Kim Eierman interview:
You've probably noticed more wasps or yellow jackets buzzing around. This time of the year they're getting themselves ready for the next few months. Those insects and others are known as pollinators, species that are a key to our food chain.
Recently a New York-based environmental horticulturalist and native landscape designer released a book designed to help property owners get involved in the battle to save the rapidly dwindling numbers of pollinators. Kim Eierman has written the "Pollinator Victory Garden". The book details how a patch of your yard can be converted from what she calls a 'green desert'--your lawn--to a spot that is full of bloom and pollinators.
Among dozens of tips, Eierman says one mistake gardeners make is to have plants all bloom at once, leaving pollinators much less to live on as the season progresses..
"A landscape of just flowers in only a floral bouquet. You've go to provide the habitat too. That's a component most people don't think of. That succession of bloom from spring to fall or year round if you have that opportunity is super important..."
Among the dozens of points she makes in her book: honey bees are not native to the U.S. and species that live here for a long time never become natives.
The interview above contains much more information. Give it a listen.
