A nice post to read as a gardener who loves the books and birds. Samwise Gamgee is my favorite character. Never wanted to leave home, but did it for his friends, a gardener in his soul, always hungry, practical, and shared my 'gardens for the people' ethos, sharing his gift with the whole shire. Little Bluestem Grass, Joe Pye Weed, Beardtongue, and Wild Red Columbine are favorite plants here.
Loved reading this! I admire your ambition, and it's exactly the same as I have for my garden. It's truly amazing how quickly wildlife rewards you when you start a project like this. My hazel hedge is my biggest win so far. We planted it three years ago, this year it is growing its first hazelnuts and has been covered in ladybirds at all stages of their metamorphosis, plus had its first birds nest.
My top plants for wildlife have been poppies, thistles and dandelions this year - with jasmine and honeysuckle for the pollinators. Tree wise, you can't beat crab apple in the UK, and rowan for the berries.
Thanks Melissa!! I'm so glad you're a kindred gardener. Funny... we have dandelions here of course, but they're non-native, which I didn't know until a couple of years ago. We have some honeysuckle here also that are very aggressive non-natives. It's interesting to think about how a lot of the plants that we see are there because they were beloved in another land far away.
I'm so excited for your garden. Our top pollinators are aster and bergamot. For berries, black chokeberry is the only thing that has fruited so far, but I have high hopes for the serviceberry and nannyberry next year!
Some of my favorites: shrubbby St. John’s wort, skullcap, green and gold, Jacob’s ladder, star chickweed, sundrops, elderberry, wild petunia, dittany, Butterflyweed, horsemint, liatris spicata, maidenhair fern, Solomon’s seal, pinxter azalea (if you can keep from deer), red or black chokeberry, and so many more! Enjoyed your little garden tour!
Oh why part of the world are you in? I haven’t heard of a lot of those! We do have two kinds of elderberry, red and black. The deer really love the red one. Planning on adding red chokeberry too this fall.
A couple thoughts here: First, husband and I had the CRAZY idea between Christmas and New Years this past year to binge LOTR Director's cut. Hoo boy! That was a commitment! (Do you realize how long the Director's cut is?) Second, LOVE your native gardening. I'm in Austin, TX and when I lost my job a few years ago (they called it "early retirement") I took up gardening and decided to plant a bunch of native plants. AND WOW! Our yard has come alive! The hummingbirds love the salvias and our Desert Willow. Bees everywhere! I'm still learning my way around gardening. (Like maybe I shouldn't have planted some things so close to that Beauty Berry bush.) Well done!
Hahahaha yes. I'm VERY aware how long those movies are. I pretty much had them playing on a loop when I was in my 20s lol.
I'm so glad you're native gardening too, Lisa! There are definitely some pitfalls along the way, including planting things too close together. But totally the same thing here. There are not only bees everywhere, but bugs of all kinds. Snails and slugs too. It's just amazing how nature is ready to explode everywhere if we let it.
I became a serious yard birder in 2017, starting a list of all the birds that I spotted in our yard or our daughter's yard a mile away where I watched their 5 children. It's not my thing to waste gas money and cause pollution to chase birds to add to my list. It is what led to my interest in Native plants and removing invasive plants from our near 4 acres. I gave up bird feeders pretty much, except for a suet cake occasionally during the harsh Indiana Winters. It's been quite a learning adventure that I've enjoyed tremendously! I now save seeds, propagating them by Winter sowing or otherwise spreading them around. My eyesight isn't very good now but I wear binoculars except while bathing or sleeping lol and still enjoy birdwatching and the challenge of getting a new bird for my list!
I love all of that. I too have been more and more aware of my carbon footprint and the negatives that come with chasing birds. Our solution was to get an electric car because I do love the chase (especially when successful lol). I've taken down a few of the feeders too. More economical to have plants make the food. Still have black oil sunflower and suet though. I'm content with that for now.
Great post, Nate. I saw the headline, then was curious to see how LOTR was the starting point, but you brought it all together perfectly. Deer and rabbits definitely can pose a challenge to any garden, but as for a native garden part of the drive is to create the ecosystem as it should be, and as you say they are beautiful and a natural, a healthy part of that ecosystem. Thanks for gardening as you do and writing about it.
Thanks James! I totally scrapped my draft yesterday when the LOTR idea came to me in my sleep lol. Made for a long day and barely getting it published by my own arbitrarily assigned deadline.
More to come as the garden evolves. Appreciate you always!
That is interesting to see the growth and progression of those nine trees you had planted. Can only imagine what they will grow to be in the next 5, 10, 20 years.
A hat-tip to you volunteer, Angus McJolly - sleeping on the job is the job, well done sir. ;)
That'll be amazing too when you're able to see birds like Grey Catbirds, American Robins, and Cedar Waxwings coming in for the berries. The acrobatics of the waxwings plucking berries from branches is fun to see.
That Snowberry Clearwing is incredible - I've never seen one before.
Thank you for creating this wonderland of nature for all of us. Doing yoga as I gaze upon it is one of the great joys of summer, and it gets more delightful each year!
A nice post to read as a gardener who loves the books and birds. Samwise Gamgee is my favorite character. Never wanted to leave home, but did it for his friends, a gardener in his soul, always hungry, practical, and shared my 'gardens for the people' ethos, sharing his gift with the whole shire. Little Bluestem Grass, Joe Pye Weed, Beardtongue, and Wild Red Columbine are favorite plants here.
He’s my wife’s favorite too! Possibly my second fav after Gandalf. Certainly the character I would most aspire to be like.
