Tag: Native Plants

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Leave the Leaves

It is common sense to LEAVE THE LEAVES.  After all, no one rakes them up in the wild.  When we walk a nature trail through a natural area, we do not need to fight our way though mountains of leaves, do we ? !  “Let Nature be the Guide,” Larry Weaner‘s mantra, is spot on when it comes to leaving the leaves.

If you like birds, leaf litter is your friend.  Our leaf litter strewn property is a mecca for birds year round, including winter.  We’ve hosted several American Woodcock each winter.  No matter how severe the winter is, they’ve been able to probe down through our abundant leaf litter into the thawed ground under this thermal blanket of leaves and find one earthworm after the next.   Frozen hard, raked bare properties are devoid of feeding opportunities for American Woodcock or American Robins. Too, many normally secretive birds like Hermit Thrush settle in to our yard and are regulars in garden corners with abundant leaf litter.  It is great fun to watch them kick and toss leaves aside to find snack after snack.

I had great fun working on and researching this topic for a program that I’ve given a number of times now.  It has triggered so many “Ah HA!” moments from  audiences and I pray resulted in many more leaves left to do their job.

In this post I have shared the excellent resources that helped me and can help anyone and everyone understand the value of fallen leaves.  Read them, study up, digest the information, value and cherish fallen leaves as much as I do, and join those of us working to educate others.

First you’ll want to read Doug Tallamy’s book, The Nature of Oaks.  This book richly covers the benefits of oaks and all their leaf litter.  If you’ve never heard Doug Tallamy speak about this topic, attend a presentation or google “Doug Tallamy Youtube Nature of Oaks” and watch one of his presentations that occurred in your region.  Be sure to listen until the Q&A session when attendees ask the very questions on your mind, like “But, what am I to do with all my Oak leaves?”  “Won’t they kill my grass?”  etc.

My own woods have very few large oaks.  But since we cleared out the invasives (Multiflora Rose and Japanese Honeysuckle) in 2009, many many Southern Red Oaks and 5 Willow Oaks have been planted there by Blue Jays.  Some of these oaks are taller than me now.  I look forward to mountains of oak leaves as these oaks mature.   The deciduous trees and shrubs of my woods include Common Persimmon, Black Cherry, Black Locust, Black Walnut, Sweet Gum, Red Maple, Dwarf Hackberry, Winged Sumac, Arrowwood Viburnum.  These all produce abundant leaf litter, but their leaves break down quickly and by spring I see bare ground.  As I began planting our reclaimed woods (from invasives) with native shade-loving perennials, I found that I had to weed the woods.  Yee gads!  Weed the woods, that was the last thing I had time for.

Doug Tallamy shares that oak leaves take longer than other leaves to break down (3 years) and that is why oak leaves are so beneficial and support so much life!

So, each fall between late October and mid November I carve out time to visit cul-de-sacs near me where mountains of oak leaves that have been raked neatly to the curb are ready for the township to cart them away like trash.  I take empty trash cans, a rake, and garden gloves.  I can fit 4 trash cans into my car.  Fall of 2025, in 6 runs I collected 24 trash cans of oak leaves.  I wonder how many trash cans of oak leaves I can secure this fall before the township collects them all!

I use these collected oak leaves to bury my woodland spring ephemeral areas with oak leaves.  Since I’ve been doing this I haven’t had to weed my woods in the spring.  Yay!  My spring ephemerals easily bust through the leaves, while weeds can not.  Too, the many fall-blooming, shade-loving asters and goldenrods that I’ve planted  in my woods have flourished and spread.  It is a win win.  Of course, I’ve fenced the deer OUT, otherwise none of this would survive.

If you like this idea, be cautious and selective; i.e. collect leaves from yards with large oaks and do not collect leaves from yards with problematic invasives that you could be bringing in to your own yard via seed heads.

While you’re at it, read all 4 of Doug Tallamy’s books.  They will change the way you think and act !

Since Doug Tallamy’s first book, Bringing Nature Home, he has shared the top native plants used by butterflies and moths as host plants to create the next generation. Tallamy refers to these plants as the “Keystone Native Plants.”  He has partnered with many other organizations, like National Wildlife Federation, to share Keystone Native Plant information across the country.

For an annotated list of the Keystone Native Plants for your area, go to the National Wildlife Federation Garden for Wildlife website.  Here you’ll find ten different “Keystone Native Plants” Ecoregion handouts (as of November 2025), with others undoubtedly planned. This plant list should be the backbone of your plantings. If you live in southern New Jersey like me, scroll down to “Eastern Temperate Forests – Ecoregion 8″ (which covers nearly all of the East).

Oaks are the top Keystone Native Plant! Then Black Cherry and Beach Plum. Then Willows. Then Birch. And so on. These are the trees that are supporting many, many hundreds of butterfly and moth species. Value these trees and their fallen leaves.

You will have made your trees “Ecological Traps” if you instead rake up the leaves, bag them, and send them away (along with all the life they hold and support).  Of course this is true if you shred your leaves too.  Yes, you would be shredding the very life they are supporting.  Duh!

Heather Holm’s 3 books on pollinators of our native plants are beautifully illustrated and packed with natural history information, including where and how our pollinators survive the winter . . . many do so in leaf litter!

Visit Heather Holm’s website and click on the link “Resources” to see her many beautifully illustrated and presented native plant lists, pollinator fact sheets, and posters (many of which are free to download).  These materials will further help you understand life cycles of our pollinators and teach others!

