Spring Migration Underway – Plan Your Native Plant Garden

A Hermit Thrush sang in our yard this week. What sheer delight to hear this newly arrived migrant, one of the first songbirds to arrive in the Mount Washington Valley! Some might say they have the most beautiful song of early spring. It is both thrilling and reassuring to hear. The bird withstood the dangers of migration and made it back to his breeding grounds – a sure sign spring has moved into high gear.

Many Hermit Thrushes winter in the southern United States, and arrive earlier in the northeast than other migrants because they don’t travel as far as those that winter in Central and South America. Unfortunately, I didn’t hear the bird again, so it was probably just passing through. In past years, we’ve had Hermit Thrushes singing in our yard all summer long, so hopefully another will arrive soon singing his flute-like melody to attract a female, raise young and delight us in the process.

Native Plants and Birds

Migratory birds remind us that our yards are part of a global habitat web. Migratory species find food and cover in our yards on their long journeys to their breeding grounds. Native plants and the insects they attract help them have a successful migration and breeding season.

We have a few weeks to go before we can actually plant up here. If you are thinking about adding some native plants to your yard, you may be wondering what to buy and where to put it. Here are some thoughts.

What to buy

If your goal is simply to have the most impact on wildlife, focus on Tallamy’s keystone plants – goldenrods, asters and sunflowers.

However, if you also want bright flowers which bloom throughout the season, my favorites are Butterfly Milkweed, Blazing Star and Purple Coneflower. Here is a complete list of what we planted.

Photo Credits: left - Frank Mayfield (CC BY-SA 2.0); middle & right - H. Zell (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Where to put them

If you need to find a place for these new plants, here are a few ideas:

• Remove invasive plants – I created a ton of space by removing Burning Bush and Japanese Bayberry
• Replace some lawn – a cut out circle or crescent works well as a relatively small project
• Create a garden bed along an edge like a driveway or walkway
• Plant in containers on your patio or deck