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Thanks so much for watching! Sounds like a beautiful garden you have there. I do add sand to my butterfly puddles, but still no luck. yet ;)

Wonderful! I love these trees so much. It's funny, after I planted one, now I see volunteers on my property edges. :)

Sort of. There was a lag between when I used to plant zinnias and mexican sunflowers and when I started really only planting native plants. I think it was a combo of needing the plants to mature and also needing them to spread. It's easier for pollinators like butterflies to find them when they are in bigger mass plantings than one or two here and there spread out. So, you could imagine the big swaths of zinnias and tithonias I used to have and how bright and colorful those are and how many butterflies I got with those. However, I got to a point where I realized how much more important it is to grow native plants, so I switched to those. At first I saw less butterflies, but over the years, I now see butterflies more often. I still have work to do, however, in attracting more swallowtails specifically. This year was the first year that I feel the native plants have really started attracting more swallowtail butterflies. The pipevine and spicebush swallowtails, however, I do not see as often, and I'm hoping that adding more of their host plants will help. I have 2 spicebushes and 1 sassafras. However, I do not have any pipevine plants. So I will be adding pipevine as soon as i can if I can find a good spot in the garden for it. :) It's a work in progress, but I will say that I totally understand if people want to grow zinnias and tithonia alongside their native plants in a transition period, since those non-natives can really attract the adults strongly. I may even add some of those next year if I can make room for them. I do think the native plants should be priority, but it's okay to have some non-native (but also non-invasive) plants to supplement the in between months or what have you. :)

@@awildapproach Thank you Macey. That is very informative! You are such an inspiration.

Aww thank you so much! that means a ton to me! I do hope to do a bird video soon. I also have a garden tour edited and that will be going up on the channel even sooner. Thanks so much for the kind words and for taking the time to watch!

I'm glad you're enjoying it. Thanks for the comment!

Thank you so much!🙂

Aww thank you so much for those kind words! I'm glad it's helpful. I hope you received either of my emails. I haven't seen an email from you yet in my inbox. Anxiously awaiting your wonderful butterfly video link! :)

One other note about ironweed: Ironweed could spread rapidly in your garden, if you leave the seeds on them like I do. I find ironweed seedlings pretty much anywhere in my garden now. I don't mind it, but I wanted to give you two a heads up, in case it could become a frustration later on. I think it's worth it to see the birds enjoying the seeds, but I will leave that up to you or your gardener husband. :)

I emailed you, but you may need to check your spam folder, since I've never emailed you before. If that email I sent doesn't show up, try to email me at maceyloubrown@gmail.com :)

awww you did a great thing. I bet it appreciated that. Love the passion flower vines. So worth the vigor they have!!

Thank you so much. We are all in this together. Love what you're creating, too. We can help them one yard at a time. :)

@@awildapproach you bet! And thank you! The more native plant gardeners the merrier! 💚🦋🌼🐝💚

That makes total sense! I had a huge population of lacewings this past spring, too. It was amazing!!

Thank you! 😊

Isn't it wonderful? Love them so much. Was seeing them last night when I was planting some more natives. :)

@@Mslaralah thank you so much! I’m glad you enjoyed watching it come together.🦋

@@LaconicMind I forget the name of mine, but I don’t have enough, I know that for sure. Buying more phlox is definitely a great idea to attract more of them.❤️

@@limitlessends During the day, you may find adult fire flies resting on your trees, shrubs, or grasses. As for the larva, I saw it in winter or early spring in my garage. I might have a photo somewhere. If so, I’ll try to remember to put it in a future video.😊

Thank you! I’ll need to check for them. I look forward to it on future videos ☺️

Thank you! I appreciate you taking time to leave that kind comment. :)

Sounds like you're struggling with the definition of native plants. Check out these websites for more info: www.nwf.org/Garden-for-Wildlife/About/Native-Plants www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/Native_Plant_Materials/whatare.shtml theconservationfoundation.org/native-plants-101-what-is-a-native-plant/

Sounds good to me! Do it. :D Thanks so much for the kind words.