Also on Heather Holm’s website, click on her project “Soft Landings.”  Soft Landings is all about leaving the leaves and planting layers of diverse native plants under Keystone trees and shrubs rather than maintaining lawn that needs to be mowed.  This simple switch to gardening under your keystone trees with shade-loving perennials and understory shrubs provides safe sites where the hundreds of species of butterflies and moths using these Keystone trees and shrubs might complete their life cycle and survive when their caterpillars drop to the forest floor to pupate down in the warmth and safety of the leaves.  The downloadable free poster, “Soft Landings” tells the story beautifully. It should convert kids of all ages (yes, I’m talking about big kids too . . . adults) to leave the leaves where they fall.

You’ll certainly want to read Max Ferlauto and Karin T. Burghardt’s enlightening, fact-filled study, “Removing autumn leaves in residential yards reduces the spring emergence of overwintering insects,” in Science of the Total Environment, March 20, 2025.  Among many other things, they documented that “raking leaves reduced Lepidoptera species (butterflies and moths) richness by 40 % and abundance by 45 %.   You’ll also want to listen to the Margaret Roach (“A Way to Garden”) interview with Max Ferlauto, “Calculating the impact of leaving the leaves.”  (many thanks to Garden Gang member, Carole Tebay, for alerting me to this study and Margaret Roach’s interview)

The Xerces Society’s post, “Leave the Leaves,” is an excellent read addressing those fallen leaves as “free mulch” and  helping to answer questions people have, like whether or not to shred their leaves.  The Xerces Society also sells a very attractive Leave the Leaves SIGN, that might help trigger conversations with neighbors, co-workers, friends, and family, conversations that might help them “get it!” and finally understand.

One more excellent resource to better understand why you want to leave the leaves is the booklet “Life in the Leaf Litter,” by Johnson and Catley, published by the American Museum of Natural History and available on their website as a free download.

I am so heartened by the continued focus on leaving the leaves, including Margaret Roach’s October 8, 2025, article in the NY Times, “Why Leaving the Leaves Is Better for Your Yard.”

Shade Gardening in Your Leaf Litter

Once you’ve read all these terrific resources about just how important leaf litter is, begin shade gardening in leafy spaces on your property . . . in under your trees and shrubs (rather than continue to mow these areas) or along a path through your woods.

Shade-loving perennials will color your leafy spaces in the early, early spring when spring ephemerals bloom and in the fall when the many shade-loving, fall-blooming perennials bloom.  Through the summer months the fall bloomers will add a lovely layer of green to your leafy areas.

To help you along your way with SHADE GARDENING, go to my resources on this topic and learn what has survived and thrived in my shady spaces.  Remember to use as many Keystone Native Plants as possible!

Now with all the time you have available because you are NOT raking your leaves  (nor bagging them up and sending them away), dive in to all this reading and help convert others to LEAVE THE LEAVES!

I thank you and wildlife (fireflies, bumble bees, so many butterflies & moths, etc.) thanks you!!!

As I mentioned, I have an information-rich program on this topic that is illustrated with beautiful photos of so much wildlife that benefits from abundant leaf litter.  If you’d like me to share it with your group via ZOOM, contact me by replying to one of my Garden Gang alerts.

If you have any comments, I’d love for you to leave them in the “Comments” box at the end of the post.

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Wildflower City, a Garden Design Company in northern New Jersey

Hi Gang,

As many of you know, I love to share good news!  And this company, Wildflower City, is the best news ever!  They are genuine, caring, full of knowledge and experience, and doing great, hopeful, beautiful things in and with garden spaces in northern New Jersey.

I first met one of the principals, Kim Correro,  in April 2024 when she wanted to interview me for the Native Plant Society of New Jersey’s podcast, The WildStory: A Podcast of Poetry & Plants.  I was honest with Kim and shared that I’d never listened to a podcast, didn’t have a cell phone that could be used to listen to one, yada, yada, yada . . .  Kim persevered!  Jesse & Jack Connor came to my rescue.  They downloaded apps on my cell phone to enable me to join this century, gave me a tutorial, and I was off to the races.  I listened to a few of the WildStory Podcasts by Kim Correro and Ann Wallace and I was not only impressed, but hooked and honored that Kim and Ann wanted to interview me for Episode 16 (they just completed Episode 32).  Each episode is packed with priceless, thoughtful, and thought-provoking pearls of wisdom and information.

This spring Kim joined me in our wildlife garden as my garden helper.  She and a few others knew that my health and energy had ebbed during garden season.  Kim joined me for a lovely June day of garden work, companionship, and nature unfolding in our garden!  It was just what the doctor ordered.  Did I mention that Kim lives in Jersey City, not around the corner!  That is the kind of person Kim is.  Since then, my health is back and our wildlife garden has given me daily joy.  I am so grateful to Kim and other garden buddies who helped me whip it  into shape for 2026.

During Kim’s visit I was thrilled to learn about the business she and another woman started several years ago, Wildflower City.  And now I am excited to get the word out to you and anyone you can think of who might spread the word further for those living in northern New Jersey where Wildflower City is based.  Kim Correro, Lorraine Freeney, and Sima Kunttas, the Wildflower City Team, provided the following:

Wildflower City

Specializes in beautiful, sustainable, and wildlife-friendly garden designs for private yards (no matter how big or small) and open public spaces to support biologically diverse landscapes

KIM CORRERO
LORRAINE FREENEY

What makes Wildflower City unique is the belief that creating a native plant landscape should be accessible, educational, and achievable for everyone. Rather than expecting people to transform an entire property at once, ecological gardeners and educators, Kim Correro and Lorraine Freeney take a hands-on approach, working closely with homeowners and park directors throughout the process. They strive to help gardeners transition their landscapes thoughtfully, one section at a time, allowing projects to align with both budgets and comfort levels.

