What to do, what to do

Doug Tallamy, American entomologist, ecologist and conservationist recommends that 70% of plants in a garden should be native species to provide a seasonal food source for larval caterpillars, which specific bird species depend upon as they fledge their young. It’s become a popular talking point over the last few years, especially on social media. It’s a worthwhile goal, and I encourage anyone to follow this advice should they wish to do so. He writes also on the importance of pollinating insects.

Much of the current concern about pollinators took off after a report from Germany showed a drastic reduction in insects there. This was picked up by the media and made for alarming headlines — dramatic events are more publishable. Yet unlike Europe where almost all land has been modified for human use, findings indicate that large-scale insect declines across North America remain an open question. There are few studies showing an overall decline, although this doesn’t mean there are not areas where this has occurred.

This raises questions for me about the situation in this area. Prior to a couple of hundred years ago, southern Ontario was heavily forested, then the forests were felled to make way for farmland and much of the natural landscape was lost. Urban growth followed, absorbing swaths of that farmland, then in the decades following World War II, all manner of pesticides became available. They were heavily used in agriculture, by municipalities, and by homeowners.

 This was a time when green lawns ruled and to ensure they stayed that way, they were sprayed heavily with weedkillers — remember the tanker trucks that roamed neighbourhoods leaving a chemical smell in the air? Thankfully, that ended in 2008 with the Ontario pesticide act.

Prior to about thirty years ago, other than grass, homes might have had a small vegetable plot out back with room for a clothesline. In the front yard, most had only what was termed a foundation planting out front, three or four evergreens and limited selection of flowering plants. There were far fewer sources for plants compared to now when big box and grocery stores have become garden centres. Filling the front and back yard with rare and unusual plants would have been seen as radical. This began to change largely due to the Communities in Bloom program starting in 1998, which encouraged front yard plantings, and over the last twenty years interest in growing flowering plants has surged.

 Growing vegetables, too, has become hugely popular. However, backyards are still largely a play area for kids and pets, although many trees and shrubs have been added where none grew before. People build gardens for many reasons, and in an urban environment it isn’t easy to recreate a natural ecosystem where plants and insects have developed a complex web of interrelationships, yet those who opted to plant flower gardens with a wide range of plants have done much to support pollinators. Non-native plants might not cater to all species of insects, but they can provide nectar rich flowers for generalist feeders, and native birds and insects will happily feed on both native and non-native plants. It’s the specialist feeders that are most in need of specific plants that support them, like the monarch butterfly that relies on milkweed.

Planting any kind of garden is a positive thing when one considers what is being done to the planet, especially so as climate change, pesticide use, and loss of greenbelt continue to threaten pollinating insects on a much bigger scale than a simple garden that has long provided habitat where non existed before. So yes, do avoid using invasive, exotic plants, and certainly add more native species to attract pollinators, even 70%, but don’t be afraid to grow what you love, providing it causes no harm to the environment — know your plants.

 It is worth noting that in the US, where the movement is strongest, pesticide use by home gardeners is still permitted. Eighty-five types of pesticide outlawed in other countries are still allowed there.

Strange Surprises in the Garden

It must have been an exciting time for botanists when they were first exploring the rainforests and mountain valleys of the world. At every turn, they’d discover something that had only ever been seen by the Indigenous people of the area. Alas, I must stick to exploring my own garden, staying away when mosquitos are about, and retreating to air conditioning when it’s too hot to putter.

Yet I can sense a little of that excitement when a new plant in my garden finally flowers, and I didn’t have to trek through a distant rainforest to discover it. It’s usually something I found at a nursery or grew from seed, a plant that anyone could grow. But occasionally, purely by chance something unique appears, something so unusual few have seen it, something that can’t be reproduced, at least not outside a lab.

I have had plants with strange flowerheads, mostly ones deformed by fasciation. Grow enough plants and it will show up. I’ve seen it cause flattened spires on Veronica and contorted echinacea flowers. Fasciation can be due to a virus or bacteria, a genetic mutation, or simply damage to the plant. The exact cause is difficult to determine. Sometimes the appearance is unsightly, but it would be rare for the whole plant to be infected. Another cause of deformed flowers is a viral-like disease called Aster yellows. It happens thanks to an organism spread by a leaf hopper, and it's more likely to occur during cool, wet summers, certainly not this one.

These aren’t common, but then something truly unusual appears, a once in a lifetime event, at least in my lifetime. A few years ago, a calla lily threw up a beautiful work of art, a perfectly formed twin flower, joined at the stem. I do keep the same tubers from year to year and I hoped it would occur again, or in subsequent years, but it’s never happened, at least not yet. It so impressed a friend when she saw it, that it inspired her to incorporate the image into one of her works. It’s now represented in a painting by artist Elizabeth Dailey. She calls the acrylic painting Lily Lily and feels it represents everyone's duality, like the Roman god, Janus.

Another floral surprise has occurred twice on a waterlily in my pond, about three years ago and again this year; however, it’s not as rare as I first thought. The plant is a cultivar named Wanvisa, an award winner that won the best new water lily of the year in 2010. I’ve had it in my pond since 2013 where it flowers reliably every summer. It has lovely peachy-pink blooms with yellow speckles, and it has a reputation for occasionally reverting in places to the bright yellow of one of the parents. This can happen on hybrid plants. Sometimes it’s welcomed, or not when the breeder’s intention is to produce a reliable plant that blooms with consistent features.

This was acceptable with Wanvisa because it contributed to an exceptional plant. Mostly, the changes are slight variations in colour, but sometimes it results in a few pure yellow petals or parts of petals that contrast oddly with the rest of the flower. The first time this happened on mine I was fascinated. The reversion occurred perfectly across the centre of the flower, a true two tone. More recently the reversion hasn’t been so precise, but it is exciting to see. It could be considered a Chimera, a genetic change when the cells of distinct species are mixed.

If you discover an odd plant in your garden, value it as you may never see it again. Unique holes from chewing insects don’t count.