Changing the Landscape for Nature is Worth the Discomfort

There's a big difference between having a static traditionally landscaped yard where maintaining the same look is the goal, and a dynamic rewilded yard where accepting the inevitability of change is part of managing it. Change can be hard and messy but is still worth pushing through. I took a life changing compassion based meditation course about a dozen years ago and every time I'm faced with a change that results in loss of some sort, even if it’s a good thing, I return to the idea that aligning our expectations with the realities that come with change is crucial for our well-being.

The first landscape is well maintained but flat and lifeless with little habitat support for wildlife. The rewilded yard is mine and is also cared for but offers a rich, biodiverse and dynamic habitat for wildlife that requires accepting change as part of the package.

About five years ago we cut down two of four large crepe myrtles along our side fence because they no longer fit our ecologically aligned landscape. They took up a lot of valuable real estate in our yard. We stopped pruning them when we moved into our home 20 years ago to let the natural form grow out.

This is what the area I'm describing looked like 5 years ago right after we cut down two crepe myrtles and left two standing. You can see how tall the crepe myrtles are!

We only took down two of the giant crepe myrtles so the other two could serve as privacy from a neighbor’s two-story carriage house that didn’t have window coverings. Looking in was unavoidable from our second story window and we felt voyeuristic when we saw our neighbor’s visitors through the windows – and we wanted to open our blinds occasionally.

This is the view from our bedroom window and why we didn't take out this crepe myrtle 5 years ago when we removed two other ones.

Otherwise, the only benefit I've seen crepe myrtles offer to wildlife is a perch for birds; brief cover and protection for wildlife; and sometimes a nesting site in the degraded habitat of lawn focused yards. The flowers offer little to no nectar; their pollen isn’t considered as nutritious as native sources; birds don't like their seeds; and they don’t host native butterfly or moth species.

The only benefit the crepe myrtles seem to offer wildlife in my yard is a place to perch - like this barred owl hunting for prey from one of the crepe myrtles we left standing five years ago.

This winter we took another step in getting rid of the remaining two crepe myrtles and cut down one tree plus half the largest stems of the other one. We didn't take that one completely out because the crepe myrtle and a large non-native loropetalum shrub we also haven’t pruned in twenty years are the only tall shrubs in that section of my yard. Behind them is a brush pile surrounded by a thick layer of leaves that a Carolina wren family used last year to nest in and other critters use as habitat.

Even though they're not native, we left a section of loropetalum and crepe myrtle for habitat support because it's used so much by birds seeking a place to rest, hide, and hunt - like this American robin resting on high up on the loropetalum branches.

I probably should have gutted it out and cut down the fractional crepe myrtle and lorapetalulm duo I left, but I wasn’t quite ready to lose that little bit of habitat support. Sometims incremental change is easier to digest. An American sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) growing right next to them is just about ready to take their place. The sweetgum hosts 36 butterfly and moth caterpillar species including the luna moth and promethea silkmoth. I look forward to it becoming an overstory tree and offering habitat support for future generations of birds, squirrels, and other wildlife.

In addition to putting on a spectacular leaf show in the fall, sweetgum supports dozens of butterfly and moth caterpillars that munch away on the leaves.

As an experiment, I also planted a bunch of native shrubs and trees in this strip to battle it out for space and eventually form a tall mixed hedgerow. For this to happen, more crepe myrtles needed to go. Bare windows weren’t an issue anymore because friendly new neighbors moved in last year and put blinds on the carriage house windows (yay!).

The removal of a crepe myrtle created a space for native trees and shrubs.

My yard is densely planted with native plant communities, and the tree work meant that even though they were careful, a crew of men would destroy some of it in the process of doing their job. It was unavoidable and not possible to remove all the plants around the crepe myrtles before the work, particularly since it was winter and many were dormant. I just meditated to remind myself that this loss was inevitable and worth the discomfort.

I did my best to dig up and set aside some of the native plants growing around the area around the crepe myrtles. This gave me an opportunity to divide them so there would be even more native plants in my yard this year.

Since the carnage, the native plants in this area bounced back more vigorous than ever from all the sun they're getting. I’m positive a 10-foot parsley hawthorn (Crataegus marshallii ) grew another two feet as soon as the crepe myrtle was cut down! It also bloomed for the first time this spring. Hawthorns are fantastic habitat support plants and host 119 species of butterflies and moths in my area according to the National Wildlife Federation site ranking native plants by this metric! In addition to hosting caterpillars, I planted the parsley hawthorn because it has thorns which are a habitat friendly feature for birds to nest in; seek shelter and cover; and make berries for birds to eat.

I don't think it was a coincidence that the parsley hawthorn bloomed for the first time this spring!

An arrowwood viburnum (Viburnum dentatum) that I forgot was even planted in this row also bloomed for the first time this spring. Viburnums host 93 species of butterflies and moths!

I look forward to seeing what birds and other wildlife eat the berries on the arrowwood viburnum!

 I keep mentioning caterpillars because they transfer more energy from plants to animals than any other plant eater in the ecosystem according to Doug Tallamy, an entomologist and thought leader behind the movement to view yards as an opportunity to support wildlife habitat using native plants. Caterpillars also offer the most nutritional value for birds and are the insect most often fed to baby birds. I want as many caterpillars in my yard as possible!

More sun is also helping a twiggy fringetree or grancy greybear (Chionanthus virginicus) fill out a bit. It hosts eleven species of butterfly and moth caterpillars including the Rustic, Banded, and Laurel sphinx moths and the Eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly.

I hope the abundance of native shrubs and trees means an abundance of butterflies and moths in years to come.

 There’s also a spicebush (Lindera benzoin) that also hosts eleven species of butterfly and moth caterpillars including the cartoonish spicebush swallowtail butterfly caterpillars.

This photo is from Jerry F. Butler at the University of Florida. I have another spicebush but have yet to see a caterpillar on it. Maybe now that I'll have two, the butterflies will find them!

Near the hedgerow, native flowering plants, grasses, and sedges are loving all the sun and truly rewilding the area harmed by boots and tools with the help of a consistently wet spring. They will continue to provide a welcoming space for wildlife until the hedgerow dims their light. Change is inevitable and accepting it can be an opportunity for something better.

I've added multiple native plants to mix and mingle along the strip where the crepe myrtles were including scarlet beebalm (monarda didyma), fire pink (silene virginica), Southern shield or wood fern (Dryopteris ludoviciana), partridge pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata), and river oats (Chasmanthium latifolium).

If you have a crepe myrtle – consider making a change by removing it to create more habitat support in your yard or right-of-way. In addition to the plants already mentioned, other native alternatives to crepe myrtle in the Southeast include the following small trees and large shrubs. As a reference and hopefully inspiration, I've listed them in order of the number of butterfly and moth species they host in the metro Atlanta area. You can also check out your local native plant nursery for more options to replace crepe myrtles then see how many caterpillars they host on the National Wildlife Federation site. 317 Chickasaw Plum (Prunus angustifolia) 210 Southern Crab Apple (Malus angustifolia) 119 Hawthorns (Crataegus)

91 Florida dogwood (Cornus florida) 76 Serviceberry (Amelanchier)

48 Smooth Sumac (Rhus glabra)

34 Red buckeye (Aesculus pavia) 12 Pawpaw (Asimina triloba)

12 Redbud (Cercis canadensis)

2 American snowbell (Styrax americanus)

Native trees and shrubs support the local ecosystem in a way crepe myrtles do not.

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