Kim and Lorraine curate a list of plants that are unique to each garden space, do the shopping, and arrange delivery! They work with a handful of trusted growers that do not use pesticides. Then, they don’t simply install plants and leave. They explain why native plants matter, how they support birds, pollinators, and local ecosystems, and how each plant contributes to the larger landscape. Whether someone is just beginning their native plant journey or already has a deep understanding of ecological gardening, Kim and Lorraine meet them where they are, providing guidance, education, and practical solutions tailored to their goals.

SIMA KUNTTAS

Serving Northern New Jersey since 2022, Wildflower City’s mission is to empower people to become confident stewards of their own landscapes while creating beautiful, resilient gardens that grow richer and more ecologically valuable with each passing season.

This year, residential architect and native plant designer Sima Kunttas joined the team, bringing her creative eye and deep knowledge of native plants to Wildflower City’s projects. Sima’s thoughtful approach to design and natural ability for problem-solving have been a wonderful addition, helping create landscapes that are both beautiful and ecologically functional.

Two inspiring examples of Wildflower City’s involvement in public green spaces are Imagine Garden in Secaucus and the Cora Hartshorn Arboretum in Short Hills

Cora Hartshorn Arboretum & Bird Sanctuary in Short Hills, NJ

“This year, Lorraine and I have worked closely with the team at Cora Hartshorn Arboretum & Bird Sanctuary to enhance pockets of the understory within its 16.45 acres of woodland,” said Kim Correro. “This is one of our newest collaborations, and we jumped at the opportunity to work with Director Tedor Whitman and Environmental Educator Wendi Mulvey. Their mission to sustain healthy habitat for wildlife while educating and connecting the community to the natural world is deeply aligned with the work we do at Wildflower City.”

This makes Cora Hartshorn Arboretum the perfect spot to launch Field Notes, Wildflower City’s new educational series bringing intimate, in-person conversations with experts in native plants, ecology, conservation, and land stewardship to local communities. The series is designed to bring trending topics and information to the public making native plant education accessible, practical, and inspiring.   In a separate post I’ve covered the 1st Field Notes presentation (on Container Gardening With Native Plants) HERE.

Imagine Garden in Secaucus, NJ

One of the most meaningful examples of Wildflower City’s work in a public space can be found at Imagine Garden in Secaucus, New Jersey.

Back in 2021, Imagine Garden was envisioned by Secaucus Mayor Mike Gonnelli and brought to life by the Environmental Department in partnership with co-leaders of the Hudson County Chapter of the Native Plant Society of New Jersey. Created as both a volunteer initiative and a Rutgers Environmental Steward capstone project, the garden brought together people with different areas of expertise and a shared commitment to transform the two-acre property into a thriving native habitat.

Knowing that a garden of this scale would need consistent care for years to come, the Town of Secaucus later asked Wildflower City to take on its ongoing maintenance and help develop educational programing for the community around the park.

Kim and Lorraine continue to work in Imagine Garden every week alongside Environmental Director Kimberly McCleary and her assistant Kaori Lemise, tending to the native plant berms and rain gardens, keeping invasive species in check, and observing the migrating birds and insects that find refuge there. They are often joined by corporate volunteer groups, student interns, local residents, and women in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction, who have found purpose, connection, and confidence through the experience of caring for the land.

To see some of the residential gardens and public spaces Wildflower City has created and continues to care for, follow Wildflower City on Instagram and on Facebook.

To learn more about future events, go to Wildflower City’s WEBSITE or follow them on Instagram and on Facebook.

Contact Wildflower City: info@wildflowercity.com

And remember to share this with all those in northern NJ you can think of who can benefit from and who can help spread the word about Wildflower City, a garden design company in northern NJ specializing in beautiful, sustainable, and wildlife-friendly garden designs for private yards (no matter how big or small) and open public spaces to support biologically diverse landscapes. I think we all agree that we NEED more of those spaces!

Thank you,
Pat

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Pat Sutton’s FILM: “Monarchs Through the Seasons in her Wildlife Garden”

Hi Gang,

So sorry for this last minute alert! A week from today, I will present my Monarch film for CU Maurice River during one of their Campfire & Potlucks! Hope you can join me! Details follow:

 

“Monarchs Through the Seasons
in Pat Sutton’s Wildlife Garden”

Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026
6:00 p.m.

as part of CU Maurice River’s
Campfire & Potluck

WHERE:
Galetto Residence
Millville, NJ
(address will be sent to registrants)

COST:
$15.00 per person
To register & purchase tickets, click HERE
(or call CU Maurice River’s office: 856-300-5331)

BE PREPARED:
Participants should bring a favorite potluck dish to share,
a lawn chair or blanket, bug spray, and your sense of adventure
for an unforgettable evening of delicious food,
inspiring stories, & the magic of nature under the open sky!

This evening of nature, great food, and fellowship with CU Maurice River is hosted at the Galetto household, the home of CU Maurice River Board President Jane Galetto. The evening will bring together friends and members of the CU community for a delicious potluck dinner, campfire, and an immersive look at the wonders of the natural world.