That's a great one!! :)

I have a similar experience. I, too, find it difficult to keep them happy in Summer. However, in the winter, I do have some success, depending on the species. Most do well through winter for me, if we are talking about first planting year and I use winter for natural cold stratification. But yes, as summer comes, I find myself worried, as my potted seedlings don't like being out in this summer heat here. I have very few full shade zones to stash them in temporarily. In fact, that's what I've been doing all day so far, is planting as many of my potted seedlings as possible. The native warm season grasses and others that love the heat should be easy to nurse along after planting in the ground during summer, but the other plants I do worry about, and may need to water if we continue to get dry conditions. It usually gets very rainy and stormy here in July, but so far, this July is more dry like our usual August and Septembers are. This is troubling, but I'm hopeful that July will get rainy and stormy as we move forward...although I also hope for calmer rains and not floods. LOL. I agree that too much babying can be bad for them. I try to water as little as possible, when in the ground. I usually water them in and then water a couple more times if we lack rain. After that, I typically only water in extreme drought of weeks or months at a time. Thanks for watching! Love the comments.

Oh I see why you’re having a hard time finding that info! I went to look it up and there are conflicting reports out there… I think you only need one vine, but I also think mine didn’t fruit until the second year. I can’t quite remember for certain. Note, though, that it’s best to grow it in its native range. You may not get fruits if it’s not native where you plant it. In my garden, the number one insect that pollinates it is the carpenter bee. These bees could be vital for the fruit set on them, but I’m not 100% certain. I can tell you this: 9/10 times I see carpenter bees specifically pollinating them at my house. And I get loads of fruits!!! Check the native range before planting, if you want fruit. Unfortunately lots of folks trap and kill these important carpenter bees. They do not like that they put small holes in unfinished wood. If you keep your wood painted or sealed properly, it should not be an issue. They don’t like wood that’s been painted as much as raw wood. Leave stumps around for them to use, if possible. Encourage them instead of killing them, and you may be rewarded with lots of fruit. I started out with one plant, but between its fruits setting seeds and the underground runners, I have countless passion vines now. Passiflora incarnata.❤

We definitely love our bees and plant special things just for them! I think this will work well because we see a lot of carpenters among honeybees. Thanks for you response and help!

@@kayleighjohnson3612 You're very welcome! :) They also love full sun and well drained soil.

In the context of native plants, there's not much use for USDA hardiness growing zones. I've included native range maps with each plant, which is displayed in bright and dark greens. If it's native to your area (if your area is lit up in green), then it should grow in your area, if you pick the right plant for the right soil and light you have. Thanks for watching!

Thank you so much for commenting! Those are great details about these plants that I love getting to read. I feel I never know enough. I always want to know more. It makes it fun, too. As for Ceanothus, I planted one, but I definitely didn't put it in a good spot and it didn't make it. I need to try that again. Some plants I also mostly grow for host value, too. I find great joy in adding host plants for butterflies and moths especially. I always check them for caterpillars. :)

@@awildapproach Bummer, what do you think did it in? It's tricky, they're drought tolerant but they do need summer water to get established more so if they're in really hot/hostile locations. Our species in the west all need good drainage, getting too wet in winter is the kiss of death for them.

@@Hayley-sl9lm I think the spot I put it in was too tight and full of competitive weeds. I think I should have given it more room to grow and spread out. My own fault. Otherwise, it could have been too moist of a spot, maybe.

They say the 1st year they sleep, 2nd year they creep, 3rd year they leap! It really is true. Bearberry for example, I thought it hated my yard for the 1st two years then year 3 it grew a lot!

That's great! I'm so glad this was a helpful video. :)

I should have used the North Carolina extension plant toolbox website to get some pronunciations, but totally forgot to do that! plants.ces.ncsu.edu/ It helps me learn how to say the names.

Sad that they demolished that treasure of a place...but I'm so glad you got to experience it before it was gone. So much habitat loss. This is why we try to create habitat in our own yards and on farms, too. Thanks for watching and commenting.

Glad you liked it! Thanks for watching!

Chocolate Cookie Jam - An Jone

Yes, I suppose it is! :) As for butterflies, where I live lots of them rely on trees and shrubs for host plants, so lots of butterflies need both shady areas and sunny areas. Which does make me want more land. ;) I know, I know, I'm lucky to have a quarter, though. :D

@@awildapproach Hi, thanks for your reply and I wish you continued success in your gardening.

I don't have any, but I've heard great things about those trees!

I definitely wanted to share that update. I find that it can be confusing sometimes to figure out what organic ways to start seeds. I also need to do an update on the 72 something cell trays. Spoiler alert: not for me, unless maybe I try them indoors next time. Definitely not for me for outdoor use. They dry out like crazy but when the rains come, they flood like crazy. Very hard to get the perfect moisture level. A pain in the butt!

Also, wanted to mention that I'm trying to grow some big tree species, but keeping them short via coppicing every few years. I know maples and supposedly oaks respond well to a coppice every few years

I hear you on the compost. That reminds me: I need to check my compost! I've been letting it sit for a long time. LOL! Fertilizer regimen makes sense. As for coppicing, I do that with a boxelder tree and I find it successful.

