A couple of years ago I was in a webinar led by Doug where he presented the same information and it changed my landscaping ideas so drastically. I'm renting now and I can't do much in the yard right now, but when I have a yard again I will be following these concepts. As it is, I get to design smaller redoes and fill-in plantings and as much as I can I put natives in most of them.
You can join Homegrown National Park and add to the map of native plantings.

Stop the apocalypse!

The video is way too long... But there were a few concepts worth searching while video was playing...

There are two types of keystone plants:
1) Host plants that feed the young caterpillars of approximately 90% of butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera).
2) Plants that feed specialist bees who only eat pollen from specific plants. Keystone plants for native bees feed both specialist and generalist bees.

Alot of info related to keystone plants on National Wildlife Federation site:
https://www.nwf.org/search?col...

Doug is the source for the NWF information.
Sometimes it takes all that information to convince people to do something. And the things they need to do.
So plant some keystones and put them on the map.

I will look into this. It is so confusing to look at my half acre and figure out just what is best to plant, for nature.

You're in the same ecoregion as I am...
https://www.nwf.org/-/media/Do...

Pretty impressive that oaks are supposed to host 436 different caterpillars!
I have a yard full of oak...

Goldenrod provides pollen for 42 different bees!
And the woodland perennial sunflowers!

I'm seeing bees and butterflies at my house... Even saw a ladybug yesterday!

Easier at my house, where I'm not starting from a big patch of turf... Where I've left all the natural stuff growing... (except for where I've turned soil to grow veggies... And... even there... left stuff standing...)

For me... a case of walking around with the plant list to identify all the keystone plants that are already here...

I liked how in the video... Dude pooh poohed those bozos that insist that there's something wrong with black walnuts....

And... how we should plant lots of the trees affected by the imported diseases in hopes of discovering tolerance...

Goldenrod does seem valuable, one of the last things blooming at the end of the year. Always TONS of flying things of all kinds on them when they bloom. I like having a few for the flowers, and because so many critters are so interested in them.

I don't know why Baccharis isn't a more popular "tiny tree" for those who landscape just for appearance. It's not that different from those Pieris (andromeda) shrubs that get so much praise. I get a Baccharis now and then, but they don't seem to live long. (Or is DH just taking them out when I'm not looking?)

I do love his message. I get a lot of bees in my yard since most of my neighbors have few to no supportive plants. So I do find having a base of generalist plants important to cover the tons of honeybees and the common eastern bumblebee I get. Also, to help the timid ones who get bullied by the more aggressive visitors.

I've not seen the NWF keystone material before. What a fantastic resource. Thanks!

Check out the Homegrown National Park site for more.

Is this it?
https://homegrownnationalpark....

Yes, that's the site.

Thanks for this tread
I looked at the sight would like to sign up ....but I am tech challenged, and I can read but cant figure how to sigh up

....I think I have had the mind set all my life , I feel I should be sharing the planet and not taking up more than my fair share .

My Mom (94) says: we only borrow the land and should leave it better than we received it .

gardengus said: we only borrow the land and should leave it better than we received it .

Well said, mom! I don't know anybody who doesn't agree with that.

To use the native plant finder, and to locate specific lepidoptera that use each plant requires giving site location info... that's irritating...

But once that's done, you can go to each individual plant and see butterflies that use as host... like the evening primrose for instance...
https://nativeplantfinder.nwf....

Amazing how many of these animals only use evening primrose!

While pictures aren't on site yet... googling for the pics is showing me butterflies that I've seen around... so... that's kinda cool...

My usual methodology of knowing which butterflies used specific plants was to catch them laying eggs...

I have decided to collect primrose seeds this year and put them in the pasture .
I have several that just come up in the flower beds and would rather they colonize the pasture.

also a rabbit trail from above sight has compelled me to throw my dead (Trapped) mice outside in hopes I have burring beetles or at least the birds might benefit. Margret Roach said she saw small birds pulling the fur off the dead mice ? Assuming for nesting material.

Still learning new things

Check this blog post!
https://blog.wfsu.org/blog-coa...

Dude does a decent job explaining Doug Tallamy's concept without forcing us to sit through a long video.

And goes on to show how it applies to his Florida garden with tweaks to suit his particular tastes...