Planting a Refuge for Wildlife

“Chances are, you have never thought of your garden – indeed, of all the space on your property – as a wildlife preserve that represents the last chance we have for sustaining plants and animals that were once common throughout the U.S. But that is exactly the role our suburban landscapes are playing and will play even more into the near future.” – Douglas W. Tallamy.

I do not usually begin newspaper articles with quotes, but this one by Doug Tallamy from "Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants," says what I want to say better than any words I can conjure. We used this quote to introduce how important our Florida yards can be for wildlife when we revised the Florida Wildlife Commission’s publication, Planting a Refuge for Wildlife.  

Many Tallahassee neighborhoods are blessed with a rich canopy of tall native trees – pines, oaks, wild cherries, hickories and sweetgums. However, the remaining aspects of the landscape (small trees, shrubs, groundcovers and lawn) in most neighborhoods are made up primarily of plants that are native to Asia and other distant parts of the world.

Research has shown that non-native plants have considerably less value to wildlife than native plants, mainly because they have not evolved with our native insects which cannot digest the protein of foreign plants. Since insects are the base of the food chain, it is important to include native plantings in your yard.

In our yard, which we purchased over 25 years ago we have converted slowly over the years to a mostly native yard by doing three things. First, we removed invasive non-native plants such as nandina, female podocarpus, Oregon grape, coral ardisia and others.

This is ongoing because neighboring yards harbor berries which are spread by birds and through stormwater run-off. We remove seedlings of ligustrum, Chinese privet, camphor, Chinese tallow and others when they are young since they pull up quite easily. We patrol the woodland borders and hedges periodically and pluck the seedlings from the ground.

Secondly, we increase the percentage of native plants in our yard every year. This is easily done by even planting just one native plant per year! We tuck them in between the lovely non-native plants that were already here when we moved in – camellias, azaleas, hydrangeas and a Japanese magnolia. The border between our yard and a neighbor is a mix of large white blooming sasanqua camellias and native plants – agarista, needle palm, Florida anise, wild azalea, American beautyberry, witch-hazel and silverbell – all planted over the 25 year period.

Finally, we removed some of the lawn in a sunny area to include a very productive pollinator garden. It is quite colorful and provides nectar and habitat for honeybees, native bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects, and hummingbirds as well as forage for caterpillars.  This is a good spot for some great non-native flowering plants too like Mexican sunflower, African blue basil and porterweed which supplement our base of natives – purple coneflower, horsemint, dwarf ironweed, asters, salt and pepper bush, Heliopsis and other wildflowers.

Greatly influenced by Doug Tallamy’s book, fellow Audubon member and friend Rob Williams has been converting his Foxcroft yard from mostly non-native to mostly native plants over the years. He has taken his passion one step further. There is a 7.98 acre unmanaged wetland preserve behind his house.

Unfortunately, like so many other green spaces in town, this forest had been taken over by invasive plants beneath the canopy of large native trees. He has made it his mission to remove these invasive plants, thus making room for the natural regeneration of native species and improving wildlife habitat in the preserve and in his yard. He also gets good exercise while working on this project. You can tour his yard on the Audubon Wildlife Friendly Yard Tour in February.

Improving your yard for wildlife can be a fun family project. Get started today by planting a native plant or removing an invasive plant from your yard.

Tomatoes: Start Small, Then Grow Them All!

It always breaks my heart a little when I have a friend or customer tell me they wish they were good with plants, but they just “have a black thumb.” I don’t believe in “black thumbs.” I think most plant mistakes are usually due to lack of information, or outright misinformation. In our age, many people automatically turn to the internet for guidance or they walk into a big box store to pick up a plant.

Unfortunately with gardening, and especially with growing your own food, success depends on knowing what to plant, when to plant and how to plant it. We live in a very unique climate here in Tallahassee, and the varieties, planting dates and planting techniques are very different than they are in other areas. You might be able to buy a dill plant in July, but it’s just going to die as soon as you plant it; dill can’t survive the heat of July here. Plant garlic in the spring and you might get a plant, but no tasty bulbs. It’s not your fault, and believe me I have killed my fair share of plants too before I learned.

