Last year we removed the non-native plants from a bed in the center of our lawn and significantly expanded the bed. With the help of the nice people at https://ladyfernfarm.com we created a butterfly garden, planted with pollinator-friendly New England natives.
The new garden had a lot to contend with - especially deer and rabbits. Even at the height of the summer it was a bit ... thin. /1
This spring, I wasn't sure how many of the plants would even come back - the bed was bare. But then the magic happened - with a few very rare exceptions every single thing we had planted slowly came back to boisterous life.
Now, in August, the garden is abuzz with so many - and so many different kinds - of bees and butterflies and wasps and dragonflies and hummingbirds. It is astonishing! /2
I guess the moral of the story is that patience is a virtue. And native plants are tough./3
@Pollinators The other miraculous thing about the butterfly garden is how many native plants have popped up on their own. Canadian goldenrod, daisy fleabane, various asters and coneflowers, wild violets, wild strawberries. On top of that, the rose milkweed and blue vervain planted last year self-seeded and are absolutely everywhere.
Just this morning I found a great blue lobelia (lobelia siphilitica) growing alongside a recently added selfheal. Perhaps it came as a seed with the selfheal?
David Severski
Piranesia
Pollinators