Words Like Locusts Flew From Her Fingers

The Bee’s Knees

Starting your own habitat garden. – By Constance Casey – Slate Magazine
Another fear some homeowners have is that by welcoming birds and butterflies, they might also be inviting caterpillars and beetles and garden snakes. The conservative gardener might think, “I just want to avoid being a disgrace to the neighborhood; I didn’t sign up to be part of the ecosystem.” Face it, we were all signed up at birth. The preferred organic strategy is to invite everyone (except deer) in and let the birds and the insects and the spiders and the (nonvenomous) snakes fight it out among themselves.

Well, I think you should invite the deer in too. It’s not their fault there are so many of them. It’s just because we’ve eliminated their natural predators (no, not assholes with guns or bows) and have removed most of their natural habitat. Let the deer in, I say. But also invite our friends the wolves. Not only would the deer population get back into balance, but that problem with your neighbor’s yappy little dog would very likely be solved too. (And maybe, if you’re lucky, the problem with your neighbor’s obnoxious child.)

Anyway. This is a very nice article on slate.com about starting your own small garden dedicated to native and/or wild-animal-supporting plants. One of the plants they mention in the sidebar is anise-scented hyssop, which I can tell you from personal experience is a true bee magnet. Here’s a picture I took a few years ago of a bee on the hyssop I grow in my own backyard garden. Look at the pollen baskets on gal’s legs! Ooo baby! Click on the photo for a larger version.