Planting for What I Can’t See

 

For centuries non-edible gardening has focused on what is pleasing to us. Explorers have brought back plants from lands far and wide to entertain human senses. We now know that planting ornamental plants for only our pleasure is not helpful to the local ecosystem when our choices cause biodiversity to diminish at the expense of local insects, birds, and even small mammals. I have written before that at least maintaining native bird populations requires about 70% native plants in our environment.

So I plant things. Native things. Lots of different native things. Some of them I don’t see every day – or at all. My crossvine is blooming now. Bignonia capreolata is a native evergreen vine that I planted at the base of a medium-sized maple tree at the edge of my property. I can see the ropey vines as they drape through the lower part of the tree, but I have to use my binoculars to see the blooms. 

Until they drop to the ground – then I know it’s blooming. Those fallen flowers were the inspiration for my post about The Tiny Hands Project. Those little hands are bigger now; our little sprout just turned 7 this week.

The crossvine is just one example of things that I plant not necessarily for me but to support those who have needed it for far longer than I have been around. As we exit another Earth Week – our 55^th since 1970 (and I have been around for all of them!), remember that what we do is not always for us. Plant something for the ecosystem, your ecosystem.