The evening begins with a guided stroll through Jane Galetto’s native pollinator garden led by Pat Sutton, who will reveal how native plants create vibrant habitat for monarchs and other pollinators, birds, and other wildlife. Then, settle in by the fireside with your potluck meal for a special outdoor screening of Pat’s inspiring film, “Monarchs Through the Seasons in a Wildlife Garden.” This event will be held rain or shine, with the option to move festivities indoors if needed.

About Pat Sutton’s FILM

Pat’s 45-minute film blends video and stills taken in 2021, a very good year for Monarchs in Pat Sutton’s native plant wildlife garden (and hopefully your garden too). She had Monarchs in the garden daily from mid-June on. She found lots and lots of eggs and caterpillars from June through late fall. She watched and filmed a Monarch caterpillar going into its chrysalis in the garden (a happenstance gift that she was at the right spot with her camera when that five-minute transformation occurred). She discovered five different chrysalises in her garden, and watched and filmed the adult Monarch emerge from two of them. So of course, the Monarch’s story had to be told so she could share this priceless footage. The film covers the many native Chocolate Cake nectar plants month-by-month that draw in and benefit Monarchs, in addition to the native Milkweeds they need for egg laying. It showcases the many predators that target Monarchs (at all stages: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, and adult) and other butterflies and moths. And finally this film conveys that each Monarch that survives to adulthood and begins its journey to the winter roost sites in the mountains of Mexico, is not only a survivor, but a miracle!

See You There ?
Pat

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How to Create a No-Fuss Wildlife Pond

Hi Gang,

I am looking forward to sharing one of my favorite programs at the next meeting of the SE Chapter of the Native Plant Society of NJ on Monday, November 17th! Details follow:

The next meeting of the
Southeast Chapter of the
Native Plant Society of New Jersey
is coming up

WHEN: Monday, November 17, 2025
7:00 p.m.
(FREE: all are welcome, members & nonmembers)

“HOW TO CREATE A NO-FUSS WILDLIFE POND”
by Pat Sutton

WHERE: Stockton University
101 Vera King Farris Drive
Galloway, NJ 08205 (in Atlantic County)
Unified Science Center
Room 346 (on 3rd floor of Unified Science Center)
— same building, but one floor higher than this past spring & last fall —

ABOUT Pat’s PRESENTATION
“How to Create a No-Fuss Wildlife Pond” by Pat Sutton

Pat shares:  my two wildlife ponds have evolved these many years from a large hole where I laid a fancy-schmancy waterproof sheet / pond liner that within a few short years sprung a hole (and ended up as an “almost” bog) to the two pre-formed, kidney-shaped ponds I have and love today. I am sold on these pre-formed ponds because they are easy peasy to install, will last forever, and have provided me great joy and study opportunities. My presentation will walk folks through all the mishaps I’ve encountered and resolved, so hopefully I’ll spare new wildlife pond folks these same false steps.

Frogs, toads, and dragonflies all need freshwater ponds for egg laying to create future generations. Even a tiny pond will attract and support them. Learn what a true wildlife pond is and how simple it is to create – with no need for running water, filters, fish, and all the fuss. Pat Sutton will share the basics of how to create a wildlife pond and, even more importantly, how to maintain it so that wildlife benefits. Learn which native plants to add to the pond (and which problem plants to avoid). Don’t make the same mistake that others have made by creating a pond for exotic fish that supports little else. In a true wildlife pond, expect to attract and watch the amazing life cycle of huge Common Green Darner dragonflies or count a growing population of Leopard Frogs, Green Frogs, and Gray Treefrogs that find your pond as if by magic. Look forward to the child-like wonder and joy of looking for and finding young Gray Treefrogs that have emerged from your very own pond and taken up residence on insect-rich, native nectar plants in your garden! Create it and they will come!

Note:  Pat Sutton’s handout “How to Create a No-Fuss Wildlife Pond” can be found on her website HERE along with many of her other educational, native-plant-focused handouts.  Even if you can not attend Monday evening, this handout will help you greatly! 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Parking Tip: See the Stockton campus parking link below. The closest parking spots are in Lots #4 and #5, which share the same entry off Vera King Farris Drive, the main drive on campus. Parking Lot #5 is made easy to spot by the mural of two ospreys on the Sports Center wall.

Click HERE for Map & Directions to Parking for the Unified Science Building at Stockton’s Galloway Campus

Happy Wildlife Gardening,
Pat

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Some Sources of Native Plants in 2025

Be sure to offer a wide variety of nectar and host plants from early spring until the frost. This is my fall garden, still going strong with lots of Chocolate Cakes!

Hi Gang,

My list, “Some Sources of Native Plants in 2025,” includes THE BEST sources of native plants that I feel comfortable recommending.  So, check it out and visit websites and facebook pages to learn of each of their hours and 2025 offerings!  Consider yourselves very, very fortunate that there are so many sources of native plants.   That was NOT the case when I began planting natives in the late 1970s and 1980s, or even in the 1990s or early 2000s!

You will find my 6-page “Some Sources of Native Plants in 2025” at the end of this post, 2nd Edition (05-01-25).

To help people find the top ranked plants in their county Doug Tallamy, author of Bringing Nature Home, has worked with National Wildlife Federation’s Native Plant Finder (a work in progress).

A number of websites have searchable Native Plant Databases with filters to help you generate lists of plants suited for various sites on your property.  Some of my favorites follow:  Prairie Nursery, Prairie Moon Nursery, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, and Jersey-Friendly Yards Website  which has filters for “native plants only” (@ 318), wildlife value, region, ecoregion (barrier island/coastal, Pinelands), deer resistant, drought tolerance, salt tolerance, and many more filters.  Have at it and see what may work in your yard!

