Metamorphosis
I have been adding native plant species, water supplies, food, and shelter to my one-acre property for nearly a decade. The speed in which native birds and insects find these resources is amazing. As a nature photographer, I have documented many of the visitors to my backyard. All images on Super Naturalist.net were taken on my property.
My fascination with nature started as a youngster watching giant insect invasion movies on "Creature Feature". I missed the films' cautionary tale of nuclear proliferation; instead, I wanted to know more about the ants and praying mantises in the movies.
I found them in my backyard.
Those insects in the rotting stump and the creatures living under a rock led to an interest in gardening. My grandfather, a master gardener, taught me how to grow a productive vegetable garden. This is where I split with the gardening ethic of the day.
In my garden, there would be no insecticides.
I had never heard of organic gardening, but I knew that insecticides killed the "good" bugs with "bad" bugs. At the time, the cultural norm was "all bugs are bad," and homeowners launched chemical weapons to keep them from their yards! My gardening organizing principle was that the natural predator/prey cycle would replace chemical poisons.
Allowing natural predators to control the pests did not reduce the productivity of my garden. However, on one memorable occasion, my mother was boiling garden vegetables and lurched backward screaming, "the broccoli has legs!". I ran to the stove and saw cabbage butterfly caterpillars bobbing in the pot of boiling water. I was the only one eating broccoli that night.
As a homeowner, my interest in organic gardening intensified. I stopped using chemical fertilizers and began composting kitchen and yard waste. I read Organic Gardening magazine and books about nature conservation. I wanted my backyard to be a wildlife haven. To my surprise, my neighbors felt the same way but did not know where to start.
This website is dedicated to homeowners seeking a backyard landscaping design, gardening philosophy, and a step-by-step guide to inviting nature to your property.
I hope you find Super naturalist.net useful and join me in creating a backyard habitat for our native species.
