This was a dry year in southeast Nebraska. Watering plants and keeping the water features full was a priority this year in the Cherry Creek Habitat.
Looking at the data, we are on target to have more moisture that 2022. The University of Nebraska at Lincoln, Weather and Climate keeps monthly and annual precipitation totals (in inches) since 1887.
The Cherry Creek Pollinator Habitat is 10 years old! In the fall of 2012, Soni Cochran and I attended “Becoming an Outdoors Woman” program in Halsey, Nebraska sponsored by Nebraska Game and Parks. One of the sessions focused on the challenges of increasing our native pollinator population. We left the session with a handmade native bee nest box and motivation to spread the message about the importance of encouraging native pollinators in our community.
In the spring of 2013, we asked our then unit leader if we could transform the underutilized space behind the Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County office into a native pollinator and wildlife habitat. The journey began and it is amazing to see how much we have accomplished and learned during this time.
A few of our accomplishments include: two educational signs, solitary bee house, two insect hotels, five water stations, over 40 native plants with name labels, over 100 stems of common milkweed for monarchs & other beneficial insects and became a Nebraska Pollinator Habitat Certification Program site member.
Cherry Creek Pollinator Habitat Summer 2015
The habitat is a great place to teach youth, adults, Master Gardeners and even our own staff about the importance of pollinators. Every time I visit the habitat I see or learn something new.
In 2014, Soni planted one sawtooth sunflower (Helianthus grosseserratus) in the center of the Cherry Creek Habitat. This sunflower grows in tight colonies and reaches 3-5 feet tall. Unfortunately, it began to spread and I was afraid it would take over the whole habitat. Thankfully it has not, but it did overtake all the Liatris we had planted. I am impressed with hoary vervain (Verbena stricta) and wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa). Both have done well and not been over taken by the sawtooth sunflower. All three plants are long bloomers and visited heavily by native bees.
Sawtooth sunflowerHoary vervainMonarda
In 2014 we also added native grasses. Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans) has done very well. This prairie tallgrass forms upright clumps with blue-green foliage. The beautiful seed heads tower over me, 6 – 7 feet tall. It has spread more than I like, but mainly in an area where there was poor quality fill soil. In the late fall and winter, the deer rest in this area when it snows.
Indiangrass
We struggle to provide spring blooming plants for our early pollinators. Spring flowering bulbs do not do well in our poor quality clay soil and wildlife like to feed on them. Thankfully, we have spring flowering trees that provide early blooms: Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis), wild plum (Prunus americana) and peachleaf willow (Salix amygdaloides).
Wild plum
Several volunteer trees and shrubs try to get established in our habitat. It is important to remove them when they are young seedlings and not allow them to get established in our native flower area. Gray dogwood (Cornus racemose), autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata), red mulberry (Morus rubra), green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica), and eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoids) have been removed from the habitat.
Soni and I attended a workshop by Dr. Ted Burk with the Department of Biology at Creighton University. He and his students have done butterfly and plant species research for eight years at Allwine and Bauermeister Prairies. They developed a list of plants found in Nebraska that attract butterflies. At the top of the list was tall thistle. We immediately decided we needed to add this plant to the Cherry Creek habitat. We had learned tall thistle (Cirsium altissimum) is a native plant and biennial. Not a noxious weed menace like musk thistle (Carduus nutans). We knew we would be criticized for this selection. Soni and I understood, we were both former farm kids and spent our summers rogueing out thistles and other weeds. We transplanted one plant and waited for it to bloom. When that day arrived we were in awe of the insects that were visiting the flowers. Swallowtails, bumblebees and native bees we had never seen before. It did not take long for others to notice the blooming thistle and they were not happy. One fellow staff member, who was a former farm kid too, showed up at my office door with a spade and said they were on their way to dig it out. I was ready and calmly explained the difference between tall and musk thistle. I explained tall thistle was a native thistle and was not on the noxious weed list. I showed them how to tell the difference and explained we had all been mislead growing up that ALL thistles were bad. Thankfully they backed down and today many tall thistles are growing in the Cherry Creek Pollinator Habitat.
Black swallowtail butterfly on tall thistle.
It has been a rewarding and educational experience for me to help create and manage the Cherry Creek Pollinator Habitat. I am happy to share what I learn.
