Mother Nature Knows Best

Almost every day we grab some “bench time” in our wooded area, where bugs and mosquitos don’t bother us. Regularly, we walk and talk in the yard at dusk. No mosquitos, no mosquito squads, no deterrents, just balance.

Sure, we probably have mosquitos in our yard, but we don’t have a mosquito problem. We probably have inchworms, but we don’t have an inchworm problem and defoliated trees. We attribute our relatively pest-free, annoyance-free environment to the large variety of plants in the yard and the absence of standing water. 

Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle' and Hypericum calycinum

Plants, especially natives, invite wildlife… bugs eat plants (hardly noticeable), bugs eat bugs, birds eat bugs, wildlife eats bugs, and nature takes care of itself. We leave it alone. Our yard hosts circles of life within a massive food web, and we don’t attempt to control it. Mother Nature does a fine job by herself.

Rudbeckia laciniata 'Herbstonne'

Ladybug feeding on aphids

Builders, landscapers (designers, too!), and homeowners routinely plan for the disturbance and manipulation of the land with every new housing and commercial development. We clear-cut, plant a few trees and shrubs (mostly non-native) with lots and lots of lawn, and then maintain, or pay someone to maintain, this very sterile environment where stinging and biting pests run amok. We’ve disturbed the balance, can’t put it back, and can’t sit outside without inviting the mosquito squads and exterminators to help us continue the sterility.

By planting a huge variety of plants in our yards, we create wildlife highways and byways and attract a huge variety of insect and animal species, which can take care of themselves and keep annoying pests and disease at bay without our help. It’s a bug-eat-bug world out there if we plant the food they need (native plants) and let them be.

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey', Cornus sericea 'Silver and Gold', Hypericum calycinum