One afternoon in July, I looked out our upstairs bedroom window and saw something surprising—two bright yellow goldfinches were making their way from the prairie beside our driveway across the cul-de-sac to a neighbor’s front-yard garden two houses away, spending moments feeding in one, then returning to the other for a savory taste. Goldfinches visiting our coneflowers, cup plants and other natives is nothing new—their sounds and their flight have filled my summer days for over 20 years. What was new were the connections they were making with our neighbor’s property. There our wonderful friend Tim had cultivated an intricate ornamental garden for years, but without a native plant in site. He spent nearly all his time beautifully plotting it out, pruning, weeding, adding new varieties every year. But stunning as it was, it brought in no visitors of the winged variety. Then, after his death two years ago, something must have changed. His daughters had taken over his legacy and added Echinacea, Black-eyed Susan, and a rather tall spindly plant that I didn’t recognize. It was the latter that was clearly drawing in the goldfinches, as well as shaping a conversation between our yards which had not happened before. The moment was a blessing. Tim had been the kindness of neighbors—taking our children hunting for buckeyes, dropping off firewood, picking up a set of child-size golf clubs for our son from a garage sale. His roses, azaleas and carnations, et al, were exuberant beyond measure. But now, through his grown daughters, to whom he passed along his love of gardening, he brought another gift of life, song and winged color. The perfect beginning of what a pollinator pathway is all about!
-Terry Hermsen
Our favorite -- spiderwort
Our prairie-beside-the-driveway