Digging in: When the heat is on this summer

By Peter Wimberg

The heat is on. It’s hot in the gardens — that’s to be expected for summer, but I’m thinking of a different heat, the heat that implies a sense of urgency. The other day I was reflecting on how impressive the interstate exchange was by my office. The native grasses and flowers were on full display. I could see birds drifting in and out of the tall plants, and Asclepias, the host plant for the Monarch butterfly, was in bloom. The next day, it was gone. What was once a wonderfully lush native habitat was mown down, destroyed. I won’t get into the politics and reasoning, or lack of reasoning, behind why we pay to mow what could be attractive, beneficial natural spaces. But I will say that seeing such a generous native habitat destroyed with such ease drives home the urgency to add more native plants to our landscapes. 

We may not have much sway over what happens along the highways. Perhaps one day from now we will see more natural areas left standing. But we don’t have time to wait for one day from now. Today, as we settle in with our first cup of coffee, Monarch butterflies are looking, often in vain, for Asclepias on which they can lay their eggs.  Hummingbirds are looking for tubular flowers, and native bees are searching out native flowers and nesting sites. I wonder, how many front yard transformations would it take to balance the loss of the natural habitat I saw lost in one afternoon?

I’m not one to say you must, or you can never. I find it’s easier to persuade homeowners to add more flowering plants to their yard if I don’t present reasoning based on gloom and doom. But that feeling is starting to shift a little. As I watch new front yard pollinator gardens being installed in my neighborhood, the contrast between a yard that’s an oasis for pollinators and birds and one that is not, is greatly enhanced. 

A front landscape planted with a variety of flowering plants, including native plants, with native grasses — also critical to the survival of native moths and insects — contrasted with a monoculture yard, one of lawn and over-used boxwoods, is perplexing.  One yard is teaming with textures, colors, movement, and one is not. I believe that as more homeowners see what their front yard could be, they will decide to forgo some if not all of their lawn for a garden planted with nature. Soon, a landscape devoid of a pollinator garden will be the exception, not the rule.  

A member of our team shared that as she was adding a few more plants to a new front yard pollinator garden, everyone who walked by stopped to comment on the garden. “How lovely! What beautiful flowers! Look at the bees!” Not one person said, “what a waste, you removed the lawn.”

Logic tells us that a diverse plant offering, one that includes a selection of native plants that isn’t dependent on chemicals to survive, is preferable to the traditional monoculture landscape. We naturally gravitate to such a space. Our instincts tell us, this is the way to garden, with nature.

Peter Wimberg is the president of Wimberg Landscaping, a full-service landscaping firm that has been in operation for more than 44 years. Peter is a strong proponent of planting with nature. The Wimberg office and its extensive pollinator gardens are located at 1354 US Route 50 in Milford, Ohio. For more on his gardening philosophy, go to wimberglandscaping/changing-the-landscape.