PLEASE NOTE: many native plant nurseries are not like the nursery down the road. Often they are owned, maintained, and run by a caring native plant grower who is surviving by also working a 2nd job or sometimes even a 2nd full-time job that covers their health insurance and most of their income. This being the case, they are not available 24-7 to answer all your questions. But when they are open or hosting a pop-up sale, they eagerly and gladly share their knowledge and will guide you towards the best native plants for your site. These same growers collect their own local native seeds or cuttings (they do not dig up from the wild), and they do not use systemic Neonicotinoid Insecticides that would cancel out future generations of butterflies and moths (more on Neonics below). So, don’t panic when their milkweeds have aphids; but instead realize that if there are no aphids, it means the grower has spent hours hand picking them off. Know too that growing from seed can be a lengthy process. The Turk’s-Cap Lily, Lilium superbum, that I purchased from Clemenson Farms Native Nursery in 2014 (now a patch of 44 stalks a/o May 2024) took the Clemensons 8 years to grow out from seed to plant that could be sold. Understand too, that some natives are slow to break ground in spring so are not going to be available during early-season sales: milkweeds, Partridge Pea, and Joe-pye-weed to name a few.

Once hooked on wildlife gardening with native plants, it can be a real challenge to find native plants.  Yes a few have been mainstreamed, and the nursery down the street may carry them.  But BEWARE OF CULTIVARS OF NATIVE PLANTS.  Cultivars are plants created or selected for specific characteristics such as early blooming or color, often at the expense of nectar, berries (the plants may be sterile), and sometimes even the leaf chemistry is changed so the plant can no longer be used as a caterpillar plant.  We (wildlife gardeners) want the nectar, the berries, and we want the leaf chemistry intact so our butterflies can create the next generation!

That said, some straight natives might be ill behaved and total thugs, overwhelming other plants in your garden and leading to hours and hours spent thinning them every single year.  This is the case with Cutleaf Coneflower.  In 2009, a friend shared a cultivar of this plant with me (Cutleaf Coneflower, Rudbeckia lacinata “Herbstsonne,”) that is a Chocolate Cake, always full of pollinators, and not a thug at all because it is sterile.  I’ve raved about my Cutleaf Coneflower for years, many have planted the straight native, and been frazzled by its rambunctious wanderings.

Be careful too that your plants are Neonicotinoid free.  Neonicotinoids are systemic (get into every part of the plant, including pollen, nectar, even dew) pesticides that are applied to many commercially-available nursery plants and are harmful to bees, caterpillars, moths, butterflies, and other beneficial pollinators.

Speak up when you purchase plants.  Ask if the nursery uses Neonicotinoid Insecticides. If they don’t know what you are talking about, it sounds like a nursery to avoid. If they proudly share that they do not use Neonicotinoid Insecticides (verbally and/or on their website), they are a nursery “in the know” and a nursery to support. The Xerces Society’s publication, “Protecting Pollinators from Pesticides: Buying Bee-Safe Plants,” addresses asking nurseries these important questions and is available HERE.  There is a complimentary Xerces Society publication for nurseries, “Offering Bee-Safe Plants: A Guide for Nurseries,” available HERE.  Let nurseries you frequent know about it.  If you find that any of the nurseries on my list are “in the dark” and still using Neonicotinoids, please alert me ! ! ! 

Around the world steps are being taken to protect pollinators from neonics. In 2018, the European Union voted to completely ban all outdoor uses of three types of neonics (citing their impacts to honey bees). Canada followed suit, planning to phase out all outdoor use of three specific neonics in 3-5 years (2021-2023) because of impacts to aquatic ecosystems. In 2016 Connecticut became the first state in the nation to restrict the use of neonicotinoids when the legislature unanimously passed An Act Concerning Pollinator Health (banning sales of neonics for use by general consumers in backyard garden settings). Soon after, Maryland passed a similar bill that restricts the sale of neonics and bans their use by consumers.  And in January 2022, New Jersey became the 6th state to pass a similar bill to save pollinators by classifying bee-killing neonicotinoids (also known as neonics) as restricted use pesticides.

Educate yourself about Neonics by reading the following:

  1. Xerces Society’s “Protecting Bees From Neonicotinoids in Your Garden, 2nd version (includes list of products with neonics in them).”
  2. Xerces Society’s How Neonicotinoids Can Kill Bees, the Science Behind the Role These Insecticides Play in Harming Bees (in-depth study, 2nd Edition)
  3. Xerces Society’s “Neonicotinoid Movement in the Environment” POSTER (how neonics move through the landscape and are being found even where they were not used)
  4. American Bird Conservancy (ABC) found that Neonics (Neonicotinoid Insecticides, highly toxic to birds and other wildlife) were in 90% of food samples taken from Congressional cafeterias. Their page on “Solutions to Pesticides & Toxins” covers the following issues in depth, often with educational posters: (1) Pesticides at Home, (2) Tips for Organic Bird-Friendly Gardening, and (3) Neonic Free Seed Sources for Growers.