This brings me to tomatoes. I like to think of them as the gateway vegetables that lead into the wide and rewarding world of growing your own food. They are highly productive in terms of space, and their homegrown flavor far outweighs the unripe, tasteless ones you find in the grocery. So it’s always disappointing when I hear someone say they tried tomatoes, but they just can’t grow them. It’s not that they can’t, as long as they have some space and some sun, they just need some guidance.

I always recommend beginners start with cherry-type tomatoes. The smaller the tomatoes, the better chance of success you have. Most beginners want to start with the big, round, red tomatoes that they are familiar with and this is a mistake. Cherry tomatoes are closer to the first wild tomatoes that originated in the Andean mountains of South America. Our big red tomatoes are highly cultivated selections and hybrids of the small wild tomatoes. As we have selected for traits we like such as flavor, size and shelf-life, we lose the natural traits they evolved to withstand pests, disease, extreme temperatures and drought, thus making the plants weaker and more susceptible to these ailments.

Cherry tomatoes and other types of smaller tomatoes are less cultivated and therefore tend to withstand these afflictions and still manage to be very productive. They are more tolerant of drought, shade, overwatering, pests and disease. Here are a few of my favorite varieties that are tough, reliable producers here in Tallahassee;

‘Sungold’- a tangerine colored hybrid, is one of my favorite cherry tomatoes. Its burst of warm, fruity flavor is so sweet, it’s like garden candy. I end up eating handfuls right off the vine. Luckily they are so productive, you will still have plenty to bring to the kitchen after you gobble your fill in the garden.

• ‘Napa Rose’-I grew this rosy red cherry for the first time last year. It has a very unique, sweet but full-bodied and complex flavor-really tasty! It also just kept pumping out tomatoes long after the others in the same bed had succumbed to the heat and rain.

• ‘Riesentraube’-the name of this old German heirloom translates to “Giant Bunch of Grapes.” The sweet red fruit grow in large clusters and have a rich, full classic tomato flavor.

• ‘Matt’s Wild Cherry’-deep red tiny tomatoes just keep coming on a plant that may take over your garden. Delicious flavor and the plants are unstoppable.

Although cherry tomatoes are more tolerant of shade, they do best planted in full sun. How you plant your tomatoes is crucial to your success. I teach a workshop about choosing and planting tomatoes called Totally Tomatoes (information below). Here are a few tips; cherry tomato plants are much more successful in containers than the large tomato varieties, but make sure you plant them in an adequate sized container. I recommend at least a seven gallon size. If you’re planting in the ground, be sure to give each plant adequate space, 3-4 feet each.

In my garden, the majority of cherry tomatoes never make it to the kitchen. They are so perfect for snacking in the garden while you work. However, they are delicious on salads, in stews, savory pies and even on shish-kabobs! I hope you give them a try, you will be well rewarded.

Fall in Love with Native Grasses

By Lilly Anderson-Messec

As fall approaches, the thrill I feel as the air cools is enhanced by my eagerness to experience the
visual feast of native grasses at their peak.  The colors and textures in the crisp golden light are
not static, they undulate and sway with the wind, their graceful dance creating a whispered
symphony. Yet native grasses are one of the most unnoticed and undervalued plants, despite
being an important part of a balanced ecosystem and having many landscape uses. I’ve been
delighted to notice that native grasses are beginning to be used more in landscapes, but they are
typically only planted in mass and very few species are utilized. They are beautiful planted in
mass, but they are also an often overlooked asset for both formally landscaped yards and more
naturalized wildflower gardens.

