2020 Winter RVC Insights - Flipbook - Page 9
When asked to name some of her favorite species,
Kathy had a pretty long list, but cautioned how important it is to have a variety of things which bloom very early
in the spring all the way through to the very end of fall.
“There are different species of bees out during each of
the seasons and they all need food to survive.”
In the spring, Kathy enjoys seeing the golden alexander
and prairie smoke. She has four species of milkweeds,
common, butterfly, whorled and swamp. There are a
couple different kinds of asters and goldenrods, but not
the invasive Canadian goldenrod. Kathy said, “Some of
these are quite attractive and the bees just love them.”
Other species in the prairie include a variety of sunflowers, rattlesnake master, purple coneflower, Culver’s root,
liatris blazing star, Virginia mountain mint, baptisia, and
wild quinine. Some of the plants like the dry, more loamy
soil, while others want wetter soil, some even like clay.
“Some varieties want shade, some want sun, so it’s kind
of fun to figure it all out,” Kathy explained.
As far as trees in the prairie, there are a lot of older
cottonwoods and one walnut that is about 15 years old.
The Huffmans planted two younger butternut trees and
about five oak trees, which are all less than five years old.
Kathy mentioned she attended a seminar featuring
Doug Tallamy, a great author who shares his vast knowledge of native plants. He told the group that the oak tree
is actually the number one tree for supporting insects
and caterpillars, supporting about 400 different species.
Compared to invasive Russian or autumn olive-type of
trees, which support zero species. Kathy stated, “The
Callery Pear, that a lot of people are planting, is a
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Many bees living at Rest-A-Bit call this bee hotel home.
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