Subject: Indigenous plants

From: [email-masked]
Date: 27 Dec 94 23:49:02 CDT

I am interested in starting a garden on a plot of land less than a
half acre in size in rural Kentucky.  I want to be environmentally
responsible, and I would like to plant things that will attract birds,
butterflies and other small wildlife.  Is planting indigenous plants
and wildflowers a good way to go about this?  I have been to a couple
of bookstores, but I haven't seen any books on the subject (if it
exists).  Can anyone recommend some books?  Also, are there agencies
or other resources I can use to find out what plants are native to my
region?
Thanks for the help!

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From: [email-masked] (Brian Korbelik)
Date: 29 Dec 1994 20:57:12 GMT

>or other resources I can use to find out what plants are native to my

Yes, wildflowers and indigenous plants are a great way to attract
wildlife. I butterfly garden in Southern California and use natives
and have had much success. Two very good books on the subject are:

Butterfly Gardening - Creating Summer Magic in Your Garden
by Xerces Society and Smithsonian Institution
ISBN 0-87156-615-X

Butterflies - How to Identify and Attract Them to Your Garden
by Marcus Schneck
ISBN 0-87857-917-6

Good luck!

Brian Korbelik

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From: [email-masked] (James Lewis)
Date: 1 Jan 1995 10:33:39 -0500

Brian Korbelik ([email-masked]) wrote:
: In article <[email-masked]>,
:  <[email-masked]> wrote:
: >I am interested in starting a garden on a plot of land less than a
: >half acre in size in rural Kentucky.  I want to be environmentally
: >responsible, and I would like to plant things that will attract birds,
: >butterflies and other small wildlife.  Is planting indigenous plants
: >and wildflowers a good way to go about this?  I have been to a couple
: >of bookstores, but I haven't seen any books on the subject (if it
: >exists).  Can anyone recommend some books?  Also, are there agencies
: >or other resources I can use to find out what plants are native to my
: >region?
: >Thanks for the help!
: >

: Yes, wildflowers and indigenous plants are a great way to attract
: wildlife. I butterfly garden in Southern California and use natives
: and have had much success. Two very good books on the subject are:

: Butterfly Gardening - Creating Summer Magic in Your Garden
: by Xerces Society and Smithsonian Institution
: ISBN 0-87156-615-X

: Butterflies - How to Identify and Attract Them to Your Garden
: by Marcus Schneck
: ISBN 0-87857-917-6

: Good luck!

: Brian Korbelik

I would guess that KY has a native plant society.  Your agriculture
extension agent, state ag department, or the ag department at the
university undoubtedly will have contacts.  Many towns (mine included)
now have nurseries that specialize in native plants--and "regular"
nurseries are stocking them more and more often.  The National
Wildlife federation has publications on backyard gardens that attact
birds--and your state fish and game agenciy probably does too.

-- 
Jim Lewis - [email-masked]
 . . . Without ecology . . . there would _be_ no economy.

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From: Bob Klebba <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 3 Jan 1995 15:47:30 GMT

> : >butterflies and other small wildlife.  Is planting
indigenous plants

A lot of plants will attract wildlife, but as you guess
indigenous plants will work best.  If you want to
establish plants native to your corner of Kentucky, I
would recommend collecting seeds of plants in your area. 
This can only be done after learning what is native and
what habitats these natives prefer.  Of course this
requires some work, but is not without its rewards.

I am establishing a prairie on my property and have
discriminated between plants that are native to southern
Wisconsin and those from elsewhere.  For example, purple
coneflower is one of those "natives" in all native
wildflower seed mixes.  But purple coneflower is not
native to Wisconsin.  The pale purple coneflower is the
representative of its genus here.  

As was suggested in other postings on this thread, do look
into groups in your area that promote native plants. 
They'll know how to get you started.

Robert Klebba  USDA zone 4
Nicolet Instruments Corp.
Madison, WI  53744-4451 USA

telephone: +1-608-276-6374
fax: +1-608-273-5046
Inet: [email-masked]

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From: Bob Klebba <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 3 Jan 1995 15:48:44 GMT