Waterford garden a haven for wildlife and humans – theday.com

Waterford A ruby throated hummingbirdflittedabove a black and blue salvia plant in Vanessa Bunnell's backyard Friday morning.

Out front, a monarch butterfly hovered on a garden phlox and bumble bees buzzed around several varieties of hydrangea.

Within a year of moving into a Cape on Stone Street with her husband, Jeremy, and two children, Bunnell has created a habitat for butterflies, bees and otherwildlifethat has been certified by both the National Wildlife Federation and North American Butterfly Association.

She developed her love for gardening while growing up in the Salem home of her parents, Sarah and Ed Emerson. She worked for a local farmer as a teen andcontinues to develop her skills through her work at Smith Acres garden center in Niantic and as a garden consultant.

Bunnell, who is 39,has a group of longtime friends who share a love of gardening and jokewith one anotherabout just how many more plants they can possibly fit on their properties.

"I love art, too, and feel like the structure of a landscape gives you the opportunity to use that creativity," she said.

She transformed the front yard, which gets full sun, from a blank canvas, with just a few plants lining the foundation, to a colorful, balanced and soothing space.

Bunnell said sheused her favorite trowel to dig the border gardens and planted a mix of perennials, which will return year after year, and annuals, whichadd color and interest for just one growing season.

She placed among the plants stone birdbaths and bee and butterfly feeders containing fresh water and fruit. Orange slices and overripe bananas work well to attract butterflies, she said, noting that right now, monarch caterpillars are hatching and it's important to provide food for them when they emerge from their cocoons. It's also important that the bees and butterflies have a place to land on a feeder that is above the water.

The Bunnells are working to transform the fenced-in backyard into a haven for wildlife and humans alike.The lawn has been replaced by stone, and Bunnell added flowering plants as well as wood containers of perennial grasses.

Bunnell said some gardeners tend to overplant their landscapes as they seek instant gratification, but she prefers her plants to have space so they can grow together and look good. She said she sometimes leaves a plantin a potential spot for a week to see how it will work out.

"We can look at a tag and see size, shape and color, but it's so variable," she said. "Sometimes what works in a garden one year cannot work the next year."

To get certified, she sent photographs and descriptions of the gardens to the two organizations and met the requirement of having three "feeder" plants that provide nectar to wildlife and three plants that attract pollinators.

She wrote in her application that she hadcreated a landscape that provides all-season food, nectar and cover for wildlife using early to late blooming native plants, includingearly blooming irises and lily of the valley, summer bloomers nepeta, butterfly weed, coreopsis, rudbeckia and echinacea, and late bloomers such as Shasta daisies, grasses and sedums.

With a mix of evergreens, like pines, junipers, boxwoods, rhododendrons, azaleas and inkberries, she said the yardprovides cover for a variety of wildlife.

Bunnell said sustainable practices are a big thing with the National Wildlife Federation, which she said has certified 10,000 gardens nationwide.

Conservation practices include eliminating lawns or reducing their size to save water; controlling exotic species so they don't take over and not using chemical fertilizers. Bunnell said she fertilizes her plants with an organic lobster product that comes from Maine.

She waters her plants by hand to cut down the use of water and chose to plant native species that are more drought tolerant.

Creating wildlife habitats using sustainablegardening practices is something everybody can do, no matter how little or large a space they have to work with.

"Anyone, anywhere can restore wildlife habitat right in their own yards and communities," National Wildlife Federation naturalist David Mizejewski said in a news release. "Whether you garden in a suburban yard, an urban area or a rural plot of land, you can make a difference for local wildlife. Creating a Certified Wildlife Habitat garden is fun, easy and makes a real difference for neighborhood wildlife. It's the perfect grassroots way to think globally and act locally and help birds, butterflies, bees and other wildlife."

k.florin@theday.com

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Waterford garden a haven for wildlife and humans - theday.com