I just finished a great webinar with Dr. Doug Tallamy and want to give a shout out to the WWF-Canada for hosting it as well as to Dr. Tallamy for sharing his expertise. There is so much in Tallamy’s webinar that I can’t wait to review it when it gets posted on YouTube to refresh all the good information that’s currently swirling in my head.

But for immediate gratification after today’s session, I went online, using a website he mentioned, to plan the replanting of one of our “front of the house” beds.

Tallamy talked about how there are “keystone” plants that feed multiple insects, butterflies and birds. So, when you’re picking native plants to add to your garden and you have limited space you can pick the plants that feed the greatest number of species.

One of the keystone plants Tallamy talked about are oak trees. Obviously I’m not going to plant an oak tree right in front of a bay window and frankly, our alkaline soil is not idea for oaks But we have a meadow area just down the hill that does support oaks and I plan to selectively add plants to that area that will make it an even greater place for birds, butterflies and insects to feed.

Plants that I will place in my garden space include goldenrod, sunflowers, asters, beebalm, wild strawberry, yarrow and black-eyed Susan’s. along with some milkweed. Most of these will be transplanted from other areas in the garden where they need to be dug and divided and then I’ll add to them little bluestem, blanket flower and beard tongue. This should provide both a riot of color and a great place for pollinators to hang out and I’d love to attract monarch butterflies in the numbers that this picture shows (it’s a stock photo — dreams are important, right?)

Next, I’ll be ordering Tallamy’s newest book, Nature’s Best Hope. Stay tuned for a review of that.