{"id":115,"date":"2012-06-28T19:04:49","date_gmt":"2012-06-28T19:04:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/backyardsfornature.org\/?p=115"},"modified":"2012-06-28T19:04:49","modified_gmt":"2012-06-28T19:04:49","slug":"a-visit-to-barbs-backyard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/backyardsfornature.org\/?p=115","title":{"rendered":"A Visit to Barb\u2019s Backyard"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Edie Parnum\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

In early June I visited Barb\u2019s backyard.\u00a0 As we toured her half-acre suburban property, we observed bees, butterflies, caterpillars, dragonflies, frogs, and birds–all leading busy lives.<\/p>\n

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Barb is co-author of this blog site & co-director of Backyards for Nature<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n

Her yard wasn\u2019t always full of life.\u00a0 Originally, her Southeastern Pennsylvania property had just grass and a few mostly non-native ornamental plants–nothing to attract wildlife.\u00a0 On a plane trip about 18 years ago, Barb read an article in the airline\u2019s magazine about gardening for wildlife.\u00a0 Native plants, even when planted on a small property, could, the author asserted, provide a healthy habitat for birds, butterflies, and other creatures. \u00a0For Barb, reading this article was a transformative experience.\u00a0 Over the years she has gradually added over a hundred native plant species, creating this haven for wildlife.\u00a0 She\u2019s posted a sign: National Wildlife Federation-certified Backyard Wildlife Habitat.<\/p>\n

We started our tour near Barb\u2019s kitchen window\u2014an area where she can view wildlife activities from inside.\u00a0 Originally, there were peonies and lambs\u2019 ears, non-native plants with no appeal to animals.\u00a0 Barb substituted native perennials and shrubs that produce fruits, seeds, and nectar for birds and butterflies.\u00a0 Native insects eat the foliage of these plants; they, in turn, are food for birds and other animals. Barb added a birdbath, woodpile, nest boxes, and hummingbird feeders.\u00a0 We watched a hummer visiting her feeders and a House Wren using the nest box.\u00a0 Barb told me the Carolina Wrens love the woodpile. \u00a0One day she spotted a Brown Thrasher scratching and feasting on bugs in the leaf litter.\u00a0\u00a0 Last winter she discovered and closely monitored a cocoon in the Spicebush (Lindera benzoin)<\/em>. Her diligence was rewarded in May when a gorgeous six-inch Polyphemus moth emerged.<\/p>\n

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Northern Green Frog in Barb’s pond<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n

Frogs were the primary entertainment.\u00a0 We could hear the Northern Green Frogs calling from Barb\u2019s 13-foot circular pond.\u00a0 \u00a0We counted seventeen and probably missed others hiding in the water and under the plants.\u00a0 Intent on attracting mates, they inflated their balloon-like throats and called out like banjos.\u00a0 They lunged from their perches to catch insects and other prey.\u00a0 With its native aquatic plants, recirculating pump, waterfall, shallow \u201cstream,\u201d and deeper pools of varying depths, Barb\u2019s pond has places for birds to bathe and for dragonflies and frogs to lay their eggs. Tadpoles and dragonfly larvae find their niches. With the frogs and dragonfly larvae feeding here, fortunately, mosquito larvae can\u2019t survive here to become biting adults.\u00a0 Much to Barb\u2019s delight, her backyard pond is a healthy, balanced aquatic ecosystem.<\/p>\n

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Twelve-spotted Skimmer dragonfly at Barb’s pond<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n

We visited some of Barb\u2019s favorite trees.\u00a0 In her blight-resistant American Elm (Ulmus Americana, she\u2019s spotted Baltimore Orioles and other birds feeding on the caterpillars in the foliage of this high wildlife-value tree.\u00a0 Because we found holes in the leaves but no live caterpillars, we concluded the munching caterpillars had been picked off by birds. \u00a0We also stopped to see Barb\u2019s beloved Eastern Red Cedars (Juniperus virginiana).\u00a0 \u00a0Scores of bird species eat their berries.\u00a0 Song Sparrows and Mourning Doves have nested in the dense foliage.\u00a0 During a winter ice storm, she spotted an Eastern Screech Owl taking shelter in one of these cedars.<\/p>\n

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Screech Owl in Barb’s Eastern Red Cedar<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n

Barb has been encouraging me to appreciate native pollinators, so we visited her Monarch-friendly milkweed plants.\u00a0 We observed bees and butterflies enjoying the nectar of the blooming Swamp Milkweed (Asclepius incarnata), Common Milkweed (A. syriaca), and Butterfly Weed (A. tuberosa).\u00a0 We also saw her Purple (A. purpurescens) and Whorled (A. verticillata) Milkweeds.\u00a0 A keen observer, Barb finds the Monarchs\u2019 tiny eggs on her plants and the browsing caterpillars, too.\u00a0 Monarchs require milkweeds as host plants.\u00a0 In acknowledgement of Barb\u2019s role in helping this declining species, Monarch Watch has certified her property as a Monarch Waystation.<\/p>\n

We saw many other native plants that day–and plenty of birds, butterflies, bees, dragonflies, and damselflies, too.\u00a0 In her yard, she has hosted over 85 species of birds and 25 kinds of butterflies.\u00a0 Her yard is no longer a dead zone.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Barb says, \u201cI can go out my back door and see wildlife happenings at any time. \u201c<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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You can tour Barb Elliot\u2019s yard on Saturday, July 7 between 10 am and 4 pm as one of eight locations on the Tredyffrin Eco Tour. \u00a0Come see all the yard\u2019s features, including her bat house and bee homes.\u00a0 Purchase your admission badge ($10 per adults, kids free) at the Tredyffrin Township Library parking lot located at 582 Upper Gulph Road, Strafford, PA 19087 from 9:45 am to 3:00 pm.\u00a0 For more information, go to http:\/\/www.ttdems.com\/2012\/06\/join-our-backyard-eco-tour-july-7th\/<\/a><\/p>\n

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By Edie Parnum\u00a0 In early June I visited Barb\u2019s backyard.\u00a0 As we toured her half-acre suburban property, we observed bees, butterflies, caterpillars, dragonflies, frogs, and birds–all leading busy lives. Barb is co-author of this blog site & co-director of Backyards … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/backyardsfornature.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/backyardsfornature.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/backyardsfornature.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backyardsfornature.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backyardsfornature.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=115"}],"version-history":[{"count":29,"href":"https:\/\/backyardsfornature.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":153,"href":"https:\/\/backyardsfornature.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115\/revisions\/153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/backyardsfornature.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backyardsfornature.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backyardsfornature.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}