Supporting Local Fauna by Flora
"Pileated Woodpecker (26378150815)" by Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
In my childhood home, my parents were able to create a wonderful ecosystem of plants and animals.
A wide variety of wildlife can be found on the land, particularly among birds and insects. The bird species present include blue jays, downy and pileated woodpeckers, hummingbirds (which migrate every year and are supported by the sustained environment we maintain) peregrine falcons, robins, magpies, barn swallows, burrowing owls, doves, sparrows, pigeons, ravens, and American redstarts.
"Monarch Butterfly" by docentjoyce is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
In addition to birdlife, there is also a diverse population of insects, including bumble bees, honey bees, a variety of spiders including cat face spiders, tippy bugs, and various butterflies such as monarchs, as well as multiple species of moths and ladybugs. This range of species reflects a healthy and supported ecosystem.
The way my family was able to help support these birds and insects is through landscaping, planting perennials, and planting and over wintering annuals.
The land itself had a mature oak canopy when it was bought. My family since then has planted an ash tree, cherry trees, a choke cherry tree, an apple tree, a butterfly bush, lilac bushes, honeysuckle bushes, and carraganas.
Extensive landscaping was done for the purpose to benefit airflow and sheltering to the house. This included creating burms to reduce noise from traffic as well as shield the plants from salt from the road.
The land currently has many different perennials, some of which were present when it was bought, but most of which have been planted since then. The list includes hydrangeas (which do not require watering more than rain), azaleas, sedums, a wild rose bush, day lilies, lilly of the valley, tiger lilies, siberian lilies, multiple varieties of irises, tulips, astilbes, multiple hostas, hyssops, virginia creepers, russian sage, crocus, columbine, bleeding hearts, spireas, bishop weeds, peonies, blue strife, saliva, multiple varieties of ferns, and mint (hardy to -40 Winnipeg winters).
"Snow-on-the-mountain" by USFWS Headquarters is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
In addition to perennials, there are multiple annuals too: Pansies, canna lillies, snow on the mountain, marigolds, zinnias, bachelor buttons, petunias, german ivy, begonias, wandering “dude”. All are overwintered or harvested for seeds.
There are no bird feeders. Despite being located within city limits, the plantings have provided a viable micro ecosystem to sustain the birds and insects which frequent the land.
Many city dwellers can achieve this same assortment of plants which enable the ecosystem of birds and insects to thrive. Simply planning and planting an assortment of Winnipeg hardy trees and perennials will greatly help, but overwintering and harvesting seeds of annuals may be a little more difficult.
An easy way to get into having repeat annuals is to start small. Marigolds are a perfect gateway annual.
"Marigold" by Jim, the Photographer is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
How to harvest marigolds for seeds:
Scissors, a knife, or long finger nails
A baking sheet or flat surface able to be located in a lit, dry area
Containers to hold the seeds
A cool, dry place to keep the containers
When your marigold flowers, the flower will last for a week or so.
"Collecting the marigold seeds to plant next summer" by planeta is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
Once the flower becomes dry and shrivelled up, you do what's called 'deadheading'. This simply means that you cut off the dead flower (with either the scissors, knife, or your nail).
Then you will put the flowers heads on the flat surface or baking tray, and wait for them to dry further. This may take several days.
By the time the flower heads are dried, they will be much more muted colours and brittle to the touch. At this point, you can pull the petals out of what is called the sepal (the previously green, now brown portion which attached the flower head to the stem). When you pull out the petals, the seeds will follow as the two are attached together. If there are seeds inside the sepal even with all the petals removed, simply roll the sepal between your fingers to dislodge them.
"Married to the Gold" by FeatheredTar is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
The seeds (the black and white needle-like in appearance portion) should be separated from the petals. The petals can be used fresh or completely dried as tea, or you can compost them.
The seeds should then be stored once they are completely dry in any container of your choosing. My family puts our seeds in used plastic or glass containers.
You then want to store those seeds in a cool, dry place until you are ready to replant them.
For efficiency, instead of doing this process every time you see a flower is ready to be processed, simply continually dead head the flowers and store them on your tray or flat surface, and remove the seeds from all of them at the end of the plant's flowering period.
Although plants like canna lillies, snow on the mountain, petunias, and vines have different overwintering and seed harvesting methods, similar steps to those of marigolds can be followed for zinnias and bachelor buttons.
