I have spent the last six years working to make my yard a native and perennial haven, mostly by seed...with some annuals that happen to be food. Of course it's fun to watch the flowers bloom and the food grow and ripen. Even more fun to eat the food.
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| Honey bee flying through the Prairie Coneflower |
But another fun part is finding out who also likes your garden.
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| American Lady Butterfly on vine tomato |
While my garden isn't always full of a large selection of butterflies and birds, I do find some interesting life buzzing around. This year the Milkweed attracted several species of bees and I did see at least 5 different kinds of butterflies (I didn't get a picture of them all) throughout the garden.
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| Alianthus webworm moth |
Metallic blue wasps are frequently visitors and are beneficial to the garden. I've also had a few different insects and beetles, including lightning bugs, the famous milkweed beetle, and the bumble bees were really digging the sunflowers, bee balm, and purple coneflowers.
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| Honey bee on purple coneflower |
And I'm happy to say I have seen more and more goldfinches frequenting. Mostly there are Eurasian house sparrows, but also American robins and Northern cardinals.
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| Part of wildflower garden in July |
I haven't found any katydid's or grasshoppers so far like last year, but fortunately there's still time.
If you are looking for native perennials and not hybridized perennials check with
Pizzo Plant Nursery.
What do you grow in your city garden? What do your plants attract?
Alexandra Gnoske is a Nature Lover, Writer, and Environmental Expert in Chicago.
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