In August of 2023 Habitat HP held our first-ever garden tour. We had a wonderful turnout and met lots of neighbors from HP and beyond. Guests enjoyed a beautiful afternoon in the gardens and learned a thing or 2 about pollinator habitat. It was encouraging to talk with so many people who are already incorporating natives into their spaces. Visitors went home inspired to help our town earn National Wildlife Certification as a Community Wildlife Habitat.

If you missed the in-person tour, enjoy the virtual tour below.

What is sustainable gardening? The process of combining organic gardening practices, native plants and resource conservation to create as little negative impact on the earth as possible.  It’s easier to implement than you might think, and many of our neighbors are already enjoying the benefits of their efforts. Check out this Lake County Forest Preserves page for more info. If you’d like to join the Habitat HP team email us here.

Some 30 years ago, Sue and Chris started volunteering for natural areas restoration work days through The Nature Conservancy’s Volunteer Stewardship Network at various forest preserve properties, going on to become the Volunteer Stewards at Berkeley Prairie.  They also developed a passion for natural gardening with native plants. Their gardens have been evolving ever since.

When asked why we should be trying to protect pollinators with our gardens, Chris answers “because pollinators are a beautiful and essential part of the natural world and in serious decline.”  When asked about his favorite plant, Chris responds:  “The oak tree.”  Why oak trees in particular?  Because oak trees are a host plant for 436 caterpillars, which in turn provide food for birds. In addition, the acorns provide food for birds and many mammals.

In thinking about conversations with neighbors who stop by to check out his pollinator gardens, Chris thinks the most important message he tries to share is the importance of passing on knowledge about native plants and pollinators to children so they grow up experiencing the wonders of nature.

Some of the most valuable sources with articles on the dangers of pesticides, how to choose plants by size and color, best planting locations and the huge variety of native plants to consider for any garden, can be found in communications published by Wild Ones, Xerces Society and Doug Tallamy’s website Home Grown National Park, along with his classic book, Nature’s Best Hope.  Some of Sue and Chris’s favorite plants – Monarda (Monarda fistulosa), a pollinator favorite, and Royal Catchfly (Silene regia), a hummingbird magnet!

Jenny and Jay started thinking about the benefits of native plant gardening while living in Portland, Oregon, in a “hippy, dippy” environment.  They soon developed an appreciation for the critical role native plants play in their support of insects and birds. They believe that beautiful gardens, rather than large lawns, can help save our biodiversity environment, which is under siege from climate change. They started by transforming one corner of their yard and are gradually working their way around the property to increase habitat space each year. Five years of native plant gardening have produced a variety of fun plants for experimentation and enjoyment. This year, they are beginning their journey to remove invasive buckthorn and plan to split the mature plants from the pollinator garden to  help re-wild the rest of their yard, it’s like having a built in nursery!

Native plants use less water than standard cultivars because of their deep roots. Jenny and Jay feel strongly that native plants and pollinator support are critical for healthy food systems that depend upon healthy biodiversity.  The intentionally incorporated edibles such as serviceberry and aronia and try to enjoy the fruits before the birds get to them. With a modest little bird bath that adds water to the “menu,” they also attract year-round bird activity.  Who doesn’t like to watch birds taking turns splashing around or darting around with seeds in their beaks?

James and Fritz moved to Highland Park in 2020, and they knew from the get-go that they wanted to create a native habitat. By the end of their first year, they had established scores of plants in several different zones of their yard; each year since, they have expanded all the zones. By this year, only three years from their starting point, they have nurtured over 100 unique native plant species. The garden has become a much-needed haven for dozens of species of birds, mammals, important butterfly and bee pollinators, and fireflies, an environmentally essential “gateway bug.”! The impact of their project has drawn positive attention from neighbors as well as national wildlife conservation bodies, including certification by the National Wildlife Federation and Openlands.

A close friend recently asked James why he had decided to create a native habitat. James response: “we realized we could either have a typical ‘monoculture’ lawn that weakens or destroys the environment or we could restore and nurture our own little parcel of nature. That, in a nutshell, has been our advice to friends and neighbors. We constantly have neighbors stop to admire our garden and ask questions about how we have gone about it. One even asked if she could come and harvest some of our plants’ seeds to start something similar in her own yard. That has been very heartening.”

James and Fritz’s favorite plant?  St. John’s Wart.

Andy developed an interest in sustainable gardening 50 years ago when she and her family moved into their current home.  It was NO to pesticides and “green” lawn services from the beginning, then a journey of reducing the lawn in the front yard, shovel by shovel.  Volunteering at Heller Nature Center provided a great opportunity to learn about natives. 

 Andy and husband Rich started thinking about furthering the garden journey when the kids were gone and it was time to re-purpose the sandbox and the expanse of back lawn.   Andy contacted a landscape architect who served as a Park District volunteer “prairie steward” for ideas about how to design their back yard around native plants.  Starting with a plan that changed significantly over time, their garden has since become a magnet for pollinators of all kinds, a place for birds, butterflies, and serenity.

Even before the official plan for the backyard, came the war on Buckthorn followed by an attack on Garlic Mustard.  Over the years they’ve remained alert to all kinds of invasive visitors.  They recommend planting things you love and be prepared to try different things from year to year.  No guarantees and lots of surprises.  The garden path leads to so many different delights.

 Diversity is very important, as is successive blooming from early spring to fall.  To Andy, the garden provides a connection to the health of the community and to the health of the planet.

 What is Andy’s advice to fellow Highland Park residents who are thinking about “re-wilding“ part of their lawns?  Experiment, be positive, and expect surprises!