HUGE INSECT DIE-OFF / INSECT APOCALYPSE

  1. ‘A car “splatometer” study finds huge insect die-off’
    Nov. 13, 2019, by Damian Carrington, Environmental Editor, The Guardian
    Measuring how many bugs fly into car windshields might sound silly. But to scientists predicting an “insect apocalypse,” the numbers are deadly serious.
  2. ‘Insect apocalypse’ poses risk to all life on Earth, conservationists warn        Feb. 12, 2020, by Damian Carrington, Environmental Editor, The Guardian
  3. The Insect Crisis, The Fall of the Tiny Empires That Run the World, by Oliver Milman. 2022. A devastating examination of how collapsing insect populations worldwide threaten everything from wild birds to the food on our plate.

BIRDS ARE VANISHING

  1. “Birds are Vanishing from North America”
    The number of birds in the United States and Canada has declined by 2.9 billion, or 29 percent, over the past 50 years (1970-2019), scientists find (Science, 2019).
  2. “A Neonicotinoid Insecticide Reduces Fueling and Delays Migration in Songbirds,” by Margaret Eng, Bridget Stutchbury, Christy Morrissey.  Science, 13 September 2019, Vol. 365, Issue 6458, pp. 1177-1180.

WHAT WE CAN DO

Here are just a few of the things that each and every one of us can do:

1. Plant NATIVES, especially Keystone Species (read Doug Tallamy’s books to understand what Keystone Species are).  If you live in the East,  the “Eastern Temperate Forests – Ecoregion 8″ plant list should be the backbone of your plantings!  If you live elsewhere, chose your Ecoregion HERE for your list of Keystone Species.

2. Ask nurseries you frequent if their native plants have been treated with Neonicotinoids (see Xerces Society’s document, “Protecting Pollinators from Pesticides: Buying Bee-Safe Plants,” for tips and how to ask these important questions) . If they don’t know, ask them to find out. If the answer is yes, don’t purchase and explain why, that Neonics are hazardous to the wildlife you are trying to attract and benefit.

3. Leave fallen leaves on the ground: they are full of insect life, they protect tree and shrub and perennial roots, they break down and naturally nourish your soil, and they prevent erosion. Listen to Doug Tallamy’s talk about his latest book, The Nature of Oaks (search youtube Doug Tallamy Nature of Oaks), and learn that oak leaves are the BEST fallen leaves to LEAVE on the ground because it takes them so long to break down (3 years or more). All that time (3+ years) they are providing for an abundance of LIFE that needs fallen leaves to survive. Heather Holm calls these leaves “Soft Landings” for the many caterpillars feeding on the tree above to land in and then nestle down into as they metamorphose into the next life stage before emerging as an adult butterfly or moth the following year.   To truly preserve the life in leaf litter do not mow it / mulch it (that would chop up all that life using it).

4. DO NOT USE Pesticides (including Organic – they KILL too) or Herbicides or synthetic Fertilizers

5. Turn outdoor lights OFF at night (use motion sensor lights instead)

6. Remove as many invasive plants as possible on your property

7. Share some of your native “Chocolate Cake” perennial divisions (that are also Keystone Species: Asters and Goldenrods, for example) with others to help get them hooked

8. Read and give Doug Tallamy’s books (Bringing Nature Home, Nature’s Best Hope, The Nature of Oaks, and How Can I Help?: Saving Nature with Your Yard) to family members, friends, co-workers, neighbors.

9. If you ever have a chance to hear Doug Tallamy speak, BE THERE and bring your neighbor, friend, family member, landscaper, lawn care service worker so they can learn to speak the same language. In the meantime Google “YouTube videos (or podcasts) Doug Tallamy” and you’ll have dozens to choose from, many of which are keynote talks he’s given about the importance of insects, native plants, fallen leaves, and much more. Watch Doug Tallamy’s presentations and what you learn may change your life and/or the way you view life. Share video links with neighbors, friends, family members, co-workers.

10. Read and give Heather Holm’s books about beneficial pollinators (Pollinators of Native Plants; Bees, An Identification and Native Plant Forage Guide; and Wasps, Their Biology, Diversity, and Role as Beneficial Insects and Pollinators of Native Plants) to family members, friends, co-workers, and neighbors to help you (and others) understand beneficial pollinators. You’ll learn key practices like leaving stem stubble during spring garden clean up and standing dead trees (these stems and dead trees provide pollinator nesting sites), utilize fallen branches and tree trunks to line garden or woodland paths (ditto: potential nest sites), leave fallen leaves, and avoid too much hardscaping, mulching, and turf so that ground-nesting pollinators have safe places to nest.

Some Sources of NATIVE PLANTS: 2025
 by Patricia Sutton
click here for the 6-page printable pdf
2025: 2nd Edition (5-1-25)

 

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Backyard Birds Attracted to a Wildlife Habitat

Hi Gang,

I enjoyed sharing my program “Backyard Birds Attracted to a Wildlife Habitat” for Jenkins Arboretum via ZOOM (so it was available to all, near & far) on February 20, 2025! And it was FREE! And I gave permission for Jenkins Arboretum to record it. I’ll share full details further down in this post, but first let me gush a bit about Jenkins Arboretum and how excited I was to present a program for them.

Some of my favorite natives in our itty-bitty restored woodlands (1/3rd of our 1/2 acre property) came from Jenkins Arboretum, propagated on-site by staff and terrific volunteers from natives in their own landscape and sold in their Garden Shop.

My heart sings when Pinxterbloom Azalea, Rhododendron periclymenoides, blooms, a South Jersey native, but one that I could not find available for sale at any of the South Jersey native plant nurseries I knew of in 2009 (when we saved our woods from Multiflora Rose and Japanese Honeysuckle). So I am forever grateful to Jenkins Arboretum for this shrub.