That’s a great video idea! I would love watching that

Great idea! But hopefully I can remember to try that next year. Memory can fail me sometimes. Definitely more scientific than what I do!

I have a compost pile that I need to check. I have been leaving it alone for several months. It's not just leaves, though. It's also veggie scraps.

@@awildapproach I don't know much about leave mould/leaf compost, but the veggie scraps might make it too rich.

I find them very easy to pull up. However, there will be many of them. If they pop up in the lawn, we just mow those.

Thank you! Exactly :) As for the container peppers, can you put in some chicken wire around them on the soil and cut a hole for the pepper stem? That way the critters can't dig. Or try using some pebbles or rocks as mulch in your containers to prevent digging. It may not work, but worth a try?

Thank you! Happy Gardening!

Thank you for taking time to watch and to leave a comment! :)

I hope the plants grow well in it. :)

Thank you! I love reusing things when possible. :) I also save the pots from nurseries I buy from and use those for some outdoor winter sowing projects. It's nice to be able to use them over and over and grow new plants for cheap!

Thank you so much! I'm very excited to see more native grasses in my garden instead of boring old invasive bermuda turf! ;)

The echinacea is definitely growing already, and it's only been a few weeks. This heat is insane. I will be watering a little more than planned, but only the new baby plantings. :) I hope you have videos of your gorgeous garden on TH-cam. If so, I'm going to check them out.

@@awildapproach that's great! I don't ... yet lol I've been meaning to film some, but I get too nervous/embarrassed/etc. I need to just do it though - the summer vids get me through the winter!

@@paragraph_meadow Have fun with it. You can do it how you want. Most of my videos don't show myself much. I do lots of voiceovers, though. You could even do without the voiceovers and type up text instead. Lots of people love those videos and consider them very calming. Especially if you can record some bird song to go along with it! :) It gets easier as time goes on. Yes, the summer videos are so nice to watch in the winter. 🌻

I'm excited to see, too. I think I've seen some on the West end of town here, and it was huge and beautiful!

I don't know, but I'm glad you commented! Haha! Maybe a beetle of some kind? Truly not sure.

It could be a Japanese beetle. Hopefully not though

Great question! According to Xerces: "Neonicotinoids can persist in soil for months or years after a single application. Residues have been found in woody plants up to six years after soil drench application." For more information from Xerces on this issue, click this link: xerces.org/sites/default/files/2018-05/16-023_01_XercesSoc_ExecSummary_How-Neonicotinoids-Can-Kill-Bees_web.pdf

@@awildapproach thanks for the link, I will check it out. I have a few plants that I bought which seem to be mass produced, I haven't used this stuff myself, but I suspect that the plants were grown with whatever made them grow well for a cheap price, thanks again

Wow! That's huge! Are you sure they aren't the related plant called "Wild Senna"? [Senna hebecarpa] - That plant can get pretty large...and beautiful! :)

@@awildapproach Nope. They’re the Partridge Pea. I also have an Old Fashion Penta that’s weirdly giant - lol. I do around 90% natives. But also always have Old Fashion (or Heirloom) Pentas for the butterflies. Mystic Blue Spires Salvia & Vitex for the bees. I just adore your garden. It’s just absolutely fabulous. My garden wants to be your garden when it grows up 😉 I’m in Florida, so we have some of the same plants. But many of them grow much taller and vigorously where you are. Like here, we have a Florida ecotype Purple Coneflower that’s super picky & doesn’t get as large as yours. Your Joe Pie Weed is much more aggressive than ours. Etc. But then we have some Florida natives that are endemic to Florida, which is kinda cool. Anyway, keep gardening. You’re going something really special & beautiful.

@@katiecannon8186 Aww thank you so much! That's really sweet. Never in my wildest dreams did I think someone would admire my garden someday, when I first started. Haha! I used to kill plants left and right and just didn't know anything. It's nice to be inspiring to someone. About your large plants, maybe your soil is extra rich in those spots? I have some areas of my garden that are more rich than others...but either way, it's a really interesting thing that happens isn't it? Happy Gardening!!

@@awildapproach I think it’s the magical combination of exactly the right soil and exactly the right amount of shade and sun. And I also kinda suspect it has to do with the plants next to. But then again I’m kind of starting to believe that plants “communicate” via microorganisms and such. So a plant community is more than the sum of its parts.

You have fantastic tips! Thanks for sharing. :)