Native Plant Garden Design, Installation and Maintenance
Native Plant Solutions for Your Garden. Specializing in small-scale, low-maintenance gardens that sustain insects, wildlife, and the soul. Operating in Madison, WI and surrounding areas.
At Bee Balm Wildscapes we believe that every yard is an opportunity to create habitat for wildlife. Whether you are looking to add native plants to an existing garden, turn some of your yard into a new native plant garden, or need help maintaining an existing native plant garden, we can help. If you have found your spot too shady, too wet, too hot, too dry, too difficult – don’t lose hope! There are native plants for every garden and budget. Contact us today for a consultation on solutions for your site!
“...we humans have disrupted natural habitats in so many ways and in so many places that the future of our nation's biodiversity is dim unless we start to share the places in which we live --our cities and, to an even greater extent, our suburbs -- with the plants and animals that evolved there”
― Douglas Tallamy
Why Native Plants?
Habitat loss is talked about as a thing that happens elsewhere. But since the colonization of North America most of our country’s land has been converted from wild spaces to cities, suburbs, and farm fields. Very little is left for wildlife. The landscaping in our cities and suburbs exacerbates this problem. Insects need plants to eat, but most insects evolved to eat only a limited range of plants. When we use non-native plants in our gardens these specialized insects have nothing to eat. 96% of American bird species feed their babies insects (mostly caterpillars) – and if there are fewer insects then there are fewer caterpillars and birds’ reproductive success declines. Populations dwindle. Plant, bird, insect, and mammal species go extinct. The biodiversity of our planet faces a crisis.
The problem is big but the solution is simple – grow native plants! Replace lawn with gardens. Plant native bushes and trees. Make small changes to garden management practices that protect insects (and often mean less work for the homeowner!). Celebrate insects in the garden. Support pollinators. See how a vibrant, busy garden full of color and life and activity can soothe a weary soul. There is so much environmental bad news. Planting native plant gardens and reducing lawn size is the best way that many of us have to make a direct, tangible impact.
Why "Wildscapes"?
We believe that garden design should go beyond aesthetics and must also support wildlife. This can be as simple as maintaining a traditional “look” while using native plants. But if desired you can go further – move from the order of a traditional garden into something wilder. Let plants move and shift and grow as they want. Wait to remove old leaves until spring. Create nooks and crannies for wildlife to hide. Allow parts of your space to be taken over by the lush growth of plants. Create a scrap of prairie or woodland. Sit in your backyard and watch native wasps pollinate flowers and birds forage for caterpillars. When a leaf gets eaten, instead of seeing a problem, flip the leaf over to see if you can find the muncher hiding underneath. Recognize that we are all part of a chaotic web of life, of things eating and being eaten. Salve your soul with a moment of nature in your own backyard.