I’ve found the addition of native grasses to visually bind together individual plants within a
flower garden, giving it a more complete look. In nature, native grasses mingle beautifully with
native wildflowers. They fill open areas around fall blooming wildflowers, forming a supporting
matrix for the tall flower spikes of blazingstars and goldenrods, and the arching branches of
native asters.  Several have striking fall foliage and colorful seedheads that add visual interest
well into winter. Native grasses also provide food, nesting materials and habitat for birds and
other wildlife, and many are larval host plants for numerous butterfly and moth species as well.
There are a multitude of lovely native grasses, below I’ve described a few of my favorites.

Purpletop Grass (Tridens flavus)

The lime green fountains of foliage are a sight when lit up by the evening light in fall. The tight
clumps of grassy leaves grow only 2 to 3 feet tall, but in fall they produce multiple 5-foot- tall
stems topped with dangling clusters of purple-red seed heads. Purpletop grass is easy to grow; it
prefers full sun, but is not particular about soil and will grow in moist to dry conditions of many
types once established. It is also salt tolerant, which makes it a common sight along roadsides at
the coast.

Yellow Indian Grass (Sorghastrum nutans)

Tough and adaptable to many soil types, this stately grass produces 4 to 6-foot- tall golden-
yellow plumes in the fall that float above its striking blue green foliage. The plumes have tiny, bright yellow pollen sacs that stand out in the dark seed heads. In winter, the blue-green foliage mellows to a copper-tan color. Yellow Indian Grass is tolerant of an array of soil types, including heavy clay, but it always looks best in full sun.

Lopsided Indiangrass (Sorghastrum secundum)

This wispy bunchgrass has showy, 4 to 5-foot- tall arching flowers clusters that lean to one side, hence its name. The tawny, lopsided florets are highlighted by yellow anthers and tipped with long, twisted awns; the showy display lasts about 2 to 3 weeks. Usually found in flatwoods or underneath pine trees, these graceful grasses thrive in full sun to part shade and average to dry soils. Drought tolerant once established.

Purple Lovegrass and Goldenrod

Purple Lovegrass and Elliott’s Lovegrass (Eragrostis spectabilis and Eragrostis elliottii)

These showy, clump-forming grasses are low-growing, only 1 to 2 feet tall, salt-tolerant,
adaptable to many soils, and can even withstand mowing. Purple lovegrass has bright green foliage that produce clouds of pink wispy blooms in fall. Its blooms have a similar appearance to the more commonly used pink Muhly grass, although the plant is much smaller and compact.

Elliott’s lovegrass sports lovely blue-green foliage that produces numerous wispy whitish tan,
occasionally pinkish, masses of blooms in fall. These plants look best in full to mostly sunny
spots, are drought tolerant once established, and are excellent additions to any landscape.

Chalky Bluestem (Andropogon virginicus var. glaucus)

One of my favorites for its year round color, this graceful species produces leaves and stems that
are brilliant bluish-white, forming tight clumps of short leaves in spring that grow 3 to 4 feet tall
by fall, when they are topped with spikes of short, dangling racemes. Their bluish-white foliage
is tinged with purple-red highlights in fall and create an interesting color contrast when planted
among other grasses or fall blooming perennials. This species looks best in full to part sun, is
salt-tolerant, and is easily grown in average to dry soils.

River Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium)

With its unique and interesting seed heads, this adaptable native grass is very ornamental. Lime
green foliage produce arching stems, 2 to 3 feet tall, adorned with dangling seedheads in the
summer, eventually maturing to a golden bronze in the fall and winter.  The bobbing flat
seedheads sway beautifully in the wind and make a lovely sound. The seedheads stay on the
stems well into winter and are a nice addition for dried flower arrangements. Unlike other
grasses I’ve mentioned here, River Oats can spread vigorously in the right conditions. In the wild this grass is found in the moist soil of shady wooded areas and along streams, but it also grows well in drier soils where it’s less likely to spread. It will grow in full sun too, but may need supplemental water in periods of drought. Cut off the seed heads in fall, if you want to prevent it from spreading.