Goldenrod is blooming in the Cherry Creek pollinator habitat. This late summer and fall blooming perennial of the Compositae family, is native to North America, where there is well over 50 species. They have mostly wand like stems, variously shaped leaves and heads of small yellow flowers. Because they are such common plants in rural areas, some people may think of goldenrods as weedy and unsuitable for the flower garden. Most of these plants are striking in appearance.
These low maintenance, nearly pest free plants deserve a place in your pollinator habitat. This time of year you can find bees, bumblebees, butterflies, moths, wasps, beetles and flies all visiting the flowers on this beautiful plant. Goldenrods make nice border plants or do well in a wildflower or prairie garden setting. Goldenrods do not cause hayfever. Their pollen is too heavy to be carried by the wind. Ragweed, which inconspicuously blooms at the same time, is the culprit.
Pollinator Week is an international celebration of the valuable ecosystem services provided by bees, birds, butterflies, bats and beetles. The week of June 19-25 will spotlight a unique opportunity to learn about some fascinating and important animals, the pollinators.
Tiger swallowtail on Monarda
Often overlooked or misunderstood, pollinators are in fact responsible for 1 out of every 3 bites of food that we eat. Beginning in 2006, pollinators started to decline rapidly in numbers. Participating in Pollinator Week can help save these important animals.
MJ Frogge
What you can do to help pollinators:
Educated yourself on pollinators that live in your area.
In May, I replace a row of nesting blocks in the Cherry Creek Pollinator Habitat solitary bee house. I checked the blocks the end of July to look for nesting activity. The leaf cutter bees have been very active! Leafcutter bees will snip discs of leaf material, about a quarter inch, from ash trees or roses. They take the leaf discs and fold them to construct small tube shaped nests inside pieces of wood or holes in trees. Inside of each cell an egg is placed with some pollen.
Happy Pollinator Week! This week our office is hosting 4-H Clover College. Twelve youth signed up for my session called Pollinator Party. We discussed what crops need pollinators. They looked at the list and circled foods they eat. I then asked them to highlighted a favorite food. I asked how they would feel if they could never have that food again. The shocked look on their faces was clear. They are starting to understand the importance of pollinators.
It was a beautiful day to be out in the Cherry Creek Pollinator Habitat. They notice the native flowers that were blooming. Many were fascinated by the solitary bee house and watching the leaf cutter bees fill the holes that were drilled in the wood blocks. They planted dill and zinnia seeds to benefit caterpillars and butterflies.
After exploring the habitat, each youth made a solitary bee tube house to take home and place in their landscape. It was a fun morning and by the end of the session, the kids had a better understanding of our native pollinators and how their habitat is important to protect.
Cup plant is a native perennial that is 3-6 feet tall with numerous large, yellow composite flowers. The leaves are joined at stem to form a small cup that holds water that attracts insects and birds. We have several cup plants in the Cherry Creek Pollinator Habitat. It started flowering in early July and is still blooming. This would be a great addition to any pollinator habitat.
I had the chance to visit the Backyard Farmer Garden this month. The garden is located in the center of University of Nebraska-Lincoln, East Campus.
It is a great place to explore, see All America Selection (AAS) winners and view great gardening techniques. This teaching garden is also a pollinator habitat. Here are a few plants I found:
Dill, Anethum graveolens– great plant for swallowtail caterpillars.
Compass plant, Silphium laciniatum– native plant with yellow flowers, for bees and butterflies.
Joe-pye weed, Eutrochium purpureum– Tall, late summer blooming perennial, for bees.
Gay feather, Liatris spicata– Purple prairie plant for bumble bees.
Hope you can take time to visit this wonderful garden.
Happy Pollinator Week! Leafcutter bees are active in the Cherry Creek Pollinator Habitat. Leafcutter bees are important pollinators and are members of the family Megachilidae. I added new blocks and paper straws for leafcutter bees in the solitary bee house. You know you have leafcutter bees in your landscape when you see the discs of leaves that are snipped from nearby plants. The damage is very minimal and will not harm the plants. Leafcutter bees are not aggressive, so you can safely be close and watch them work.
The Buzz at Cherry Creek 