Suburban DIY Pollinator Gardens

I first fell in love with ecological landscaping when trying to improve drainage, stabilize our sloping suburban backyard and create productive space for edible and native perennials. The yard was full of invasive nonnative plants (a huge Japanese honeysuckle hedge, lots of star of Bethlehem and wintercreeper) that we had to dig out and cut down. Every time it rained, we ended up with a muddy, mucky mess that our dog and our small kids tracked into the house.

By carefully selecting native plants, shrubs and understory trees, we beautified our property while improving soil quality and reducing rainwater runoff. The deep roots of the native plants broke up the hardpan clay and soaked up rainfall to reduce runoff.

We planted out the existing concrete beds with Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) and False Blue Indigo (Baptisia australis) for understory shrubs and massed plantings. Elderberry is a powerhouse native shrub with beautiful multi-season interest. In the spring it blossoms into clouds of creamy white elderflower with a lemony scent in large flat clusters. Elderberry fruit is commonly known for its therapeutic and ecological benefits. We know of 35 species of native birds that eat elderberry; many other wildlife love the drupes, too. Elderberry syrup is often made for medicinal purposes but elderberries can also be made into pies, wine, jellies and jams (Gladstar).

We planted sun-loving native perennials in the existing concrete beds to for beauty and ecological function.

This DIY suburban garden features 40+ Missouri native perennials and a large Cypress raised bed for herbs. This beautiful outdoor space supports many species of birds, butterflies and other pollinators.