Happy Accidents

Bees and other pollinators are frequent visitors to those who let their vegetation grow. photo by Cordelia Norris.

by Cordelia Norris

It’s been hot, and I’ve been busy, with a coloring book to get out the door, so I’ve let my yard go. Since my book, Backyard Pollinators—A Partnership with Plants, features a cross-section of pollinators across North America, I’ve rationalized letting the yard go as a type of fieldwork, an exercise in seeing what plants make their home here on their own, and what pollinators they attract.

Since we live at the end of the street in an older neighborhood without an HOA, I’ve only had to endure the puzzlement of my neighbors and their increasingly pointed mowing right up to the very edge of our property. If you have an HOA, you can try the same approach with container pots or a raised bed.

Now I have occasionally mowed parts of our yard just so that we don’t have a five-foot tall thicket, but I wait as long as possible between mowings, set the mower as high as possible, and leave a lot of areas and any interesting plants alone.

The results of been fascinating: different wild flowers have bloomed at different times, along with ferns and a couple of really nice saplings. This relaxed approach also attracts more pollinators. If I’d been mowing regularly, as a good suburbanite is supposed to do according to some doctrine inherited from the 1950s, I would never have known that our front yard could be carpeted variously with Daisy fleabane, flowering vines, creeping Jenny, and black-eyed Susans.

Along the way, I’ve sought out advice from a few plant lovers who know a lot about native plants to ensure that this laissez-faire approach to landscaping wasn’t accidentally spreading invasive plants. So when privet reared its ugly head, an aggressive invasive, I knew to pull it up. I’ve also pulled up some thorny vines that don’t seem to do anyone any good. But for the most part, I’ve just enjoyed seeing what comes up. I found that this is a great way to get saplings that you can then relocate to a more favorable position or give to a friend.

Illustration of miner bees on willow, by Samantha Gallagher, one of the contributors to the most recent coloring book in the Coloring Nature series.

illustration by Samantha Gallagher

Tiffany Miller Russell, one of the two co-authors of Backyard Pollinators, is based outside of Boulder, Colorado and has experienced similar “ah-ha” moments.

“I’ve learned a lot while researching this book! I’ve really been noticing and appreciating more pollinators and plants in my garden and while hiking. There are a couple plants in my own garden that I’ve been wondering about for years and have finally identified.

“One is a ‘weed’ that springs up everywhere in the yard—cracks in the sidewalk, the lawn, and especially in pots. I’ve tended to pull this volunteer out, but always somewhat reluctantly because I enjoy its delicate red and green foliage. While researching Euphorbias for an entry, I was surprised to learn this plant also belonged to that large and diverse genus. I identified it as Euphorbia maculata, spotted sandmat spurge. Even better, this little plant is a native! I’ll now happily leave this attractive volunteer growing wherever it decides to be.

“The other ah-ha discovery was a garden flower that grows and blooms prolifically. Neither of us knew what it was, so we’ve just been calling it ‘the pink stuff.’ Thanks to one of the illustrations in the book, I finally learned this flower is red valerian! It’s originally from the Mediterranean, grows worldwide in many conditions, and is a great attractor of pollinators. I think it’s contributed to the swallowtails that glide continuously outside my studio window in the early summer!”

Trudy Robins Smoke, the other co-author of Backyard Pollinators, had a similar experience with thistle growing in front of her house in Bethel, New York. “I usually cut it back or even pull it out. But this year I let it grow after doing researching and writing up entry accompanying the cover illustration. I had such a happy surprise when just last week I saw a pair of goldfinches pulling at the down on the thistle and unbelievably there was also a butterfly that looked like a painted lady in the cover illustration, but it flew off before I could identify if for sure.

“Just like Tiffany, I’ve learned so much and am much more aware of things like that the little holes in leaves may indicate that beetles have visited or that holes in the ground may be homes for bee larvae. When buying seeds, I now make sure to buy ones with pollen, something I had not thought about before. This book is a treasure of learning about nature and gaining a new respect for it in all its forms.”

So while we’ve been neglecting yard work, we’ve been hard at work on Backyard Pollinators, coming out early fall of this year. I hope everyone reading the book and coloring its pages discovers the same happy accidents that we did—the discoveries and links that you make when you really start to look at what’s happening in your own backyard.

New Publication in the Coloring Nature series

If you’re nature-curious and want to see your backyard in a whole new way, you’ll love Backyard Pollinators. This innovative coloring book explores a crosssection of the range of species that serve as pollinators in North America, from the well-known to some delightful surprises. The book also illuminates unique pollinator/plant relationships and strategies.

Backyard Pollinators is the newest title in the “Coloring Nature” series.

Leading natural science illustrators from across the country contributed work for this book and the text for each entry provides context and fascinating background. You’ll gain a new lens to understand the activity happening at your feet and in your background.

This book is the third in the “Coloring Nature” series, by local author and creative, Cordelia Norris and co-authored by Tiffany Miller Russell and Trudy Robins Smoke. Backyard Pollinators is coming out in the fall of 2021 and you can pre-order it at localloveboutique.etsy.com.

Cordelia Norris is a graphic designer, illustrator, and owner of Luna Creative, a multidisciplinary communications firm based in Wilmington. Learn more at lunacreates.com.