal.

Bird Safe Nashville

2. Plant native trees, shrubs and perennials. In other words we must plant smarter.

Plant knowing that the more you plant for critters...crawling, flying and even digging ones, the healthier and more diverse your garden will be.

You don't need a yard to plant native wildflowers: plant in containers placed on your patio or balcony

Simply said: Choose plants that have good wildlife value.

3. Stop using pesticides in your garden:

They're hazardous to our health, especially the health of our children.

Source

Harmless bugs are killed when they're caught in the spray, and other animals are hurt when they drink chemical runoff after gardens and fields drain into local rivers.

Clay and Limestone has been pesticide free for three decades. I decided to embrace imperfection when I realized that native bees, butterflies, wasps, spiders, and lots of other critters were (and still are) adversely affected by them. The use of neonicotinoids and other pesticides and herbicides (by the agriculture/horticulture industry and home owners) and the introduction of non-native species are known causes of both wide-scale losses in biological diversity and pollinator declines.

Here's some information from Penn State Insect Biodiversity Center to back me up!

"Insects comprise over 80% of terrestrial species on Earth, and include bees, ants, butterflies, grasshoppers, and beetles, among many others. Insects drive the production of essential seeds, fruits, and vegetables via pollination, and are necessary decomposers of organic matter. Further, insects are keystone species that provide invaluable ecosystem services that extend beyond pollination, by providing biological control of pests, and acting as bio-indicators of healthy streams and soils. Insects form the base of complex ecological food webs in agricultural, natural, and urban areas, shaping the appearance, beauty and complexity of these diverse landscapes." Source

Insects are too important for us to be wiping them out with pesticides that we can purchase at most big box stores. "Insect pollinators (e.g. bees, flower-flies, and butterflies) pollinate over 85% of wild flowering plants and over 75% of agricultural crop species. The loss of partial or whole insect communities can have disastrous effects for food webs and reduce an area’s ability to recover after disturbances. "(Source)

They're contaminating our food.

Chemicals change our soil. Soil is another key farming element that's damaged by pesticides. After the pesticides are sprayed, they can alter the soil's pH levels and make it more difficult for crops to grow. When the soil's structure is weakened, it erodes more easily and gets washed away by heavy rains.

They're hazardous to pets through direct exposure, inhalation, or by ingesting pesticide-treated food or water according to Chronic pesticide exposure has been linked to increased risk of certain cancers, like mammary cancer and lymphoma, and other health issues, says Beyond Pesticides.

They contaminate our water and can kill fish and birds

When you let go of pesticides and embrace imperfection you become the change our world needs.

4. Reduce Plastic Waste

Every day, the equivalent of 2,000 garbage trucks full of plastic are dumped into the world's oceans, rivers, and lakes. Plastic pollution is a global problem. Every year 19-23 million tonnes of plastic waste leaks into aquatic ecosystems, polluting lakes, rivers and seas. Plastic pollution can alter habitats and natural processes, reducing ecosystems’ ability to adapt to climate change, directly affecting millions of people’s livelihoods, food production capabilities and social well-being. (source)

source Ivan Radik CC use

We need to wean ourselves off single use plastic
Stop buying bottled water
Be aware of microplastic beads in products we use and avoid them
Reduce and reuse
Shop second hand
Create a neighborhood share group for garden equipment and other small appliances that are used infrequently

5. VOTE

Exercise your constitutional right and vote for candidates who actively support conservation efforts. We must support candidates who will fight for the environment, who work to curb the excesses of global business interests, and who accept the truth of global warming. If people in government aren't invested in restoring the balance of nature, it will be harder for grassroots efforts to have any long-term effects.

xoxogail

Want to Take the Taking Care of Wildlife In Our Gardens Challenge?

Activities that increase our knowledge of the natural world are equally as valuable. Helping others learn about nature is included. Golly gee whiz, there are so many things you can do.

Gone are the lightening bugs.
Gone are the ground dwelling/nesting native bees.
Gone is the habitat for insects, spiders and other critters.
Gone is plant diversity.
Gone are trees that provided for hundreds of moths, butterflies and other insects.
Gone are the nesting sites for woodpeckers, hummingbirds, Chickadees and other birds.
Gone is a healthy foodweb.

It breaks my heart.

We can't stop the progmess, but, maybe we can make a lot of educational noise and help our new neighbors see the value in providing for critters and ultimately helping the environment.

A gardener can hope!

xoxoGail

Looking for ways to get involved go here for a list of environmental advocacy groups.

Buy the best wildflower, butterfly and bird id books for your state.

Read nature books to your children and grandchildren. Buy them nature books.

Get in the garden with your children and grandchildren.

Give nature books as baby shower gifts (Nature books for infants and toddlers)

Shrink your lawn and make your planting beds larger.

Commit to never, ever, ever, ever using pesticides in the garden.

Make a rain garden in low spots to collect and mitigate runoff.

Show some soil! Our native ground nesting bees nest in bare soil, so don't mulch every square inch of your garden.

Get rid of the plastic weed barriers in your garden, it's not good for anything.

Invite bugs into your garden. Plant annuals that attract beneficial bugs.

Learn to tolerate damaged plants. Imperfection is the new perfect.

Make a brush pile. Stack fallen brush, cut tree limbs, broken pots for ground beetles. Ground beetles are excellent at eating "bad bugs". Bugs are also good bird, toad and small critter food.

Rethink what you consider a pest. Lots of good bugs eat aphids. Spiders are important predators and they're great bird food!

Add nesting boxes for birds.

