Book Review– Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard

Jody and I started Native Nurseries in 1980, specializing in the sale of native plants. We had attended forestry school, studying wildlife ecology, followed by working at a nature center in Gainesville. During those years we observed many unique relationships between native plants and wildlife – from insects to birds and mammals– and founded our business on those observations. Every native plant seemed to have some relationship with a native animal.

In 2007, entomologist and ecologist Douglas W. Tallamy from the University of Delaware published his first book, Bringing Nature Home, that presented years of research in an eloquent and understandable manner on just how dependent native insects are on native plants, forming the base of a complex food web. Just like that, everything that we had been teaching and promoting based on our own observations, was verified and supported with scientific data.

In Nature’s Best Hope (2020), Tallamy takes his ideas based on his research one step further, encouraging readers to turn their yards into conservation corridors by planting native plants, particularly ones that he considers keystone species, ones that large numbers of Lepidoptera (butterfly and moth) species utilize as food. These caterpillars are then eaten by birds, spiders, lizards and other wildlife. We can increase biodiversity in our community just through the simple act of planting native plants in our yards and parks. He see this as a way an individual can combat the huge loss of biodiversity world wide due to development. Most suburban landscapes are dominated by large areas of lawn and non-native ornamental trees and shrubs that have little to no value to wildlife.

In this book, Tallamy shows you how to get started on your own ecological landscape. This is a fast, interesting, mind opening read! Watch Tallamy’s YouTube videos to learn even more. You may also enjoy his latest book, The Nature of Oaks.

Moths: The Unsung Order of Lepidoptera

Closely related to our much loved butterflies, moths are often under-appreciated in the ranks of pollination. Widespread and numerous, they play key roles in ecosystems and are major players in pollination contribution.

We are familiar with daytime pollinators such as bees, butterflies and hummingbirds that prefer warm, sunny days to visit their flowers. In fact, their muscles need a certain temperature to even function. But who takes over the evening shift when those daytime pollinators complete their nine to five? They turn it over to the unsung and often unrecognized moths. Not all moths are nocturnal; a small number of species of moths are very active in the daytime, while most others are more active at dusk. Moths regulate their body temperature by using flight muscles to make small, rapid vibrations. Their bodies are covered with little heat insulating hairs that make them such efficient pollinators that they can pick up pollen on every flower they land on.

Hummingbird hawk moth on Liatris. Photo by Eleanor Dietrich.

One of the most easily seen garden moths is the hawkmoth, often compared to a hummingbird because it hovers, rapidly beating its wings. They must consume copious amounts of nectar to maintain their high metabolism and speed. These giant moths fly upwind, tracking the evening fragrance of lightly colored flowers. As a naturalist, one of the greatest thrills in the garden is to see a large hawkmoth unfurl its proboscis and drink from a native azalea bloom while hovering in place. Of course that’s one way to observe these pollinators, however, the native azaleas only bloom a few weeks out of the year. Others native plants with staggering bloom times that moths appeal to include blueberries, wild hydrangea, yucca, asters, frog fruit, joe pye weed, boneset, milkweed, horsemint, and goldenrod.

The yucca plant and its moth specialist.

Some native plants even depend on moth pollination for reproduction. For example, the yucca plant is dependent upon the female yucca moth for its survival. In order for pollination to occur, masses of pollen must be forced down into the stigma by the female yucca moth using her specially adapted mouthparts while ensuring cross pollination. Without this process, the yucca flower will not develop into the fruit or seed pod. She also uses the stigma chambers to lay and protect her eggs. By the time the egg hatches into a caterpillar, the yucca will have begun to develop a pod with little seeds. The yucca plant and the yucca moth both benefit in this relationship.

Giant leopard moth on goldenrod. Photo by Eleanor Dietrich.

One of the most important roles that moths play in the ecosystem is as food for wildlife. In fact, an estimated 95 percent of nesting birds rear their young on insects, and moth caterpillars make up a significant part of that number. Both moth adults and caterpillars are key food sources for many animals, including birds, amphibians, reptiles, and even larger mammals like foxes and bears. When you include native plants, the diversity of wildlife supported increases. Less diversity in native larval food plants means less food for moth caterpillars, and therefore, fewer species and numbers of moths. The result – less food to power the web of life. As Doug Tallamy, author of Bringing Nature Home, states it: “Every caterpillar you make in your gardens becomes either a new pollinating moth or butterfly, or a source of food for a hungry bird.”

Take an evening to go “mothing” in your garden and discover the vast, diverse, and secretive realms of pollinating insects. These tiny marvels of nature enrich your garden, play a crucial role in the ecosystem, and provide the functioning habitat that all life depends on.

Grow Your Own Backyard Fruit: Fig Trees & Muscadine Vines

Summer wouldn't be summer for me if it were not for two of my favorite fresh fruits. I am looking forward to this season's bounty full of figs and muscadine grapes.

You would think as a resident here since the mid 70's I would have known about locally grown figs, but it wasn't till years ago that I had my first fresh fig by way of my friend Larry who has a giant fig tree in his south side backyard. The explosion of sweetness with the chewy texture was unknown to me till then. I had an ‘ah ha’ moment “Oh, this is the fruit in fig newtons, duh! How could I have not realized or known that?”

We can grow figs in North Florida and they are one of the easiest fruits for the backyard grower. You need full to partial sun, soil that drains and a little space as fig trees can mature to 15 - 20ft tall by 15ft wide. They have a beautiful rounded spreading growth habit which can be pruned to accommodate easy picking, you don't want to let it get so tall that you can't reach the upper branches. Winter is the best time to prune most deciduous trees, figs will drop all there foliage in late fall and it is a good idea to rake up the fallen leaves to prevent any diseases from over wintering. Fertilize with Espoma Citrus-tone in early spring.

The two varieties that grow well here are Brown Turkey and Celeste. Celeste ripens midseason and has a brown violet hue on the outside and light red inside, while Brown Turkey is brown yellow outside.
Both are sugary sweet and great for fresh eating. Make sure they get regular water when the fruit is developing and harvest daily to avoid the birds for beating you to it. If you have the room plant both varieties for a longer harvest, but either one will fruit on it's own as they are 'self fruiting'.

Muscadine grapes are native to the southeastern United States and have been cultivated for 100's of years. There are many cultivars, having been selected for improved flavor, fresh picking, wine production and preserves. Being a native plant, they are one of the most sustainable fruit crops in the south and have a high tolerance for disease and insects. There are male, female and self fertile varieties. All females need either a male or a self fertile variety for pollination. Self-fertile varieties don't need a companion as they are 'self fertile'. Muscadines need to be trellised on a clothesline type structure or a simple square or octagonal structure will do. The Univ. of Florida IFAS extension has useful detailed information on creating a trellis for grape vines. Full sun is best for high fruit production. Pruning is necessary in the winter since fruit are borne on new shoots from the previous year's growth. Fertilize twice a year the first few years and then once a year after they are established with Espoma Plant-tone.

Both of these fruits thrive in our southern climate and give me another reason to appreciate the heat, humidity and thankful rains of our place called home.