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Down the Garden Path: Give your pollinator garden a boost with native keystone species · Kendall County News - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Down the garden path. Give your pollinator garden a boost
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  with native keystone species. This article is being read by
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  an automated voice brought to you by Everlett. Native plants
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  not only help support pollinators, but also filter out pollutants,
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  help build healthy soils and mitigate flooding. Did you know
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  some native plants are considered absolutely vital to their ecosystem.
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  These are called keystone species, and they lay the foundation
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  of the food web in their region. Northern Illinois is
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  part of Eastern Temperate Forests Ecoregion eight, as designated by
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  the us EPA. Let's take a deeper look at a
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  few of the most important keystone plants of our ecoregion.
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  Illinois has twenty one native oak species. They are absolutely
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  crucial to maintaining the ecosystem. They support the health of
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  the environment in many ways, including noise reduction, natural cooling
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  and shade, carbon sequestering, and providing shelter to numerous species.
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  Oaks support the most butterfly and moth species, serving as
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  host plants to four hundred and fifty six species in
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  our area. A mature oak can have more than seven
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  hundred thousand leaves per season, providing a lot of habitat
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  for the base of the food web, including caterpillars, spiders, beetles,
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  and other insects. Wild cherry, choke cherry, and wild plum
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  are hardy trees that also support a great number of species.
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  They serve as host plants to three hundred and forty
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  five species of butterflies and moths. They also serve as
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  a very important resource of nectar and pollen to early
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  spring pollinators and migrating birds such as cape May warblers
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  and Tennessee warblers. Willow trees grow fast and tall. They
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  propagate quickly from cuttings and help stabilize soils and river banks,
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  preventing erosion and filtering out pollutants. They are host plants
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  for two hundred and nine hundterfly in moth species, as
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  well as supporting twenty five species of pollen specialist bees.
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  Birch trees are known for being pioneer species, helping to
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  regenerate woodlands and disturbed areas. They provide some critical early
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  spring resources, including catkins or tree flowers and seeds that
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  provide food for squirrels and birds. Their sweet sap also
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  attracts insects and yellow bellied sapsuckers. They are a host
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  plant for two hundred and seventy four butterfly and moth species.
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  The bright yellow blooms of goldenrod do a lot more
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  than just provide a gorgeous glow of autumn. These plants
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  provide support to a wide variety of insect biodversity. As
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  a hub of nectar and high quality pollen, they are
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  a superhero of nutrients, supporting fifty seven pollen specialist bees
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  and serving as host plants for one hundred and twelve
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  butterfly and moth species. There are more than two hundred
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  and fifty native species of aster. You can't go wrong
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  incorporating this amazing plant in your garden. They provide critical
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  late season buffet of nectar and pollen for insects and birds.
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  They support thirty three species of pollen specialist bees and
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  one hundred species of caterpillars as a host plant. Incorporating
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  any of these keystone species into your growing spaces is
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  a great way to give back to nature. Incorporate them
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  into a rain garden, create a rockgarden, or add native
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  plants to contain our gardens. They will improve water quality,
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  build healthy soils, and support pollinators. If you would like
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  to learn more, visit us online at go dot Illinois,
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  dot edu Extension DKK, or check us out on Facebook
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  at facebook dot com Extension DKK. Get outside and have
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  a great weekend. Resource