For the first eleven years my Pinxterbloom Azalea did not bloom and, quite frankly, I forgot I’d even planted it. But then on March 30, 2021, a shrub I didn’t recognize with large, showy buds caught my eye. I stopped in my tracks, thinking “What the heck!” I found my plant sign near its base and recalled my purchase. I kept an eye on it. On April 22nd the buds were getting close to blooming, but one-by-one the stems (and buds) were disappearing (cleanly sliced off). I quickly realized why I’d lost track of this shrub. Our abundant rabbits, who must think we’ve planted everything for them, had been repeatedly pruning this shrub of its buds (resulting in no flowers of course). That day I gathered reinforcements and circled my brutalized azalea with chicken wire (1.5′ high). April 29th flowers finally bloomed on my Pinxterbloom Azalea. Now, each spring, I eagerly and with child-like wonder look forward to these big, showy pink blooms, always busy with pollinators, and now occurring on multiple branches safely within my ugly chicken wire protection.

 

So, when Jenkins Arboretum invited me to present a program for their Third Thursday Lecture Series, I eagerly agreed. And I gave Jenkins Arboretum & Gardens permission to record this program and add it to their You Tube Channel as an educational video.  Details follow:

“Backyard Birds Attracted to a Wildlife Habitat,”
by Pat Sutton

was presented on February 20, 2025

Via ZOOM for Jenkins Arboretum and Gardens
as part of their “Third Thursday Lecture Series.”

Click HERE to see a recording of the program
and Jenkins Arboretum & Gardens’ links to additional great information

Click HERE for Pat Sutton’s Backyard Birds HANDOUT
This handout should answer questions you may have after viewing this program; it shares some of my favorite books, resources, tools, protection measures, etc. that I include in the program.

ABOUT THE PROGRAM: Create it and they will come! Pat Sutton will share accounts of the diverse wildlife attracted to the South Jersey wildscape she and her husband have nurtured for over 45 years. They have tallied over 213 bird species, 79 butterfly species, and 116 other pollinators (37 different wasps, 34 different flies, 26 different bees, 10 different beetles, and 10 different diurnal moths) in their tiny one-half-acre wildlife oasis. How’d they do it? By questioning each practice as to whether it would help or harm wildlife. Get tips on creating a backyard habitat that benefits wildlife.

ABOUT JENKINS ARBORETUM: I’ve included Jenkins Arboretum’s offerings in my “Some Sources of Native Plants” for a number of years. If you live near there and haven’t visited yet, by all means do. And if it means a road trip, I promise you that it will be worth your while. Jenkins Arboretum & Gardens, 631 Berwyn Baptist Road, Devon, PA 19333 (Chester Co.); 610-647-8870. Garden Shop (open daily: 9 am – 4 pm) sells a wonderful selection of native seeds year round and, from mid-April until late October, also sells a great selection of native perennials, shrubs, trees, and evergreen & deciduous azaleas (most all are propagated on-site at Jenkins). Check their website for their regularly updated “Plant Inventory List.” See native plants in the landscape by visiting this 48-acre arboretum and gardens with 7 different trails (each about 1/4 mile or less). Garden map & trail descriptions can be found HERE. Open daily year round (hours vary seasonally, depending on when the sun sets): March 15 – April 30 (9 am – 7 pm), May 1 – August 31 (9 am – 8 pm), September 1 – 30 (9 am – 7 pm), and October 1 – March 14 (9 am – 5 pm). FREE admission, donations recommended.

Happy Wildlife Gardening,
Pat

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An Interview with Pat on The WildStory Podcast

I am a proud member of the Native Plant Society of NJ.  I share Garden Gang alerts, when time permits, about the great work this group is doing. I have been remiss, though, in not sharing with you news of one more incredible learning opportunity from this group featuring often funny, sometimes sad, but always reflective conversations in:

The WildStory, a PODCAST of Poetry and Plants
by the Native Plant Society of NJ
Co-produced by Ann E. Wallace
PhD Poet Laureate of Jersey City
& Kim Correro
Rutgers Master Gardener & Co-leader of the NPSNJ Hudson Chapter
Each podcast also features “Ask Randi,”
questions answered by Dr. Randi Eckel
Entomologist, Vice President of Membership NPSNJ,
& owner of Toadshade Wildflower Farm

If you haven’t tuned in yet,
you can learn about and access all episodes (16 as of September 11, 2024)
of the WildStory Podcasts HERE
Listen on iTunes (apple podcasts), Spotify, or Amazon Music

I was interviewed by Ann & Kim on July 30, 2024
This interview is part of their September 11, 2024 WildStory Podcast

Follow The WildStory Podcast on Instagram HERE
to see videos and extra content

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Since we all love to learn, I knew you’d also want to know that . . .

the Native Plant Society of NJ (NPSNJ)
has a terrific library of webinar recordings
available to all
on their website
You can find them HERE
(obviously bookmark this page and visit it frequently
since new webinar recordings are added regularly)

Obviously, the NPSNJ is a great group to support as a member!

