Habitat for Humanity and Beyond

By Magnolia Mullen

On a warm late spring morning, I was taking advantage of the sun and drinking tea on my deck. To my left, the Skagit River rolling towards the bay, to my right, views of farmland and Mount Baker glowing in the distance. With all that beauty on either side, what had my attention was right in front of me. A hummingbird was slowly flitting between the slats of deck railing. My first thought was that the wee creature was stealing some webbing for its tiny nest. To my astonishment, the bird was plucking insects that were suspended in the spider’s silk. So much of my time and energy spent trying to grow flowers that attract the little pollinator, only to be shocked at it scavenging amongst cobwebs.

Gardens should not be sterile. Leave some leaf litter, piles of sticks, some cobwebs. In doing so, you are contributing to building a habitat, which is as vital as providing pollen and nectar sources for our garden allies. Almost anything with a tubular shaped flower will bring hummingbirds into your space. For shady spots, plant perennials such as hardy fuchsias, columbine, and heucheras. Put foxglove, salvias, and penstemons in full sun. 

Everyone loves ladybugs, right? There seems to be nothing about them that could be misconstrued as gross or dangerous. But for almost half my life, I would react to the sight of a ladybug like many do to a snake or spider. As a child, I stayed in a south facing room. In this home, we had wood heat, so the temperature would fluctuate throughout the day and night. During warmer times, and sunny days, the ladybugs that were hibernating in the walls would be tricked into thinking it was spring and begin to move about. Often this would be on me or in my bed. It took numerous years for me to overcome my aversion to those distinctive orange and black spotted beings.

Now, as a gardener and lover of nature, I am in awe of them and their status as a beneficial insect. Aphids are their favorite food, but they will also eat other common pests such as white flies, thrips, and spider mites. Ladybugs are omnivores, so provide them plants from which they can also collect pollen during their crusade against pests. For use in the garden and kitchen, try cilantro, dill, and parsley to give those little buggers (and yourself) a well-rounded diet. To add color, grow cosmos, coreopsis, and alyssum. Please do not buy ladybugs in a container. They are likely to leave your garden before doing anything helpful. Instead, build areas that are welcoming and safe for insects and pollinators.  

Leave clumps of deadwood. When decomposing they help to build soil and return nutrients to the earth. It provides shelter for insects, which are a main food source for numerous birds. A stone garden sounds more romantic than a pile of rocks. Call it what you want, but incorporate it into your space as another refuge for a variety of small creatures.  

Plant a mini (or huge if you have the space!) meadow filled with native wildflowers, many of which will bloom throughout the season, providing food sources for many months. Wildflowers are easy to grow and will also often self-seed, giving you years of blooms.    

Add an herb garden with your favorite perennials such as rosemary, sage, thyme, and lavender. All of those will be covered in bees when they show their purple flowers. Grow annual self-seeding varieties such as German chamomile, cilantro, dill, and nasturtiums. Pollinators love when mints and lemon balm are in bloom (keep those contained in pots!).

A pollinator friendly flower bed has an endless range of options for planting. Make yourself happy by incorporating your favorite colors. Make the pollinators happy by growing plants that have open flowers with easily assessable nectar and pollen. Sunflowers, zinnias, marigolds, cosmos, rudbeckia, asters, calendula, and flowering grasses will give you a decent start and a combination of annuals and perennials.

Flowering shrubs add height variety and more areas of shelter for our bird friends. Red flowering currants and snowberries are native deciduous shrubs that play a dual role of food sources, with nectar and pollen early in the season and berries later on. Mt. Aso pussywillow also does double duty, with its blooms being one of the first sources of food for bees in late winter, and its cut branches with attractive buds as a centerpiece in your home.  

Incorporating trees into your landscape adds shelter and shade for us and our garden friends. A combination of evergreen and deciduous trees will give you visual interest in all seasons. Midwinter Fire Dogwood gives blooms in spring, purple foliage in the fall and brightens up our grey months with twigs that range from yellow to red.

I still find joy in turning over a log to see what hides beneath it, how much of it falls apart, slowly turning into soil. A meadow filled with wildflowers will bring visual interest even as flowers go to seed and create pods of all shapes and sizes. I am known to collect and arrange affectionally called “dead things” to put in a vase (or an old honey jar, or wine bottle) on my kitchen table. Being able to add fresh herbs to dishes in the kitchen takes meals to a gourmet level. What doesn’t immediately get used will go into a lid-less jar to dry, for use another time. The flora you planted to attract pollinators often make excellent cut flowers to bring into your home or share with others. A couple of carefully placed trees create a spot to hang a hammock and have a nap, or throw down a blanket and read a book. But leave some leaf litter, piles of sticks, some cobwebs. By creating habitats for our garden allies, we improve our own environments, too.