Plant shrubs and small trees that provide berries and nuts.

Keep a nature journal: You can observe visitors to your water feature, make note of when they visit. Notice which flowers attract the most pollinators and which ones are just pretty faces.

Join your state native plant society (Tennessee Native Plant Society)

Join WildOnes even if there's no local group you can join the national organization. (Middle Tennessee WildOnes)

Support your local native plant sellers. (GroWild in middle Tennessee, Overhill Gardens in east Tennessee, Resource Guide TN Native Plant Society)

Encourage your local garden clubs to offer native plant talks.

If your garden club has a plant sale encourage them to sell more native plants.

Get trained as a naturalist (Tennessee Naturalist Program. Almost every state has their own Master Naturalist training program

Take an online course on tree, fungi and wildflower id.

Take an online course on designing with native plants.

Take a walk in your neighborhood and observe nature. To quote Joanna Brichetto in Sidewalk Nature "Look Around. Nature is here, is us, our driveways, our baseboards, parks, and parking lots."

Read! There are hundreds of books on gardening for wildlife, the environment, and rewilding our world. There are delightful blogs with wonderful and informative articles.

If you are already gardening with wildlife in mind then add a few signs that help educate your neighbors. (Xerces Society, Pollinator Partnership)

Join the Xerces Society.

Set up an information station where neighbors can pick up brochures about your garden and other info.

Get certified (National Wildlife Federation, check to see what your state offers)

clay and limestone

Fist Wednesday Taking Care of Wildlife Challenge: Rewilding Our Urban and Suburban Landscape

Wildflower Wednesday: Downy Wood MInt

First Wednesday Taking Care of Wildlife Challenge: Where Have All My Insects Gone?

Wildflower Wednesday: Zizia aurea

First Wednesday Taking Care of Willdlife Challenge: Early Blooming Spring Plants, Hummingbirds and Coevolution

Are you ready for the hummingbirds? I am and so are several plants in my garden!

Wildflower Wednesday: Phacelia bipinnatifida and Love at First Sight

First Wednesday Taking Care of Wildlife Challenge: I Challenge You To Use Find a Use for Tree Debris

Wildflower Wednesday: Chasmanthium latifolium, A Year Round Beauty

January 2026: Taking Care of Wildlife in Our Gardens Monthly Challenge.

Wildflower Wednesday 2025 Posts in Review

For years I thought the name of this plant was angelpod!

Fall's best landing pads of deliciousness.

Today I am thankful for family, friends and my wildflower garden. I am thankful for time I spend outdoors, for the critters that live and visit my garden, for the last blooming flowers and for the gnats, flies, moths and bees that are out and about on warm days.

First Wednesday Taking Care of Wildlife Challenge Roundup of the 2025 Posts

Wildflower Wednesday: Hamamelis virginiana

I love the textured deep green leaves that turn a golden yellow in the fall. Sometimes the flowers bloom before the leaves drop and the stem-hugging clusters of bright yellow flowers are hidden.

H virginiana is a great all around small tree/shrub for most gardens. Those of you who garden for wildlife might consider planting it for the good wildlife value it adds to a shady garden. In case you are still thinking non-native because it's easy to find. Check this list out!

Ooh, ooh, ooh~One more cool factoid! The seeds are expelled with a loud pop that sends them yards away from the parent plant. I've been looking for offspring but, so far none. The seeds must be tasty to my garden critters.

The Particulars:

Botanical name: Hamamelis virginiana

Common Name: common witch hazel

Type: Deciduous shrub

Family: Hamamelidaceae

Native Range: Eastern North America

Zone: 3 to 8

Height: 15.00 to 20.00 feet

Spread: 15.00 to 20.00 feet

Bloom Time: October to December

Bloom Description: Golden yellow centers tinged a light red

Sun: Full sun to part shade

Water: Medium

Maintenance: Low Suggested

Cultivation: Light shade to partial sun, mesic conditions, and sandy or loamy soil. More flowers are produced in response to greater amounts of sunlight.

Comments: Useful as a hedge, let it naturalize in a woodland garden, useful in a rain garden and it has lovely fall color.

Wildlife value: Birds, pollinators and mammals (Illinois Wildflowers to see moth table)

Tolerate: Deer, Erosion, Clay Soil

First Wednesday Taking Care of Wildlife Challenge: I Challenge You To Leave the Leaves

Wildflower Wednesday: There Are Wildflowers That Like to Challenge the Boundaries!

First Wednesday Taking Care of Wildlife Challenge: Take Your Troubles To Your Garden

Wildflower Wednesday: Goldenrods

Fall's best landing pads of deliciousness.

First Wednesday Wildlife Challenge: Fall Bird Migration is Happening and You Know What to Do!

Wildflower Wednesday: We celebrate a butterfly and its hostplant, Ptelea trifoliata

First Wednesday Taking Care of Wildlife Challenge: When Noise is Harmful

Wildflower Wednesday: Anglepod

First Wedneday Taking Care of Wildlife Challenge: Recommendations For Your Reading and Listening Pleasure

Wildflower Wednesday: Dichanthelium clandestinum

First Wednesday Taking Care of Wildlife Challenge: The Rodenticide Effects

Wildflower Wednesday: Scutellaria parvula — Small skullcap

First Wednesday Taking Care of Nature Challenge: Acting Locally While Thinking Globally

H virginiana is a great all around small tree/shrub for most gardens. Those of you who garden for wildlife might consider planting it for the good wildlife value it adds to a shady garden.

In case you are still thinking non-native because it's easy to find. Check this list out!