Shoutout to hitting 50 types of native plants in my yard this spring

I started trying to add more native plants to my backyard about 2 years ago. Nothing big, just swapped out some old bushes and added a few wildflowers. This spring I took a real count for the first time. I was shocked when I hit 50 different species. That number really surprised me because I didn't think I'd get past 20 or so. The thing that mattered most is seeing how many more bees and butterflies show up now. I even spotted a kind of moth I had never seen around here before. Has anyone else noticed a big jump in wildlife after hitting a certain number of native plants?

2 comments

2 Comments

hall.charles28d ago

Oh man, that is seriously awesome! 50 is a solid milestone, I feel like most people barely crack a dozen. I bet that moth was something special, those little surprises are the best part of this whole thing. It's pretty wild how fast it all adds up once you start paying attention.

reeselewis28d ago

You know what really gets me about that moth sighting, @hall.charles? It's not just that it was a surprise. It's that nobody talks about how the common ones you see every day actually teach you the most about local ecosystems. Like, I've been watching this one plain brown skipper in my yard for weeks, and now I can tell exactly which flowers it visits at what time of day. That moth probably showed you patterns you never noticed before. Those everyday sightings build up to something bigger than just a number on a list.