Happy Learning About Native Plants and the Critters That Need Them,
Pat

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Landscape Design With Birds and Pollinators in Mind

Hi Gang,

This summer I am teaching a “Landscape Design With Birds & Pollinators in Mind” class twice in Avalon. These 2-hour indoor classes are co-sponsored by the Avalon Environmental Commission and the Avalon Free Public Library. The classes are FREE but registration is required. Details follow:

June 14 (Friday), 2:30-4:30 p.m.
(same class offered Fri., August 16, but at a different location)
“Landscape Design with Birds and Pollinators in Mind”
by Pat Sutton
Registration required; Space limited to 20
Where: Avalon at the Tennis Building, 250 39th St, Avalon, NJ 08202

August 16 (Friday), 2:30-4:30 p.m.
(same 2-hr class offered Friday, June 14, but at a different location)
“Landscape Design with Birds and Pollinators in Mind”
by Pat Sutton
Registration required; Space limited to 20
Where: Avalon Free Public Library, 235 32nd St, Avalon, NJ 08202

DETAILS ABOUT THESE CLASSES:

Registration is required.

For the June 14th CLASS Avalon property owners began registering May 17. Registration opened up to others on May 31.

For the August 16th CLASS Avalon property owners may register beginning July 19. All others may register beginning August 2.

To register, please call the Avalon Library at 609-967-7155 or stop by their circulation desk at 235 32nd St, Avalon, NJ 08202.  At registration, participants will receive Pat Sutton’s handout, “Landscape Design with Pollinators and Birds in Mind,” which includes instructions on creating a sketch of their property required for the class. Be sure to read this handout over prior to the class so that you get as much as possible out of the class.

The property sketch should be emailed to Pat 3 days prior to the class (so by the end of the day on Tuesday, June 11th for the June 14th class and by the end of the day on Tuesday, August 13 for the August 16th class). The property sketch should have the registrant’s name in large, bold letters on the sketch in a spot that will be included when it is photographed or copied and sent to Pat.  Photograph the property sketch (so that your name on the sketch shows up), and e-mail the jpg or pdf scan to Pat Sutton (Pat’s e-mail is at the top of her Landscape Design HANDOUT received upon registration). In the e-mail subject line registrants should enter: “Landscape Design – June 14 or August 16 (whichever day/class they signed up for) – their full name.”  If you feel more comfortable sending Pat a few photos of the area you would like to transform into a native plant habitat, by all means send photos instead, but please don’t crash her computer with many HUGE photos. If you have any questions, reach out to Pat (but hopefully everything is explained in her handout and these instructions).

The first half of the class will cover resources and a slide program about the topic. During the second half of the class the group will brainstorm the projected images of each participant’s rough sketch. This brainstorming session should result in participants heading home with ideas and plans to enhance each of their properties for pollinators and birds.

Happy Wildlife Gardening,
Pat

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Pat Sutton’s Wildlife Garden

Hi Gang,

I’ve had fun updating the page about “Our Wildlife Garden,” which is a history of how our  garden came about, changes over time as I learned more and more, and recent additions with each new native plant nursery that is born in our area (and that I want to support).  You can find this page in the top “ABOUT” header, which also includes a page about me, another about Clay, and another about media covering us.

Click HERE to read About “Our Wildlife Garden”

Enjoy,
Pat

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Tours of CU Maurice River Gardens on Sat., July 15, 2023

Hi Gang,

In recent years CU Maurice River has been hard at work (along with terrific gardening volunteers and growing volunteers) designing and creating rain gardens and pollinator gardens with native plants.

WheatonArts Pollinator Garden

I can’t wait to lead a tour showcasing and sharing three of these native plant wildlife gardens that CU Maurice River has created (and maintains) at public sites in Millville, NJ: (1) First United Methodist Church Serenity Garden, (2) Downtown Millville’s Neighborhood Wildlife Garden, and (3) Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center’s Circle Oasis.  In addition, the July 15th tour will include two private home gardens set in a suburban community.

Saturday, July 15, 2023
Tour of CU Maurice River Gardens, led by Pat Sutton
in Millville, NJ (Cumberland County)
( Rain date Sunday, July 16)
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (Morning Tour)
1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. (Afternoon Tour)

Millville Neighborhood Wildlife Garden

Join CU Maurice River and Pat Sutton to experience the benefits provided by these revitalized areas that together function as a network of urban green spaces supporting ecological and community health. Every garden is unique and has a story to be told.  Karla Rossini, CU Maurice River’s Executive Director, will share each garden’s story with the group.

At the end of each tour, stay on to socialize and enjoy light refreshments in the last garden.

In the past, Pat Sutton’s Garden Tours with CU Maurice River have filled up quickly.  Please RSVP as soon as possible to be guaranteed a spot.

Registration required:
Cost: $30 for CU Maurice River members / $40 for non-members.
Morning Tour (sign up HERE)*
Afternoon Tour (sign up HERE)*
*the same gardens will be visited on each tour
Call CU Maurice River at (856) 300-5331 for more information

Pat Sutton lives near Cape May, New Jersey. She has been a working naturalist since 1977, first for the Cape May Point State Park and then for 21 years with New Jersey Audubon’s Cape May Bird Observatory, where she was the Naturalist and Program Director (1986 to 2007). Pat has a Masters Degree from Rowan University in Environmental Education and an undergraduate degree in Literature from the State University of New York at Oneonta.

Today, Pat is a free-lance writer, photographer, naturalist, educator, lecturer, tour leader, and wildlife habitat/conservation gardening educator.

Pat is a passionate wildlife habitat gardener and advocate for butterflies, moths, bees (all pollinators), birds, dragonflies, frogs, toads, and other critters. Pat has taught about wildlife-friendly and native plant gardening for over 40 years. Her own wildlife area is a “teaching garden” featured in many programs, workshops,  garden tours, and some books.