Balance is the key to having a healthy landscape ecosystem

I love plants — most of them (not invasive species). I love introduced plants (which have been around for years, some good, some bad), and I love trialing new introductions.

I evaluate annual and perennial varieties each year and include information back to the company regarding those that attract pollinators.

I try to help people understand how to attract pollinators in an already established landscape.

My job is to provide people with research-based information to make informed decisions.

If you follow my column, I promote healthy landscapes overall. Not everyone is ready or desires an all native plant landscape. My job is to provide research-based information to allow people to make their own decisions about gardens, lawns, plants, pests, etc.

Some thought I was praising lawns in my recent article. Lawns have value, and some make people feel guilty for having a lawn. Some take great pride in their lawn. Where would my grandkids play baseball if not on the lawn? The point is, individuals all have their own “gardening” philosophy.

My columns are about balance. People may not be likely to plant all native plants, but we can encourage them to at least plant something for pollinators to improve the ecosystem.

A landscape with all native plants growing in a prairie or meadow provides a great home for others in our environment besides pollinators. Rodents, ticks, and more thrive in this environment.

Having just returned from the Ohio Tick Symposium, listening to researchers, docs, and others talk about ticks and their diseases, I am concerned about tick populations. We all need to be tick-smart.

Ticks hang out in turf, and they thrive in these native plantings, such as meadows and prairies. Tick populations are increasing in Ohio. I am not saying that you shouldn’t have a prairie or meadow planting, but rather be aware of the ecosystem.

I have a small prairie where the dogs love to hunt mice and smell for deer. Each time the dogs come out of there, we check for ticks.

It’s about balance — a balance between a healthy landscape for pollinators and something that one can maintain and love.

Landscapes that are all native may be great for pollinators and other creatures, but may not work for some people. That’s ok. And landscapes that are well-maintained and have lawns may be preferred by some.

Those who don’t want a native landscape are not wrong or bad people. Let’s start by encouraging them to plant something beneficial for pollinators rather than judging them for not planting native plants.

I would love to read the research that shows it would be better if Americans grew native plants instead of lawns. Please send it to me!

I have absolutely nothing against native plants. I have quite a few of them, some of which are overly unruly and have been extricated! I have a quarter-acre prairie. I focus on bringing in as many pollinators as I can.​

Again, it is a balance between helping the pollinators and having the landscape that you love. Let’s encourage people to plant something for pollinators! It doesn’t have to be all native plants, as long as everyone does something.