Plant for The Future
Phil Taunton
Friday, May 11, 2007
If and when it ever gets dry, home owners and yard enthusiasts will be out in force, taking care of their lawns, pruning bushes and possibly replacing young trees and even older established shrubs that were damaged by the harsh spring freezes.
Why not give songbirds, bees and butterflies some consideration and make your yard a wildlife sanctuary?
Contrary to popular belief, Kansas is fast becoming an urban state. Three-quarters of the state’s population lives in cities of 50,000 or more.
The concept of Kansans as rural people, closely tied to the land, is becoming outdated. And as more city dwellers move to the country, wildlife will either need to adapt, relocate or perish.
Your landscaping plans might help in their survival.
If you have just bought a new home and are thinking about what to plant in your now-barren yard, or you just need to replace some winter weather-damaged shrubs, please give helping God’s critters some thought.
There are many native trees and shrubs that can enhance the beauty of your home and provide food, nesting cover and shelter for the benefit of wildlife at the same time. If you are fascinated with wildlife, the things you plant will attract and anchor songbirds in your yard as well. What you plant now also might play a key role in their future survival.
Beyond the initial landscape planning and planting of native trees, shrubs, plants and flowers — exotics won’t last long in Kansas — about all you’ll need to do is sit back and enjoy the birds and animals year after year. The trees and bushes will increase the value of your property and the birds also will help keep your lawn and garden free of insects. Their song, color and antics will provide cheap entertainment hour after hour.
You will become aware and fascinated by the different species of birds bustling around the yard gathering nesting material and, before you know it, they will show you how proud they are of their new offspring. You will be in awe of the brilliance of the male American goldfinch that are now still actively using Nyjer thistle seed sock feeders.
Birdwatching isn’t strictly a winter hobby.
Lots edged with oak, dogwood, flowering crabs and fragrant sumac and highlighted with varying heights of native grasses reflect a growing awareness of the natural environment and an increasing conservation ethic, especially in the use of water.
A few patches of native flowers like rudibeckias, monarda or bee-balm, Coneflowers, phlox and flowering, fruit-bearing shrubs, such as tartarian honeysuckle, privet, plum, Nanking cherry and cotoneaster might be all you need to attract wildlife, birds and butterflies to your yard. Design is the key. Map your yard and research the values of the wildlife friendly plants you want to establish.
Tired of mowing? Plant some areas of native grasses and let them run their course throughout the year. Break up that green grassy expanse with more trees and shrubs that are conducive to wildlife.
Think variety, edge and density. Turn that odd little-used corner of the yard into a wildlife sanctuary. Enjoy the benefits of watching wildlife and take the time to sit back and relax.
Hummingbirds have arrived in our area and will be coming to flowering plants such as columbine and the sugar water feeders off and on till October. Sometimes it seems almost hazardous to go outside when so many are zooming around the feeders, jockeying for position. Hummingbirds also eat insects. Orioles and house finches also use such feeders.
In my efforts to bring the country to the city, Wifeus tells me I brought in a big share of the jungle. I must admit a little pruning is in order, but that could be expected after 30 years — no need to rush into things until you see how they develop.
One word of caution though, it is easy to become absorbed in birdwatching.
Thought to ponder
With retirement looming, and with my “day job” employer still having me on the insurance roster, I went to the doctor to get a sore ankle checked out and get a physical. As it turned out, the foot is just fine, no broken bones.
But in a matter of weeks, I needed to get a root canal! Always something and nothing can be taken for granted!
The dentist, an avid outdoorsman, has a prayer in his office he wrote one night in anguish concerning the plight of the hunter.
It reads: “At the beginning of time, God created the hunters and the hunted. I believe it was his will that the hunters would evolve to a level that they would conserve and protect the hunted. May God bless and protect the hunters.”
Hunters have evolved and are true conservationists. They do so much for wildlife; game and non-game animals alike.