I’ve had no luck with bluestem! Maybe too shady here? Joe pye is going to be a fall addition :)
Loved reading this! I admire your ambition, and it's exactly the same as I have for my garden. It's truly amazing how quickly wildlife rewards you when you start a project like this. My hazel hedge is my biggest win so far. We planted it three years ago, this year it is growing its first hazelnuts and has been covered in ladybirds at all stages of their metamorphosis, plus had its first birds nest.
My top plants for wildlife have been poppies, thistles and dandelions this year - with jasmine and honeysuckle for the pollinators. Tree wise, you can't beat crab apple in the UK, and rowan for the berries.
Thanks Melissa!! I'm so glad you're a kindred gardener. Funny... we have dandelions here of course, but they're non-native, which I didn't know until a couple of years ago. We have some honeysuckle here also that are very aggressive non-natives. It's interesting to think about how a lot of the plants that we see are there because they were beloved in another land far away.
I'm so excited for your garden. Our top pollinators are aster and bergamot. For berries, black chokeberry is the only thing that has fruited so far, but I have high hopes for the serviceberry and nannyberry next year!
You crack me up! I love Lord of the Rings and I can't thank you enough for the audio link. I never knew I needed to listen to it while thinking.
You’re welcome! Happy to just discover you have a substack too!!
Some of my favorites: shrubbby St. John’s wort, skullcap, green and gold, Jacob’s ladder, star chickweed, sundrops, elderberry, wild petunia, dittany, Butterflyweed, horsemint, liatris spicata, maidenhair fern, Solomon’s seal, pinxter azalea (if you can keep from deer), red or black chokeberry, and so many more! Enjoyed your little garden tour!
Oh why part of the world are you in? I haven’t heard of a lot of those! We do have two kinds of elderberry, red and black. The deer really love the red one. Planning on adding red chokeberry too this fall.
In the Mid-Atlantic, East Coast, USA
I’ll have to look into those! Always have to be wary of sunlight when planting here. We don’t get much of it.
A couple thoughts here: First, husband and I had the CRAZY idea between Christmas and New Years this past year to binge LOTR Director's cut. Hoo boy! That was a commitment! (Do you realize how long the Director's cut is?) Second, LOVE your native gardening. I'm in Austin, TX and when I lost my job a few years ago (they called it "early retirement") I took up gardening and decided to plant a bunch of native plants. AND WOW! Our yard has come alive! The hummingbirds love the salvias and our Desert Willow. Bees everywhere! I'm still learning my way around gardening. (Like maybe I shouldn't have planted some things so close to that Beauty Berry bush.) Well done!
Hahahaha yes. I'm VERY aware how long those movies are. I pretty much had them playing on a loop when I was in my 20s lol.
I'm so glad you're native gardening too, Lisa! There are definitely some pitfalls along the way, including planting things too close together. But totally the same thing here. There are not only bees everywhere, but bugs of all kinds. Snails and slugs too. It's just amazing how nature is ready to explode everywhere if we let it.
I became a serious yard birder in 2017, starting a list of all the birds that I spotted in our yard or our daughter's yard a mile away where I watched their 5 children. It's not my thing to waste gas money and cause pollution to chase birds to add to my list. It is what led to my interest in Native plants and removing invasive plants from our near 4 acres. I gave up bird feeders pretty much, except for a suet cake occasionally during the harsh Indiana Winters. It's been quite a learning adventure that I've enjoyed tremendously! I now save seeds, propagating them by Winter sowing or otherwise spreading them around. My eyesight isn't very good now but I wear binoculars except while bathing or sleeping lol and still enjoy birdwatching and the challenge of getting a new bird for my list!
I love all of that. I too have been more and more aware of my carbon footprint and the negatives that come with chasing birds. Our solution was to get an electric car because I do love the chase (especially when successful lol). I've taken down a few of the feeders too. More economical to have plants make the food. Still have black oil sunflower and suet though. I'm content with that for now.
How many birds do you have on your yard list?
Thank you so much for reading and subscribing!
I have 114, with my last new bird July 14, 2024 Purple Martins! I was so excited and did my 'I got a new bird dance' 😆
Wow!! That's a great yard number!! And a great yard bird too. I would have had a martin house up immediately lol
Great post, Nate. I saw the headline, then was curious to see how LOTR was the starting point, but you brought it all together perfectly. Deer and rabbits definitely can pose a challenge to any garden, but as for a native garden part of the drive is to create the ecosystem as it should be, and as you say they are beautiful and a natural, a healthy part of that ecosystem. Thanks for gardening as you do and writing about it.
Thanks James! I totally scrapped my draft yesterday when the LOTR idea came to me in my sleep lol. Made for a long day and barely getting it published by my own arbitrarily assigned deadline.
More to come as the garden evolves. Appreciate you always!
That is interesting to see the growth and progression of those nine trees you had planted. Can only imagine what they will grow to be in the next 5, 10, 20 years.
A hat-tip to you volunteer, Angus McJolly - sleeping on the job is the job, well done sir. ;)
That'll be amazing too when you're able to see birds like Grey Catbirds, American Robins, and Cedar Waxwings coming in for the berries. The acrobatics of the waxwings plucking berries from branches is fun to see.
That Snowberry Clearwing is incredible - I've never seen one before.
I really am excited to see the yard evolve over the years. I love the surprises that pop up, even when I have to get rid of them.
Angus puts everything into his job. He's top notch.
I love waxwings so much! They hang out here sometimes, but our neighbor has fruiting trees so they're down the road way more often.
That one clearwing has made it all worthwhile.
Thanks for reading, Neil!!
Thank you for creating this wonderland of nature for all of us. Doing yoga as I gaze upon it is one of the great joys of summer, and it gets more delightful each year!
Thank you for finding our sleepy caretaker. He's doing a terrible job, but we love him anyway.
He's not good at keeping the deer away, but the mushrooms love him!
The love is mutual.