ENJOY A BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPE
The many textures, colors and habits of native plants can be combined in attractive designs. Choose a natural-looking or more formal style.
PRESERVE MARYLAND’S BIODIVERSITY
Positively impact natural areas near your home. Locally native gardens benefit pollinators and reduce risk to wild plant populations.
SUPPORT BIRDS AND POLLINATORS
Many bees provision their nests with pollen from native plants, and butterflies and moths eat native species at the larval stage. Birds, in turn, feed an abundance of these caterpillars to their young. Going native supports this whole food web.
IMPROVE WATER QUALITY AND REDUCE YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT
Conventional gardens often employ fertilizers, pesticides, supplemental water, and fossil-fuel using machinery – resulting in poor soil health, more erosion, and polluted stormwater runoff.
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PROVIDE FOOD
Plant a succession of native blooms of different shapes, sizes and colors from spring to fall
Choose a variety of plants that support caterpillars.
Plant densely, using native groundcovers as “green mulch” and leaving some bare soil for the 70 percent of native bee species that nest in the ground.
Choose native species over cultivars.
Plant in drifts of 3+ to be noticed by pollinators.
PROVIDE WATER SOURCES including mud-puddling areas for butterflies. (Refresh water oftento deter mosquitoes. )
PROVIDE SHELTER and nesting sites for bees, caterpillars and others by leaving fallen leaves where possible and incorporating dead wood (stalks, logs, stumps) into the garden.
SAFEGUARD POLLINATOR HABITAT
Action 1: Control Invasive Plants
Action 2: Avoid Pesticides
If you have a question or would like to ask for help with your garden, please contact us at:
MDPollinator@gmail.com
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Bee City USA: https://www.beecityusa.org Bee City USA is Howard County’s program of choice for their Pollinator Habitat activities. [click on “About Pollinators”]. Bee City USA is an initiative under the Xerces Society - Pollinator Conservation Program https://xerces.org/pollinator-conservation
Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants, by Douglas W. Tallamy, c. 2009 (updated and expanded), Timber Press, Portland OR; 360 pp., http://bringingnaturehome.net
Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard by Doug Tallamy
Native Plants for Wildlife Habitat and Conservation Landscaping, Chesapeake Bay Watershed, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service: www.fws.gov/Chesapeakebay/pdf/NativePlantsforWildlifeHabitatandConservationLandscaping.pdf or www.nativeplantcenter.net.
Better Backyard–A Citizen’s Resource Guide to Beneficial Landscaping and Habitat Restoration in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, Chesapeake Bay Program: www.chesapeakebay.net/content/publications/cbp_12259.pdf
Native Plants for Conservation, Restoration and Landscaping, VA Dept. of Conservation and Recreation, Natural Heritage: www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/nativeplants (includes invasive species).
Conservation Landscaping Guidelines-The Eight Essential Elements, Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council: www.chesapeakelandscape.org [click on “Resources”]
Mistaken Identity–Invasive Plants and Their Native Look-Alikes: www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_Documents/nrcs144p2_024329.pdf
Garden for Wildlife, National Wildlife Federation: www.nwf.org/backyard
Audubon Guide to a Healthy Yard and Beyond: http://web4.audubon.org/bird/pesticide.html
Wild Ones Handbook–Green Landscaping:
https://archive.epa.gov/greenacres/web/html/index-8.html