(WHTM) – May is Gardening for Wildlife Month, which highlights the importance of gardening not only for beauty but for a purpose.

Cumberland County Master Gardener Heather Andrews and Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay contributor Wendy Smith have dedicated themselves to promoting this mission and helping the environment through gardening.

“We want to encourage people to think a little differently about their plantings,” said Andrews.

People can help attract monarch butterflies, other pollinators, and birds by growing the proper plants in their gardens.

“75% of our native butterflies actually overwinter here in Pennsylvania, but only 5% of the plants host them,” Andrews said.

What to plant

The best things to plant in your yard to feed wildlife are host plants, such as milkweed for monarch butterflies, high-value nectar sources and keystone plants. Having two varieties of milkweed will encourage monarch butterflies to lay eggs on the plant and the nectar sources will fuel the momma monarchs.

The National Wildlife Federation allows you to put in your zip code to find exactly what nectar plants are best for your exact area, but according to Andrews black-eyed Susans are the most visited nectar plant by pollinators.

Black-eyed Susans have multiple benefits because after feeding the pollinators in the spring, when they die off in the fall they also add the seeds that provide fat sources for migrating birds. It is short-lived but if left it readily re-seeds.

Autumn Sedums and asters are other great plants to grow with wildlife in mind.

“(Asters) come in yellow, pink, blue, white, they have some for sun, some for shade,” Andrews said. “These are super important during that fall timeframe.”

In the summer, native sunflowers are great to have in the garden.

If you want to attract birds, such as hummingbirds, you don’t need a bird feeder if you grow the right plants. Native honeysuckle, which is red, begins blooming now and blooms all summer and hummingbirds love it, according to Andrews.

What not to do

At the beginning of spring, there aren’t lots of flowers blooming yet, but there are hungry pollinators. Dandelions and common violets however are in abundance in many yards. For many, these are considered a nuisance because they can make your yard look untidy, but they are actually very important for pollinators.

Common violets are hosts to regal fritillaries and native bees that are just waking up for spring enjoy dandelions. Both of these plants tend to be pulled up or sprayed by homeowners, which cuts off the pollinator’s early supply of food.

When the bees visit the sprayed dandelions, they die.

“What I encourage people to do is if you see (violets) in your lawn, don’t throw them out, just dig them up and throw them in your beds,” Andrews said.

It’s also important to be conscious about where you are getting your plants. Buying plants from places that sell non-local plants can have unintended consequences. Invasive species could be lurking in the imported plant.

“What you can’t see when you buy that plant is that there could be something there that you’re introducing to your garden that you don’t want to introduce to your garden,” Andrews said.

Plants from out of state may also not be acclimated to Pennsylvania’s environment and will be harder to grow. They might die if the conditions are too extreme for them and then your money is wasted.

“Even if it’s the same species, they’re different from place to place,” said Smith.

Trees’ role in supporting wildlife

Trees are great for the environment all around. They provide shade, cool the air and water, sequester carbon, and provide oxygen. Trees are also extremely important to wildlife, providing food and habitats for birds, moths, and butterflies.

“Trees are most important because they play host to the moths and butterflies whose caterpillars thrive on only certain species of trees,” Smith said. “If we want to have birds, we need to have caterpillars because almost all of our songbirds feed their young on caterpillars.”

Smith said that the number of caterpillars it takes to feed one nest is exponential.

“It takes a pair of chickadees between 6,000 and 9,000 caterpillars to raise a single brood of chicks per year,” Smith said.

Oak trees are the No. 1 host for caterpillars with Maple trees being No. 2.

Birds also will visit if you leave seed heads from keystone plants in the fall.

“The other thing that trees and shrubs do this time of year that a lot of people overlook is some of the first things to actually flower are our trees and our shrubs,” Andrews said.

What if you don’t have a yard

If you live in an apartment or somewhere with a very small yard, you can still make an impact on wildlife with gardening.

Pollinator pots are a great option for those with balconies or small outdoor patios. There are plenty of native plants and pollinator plants that can thrive in a container.

As far as growing trees, you don’t have to commit to planting a large tree in your yard to help their population.

“If you can’t grow trees in your own yard, you can help plant trees everywhere else,” Smith said. “Most of the tree planting that the alliance does is with volunteer help.”

The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay also encourages those with smaller spaces to begin growing trees in their yard from a seed and then donate them.

“We ask they dig them up (and) I give them pots and potting mix, they put them in the pots (and) get them to me,” Smith said. “I tend them over the summer for the most part and then the Alliance comes and picks them up in the fall and plants them in their forever homes out in sites along creeks.”

What are the benefits for you?

If you plant with wildlife in mind, you can see all types of birds, butterflies and other pollinators right in your backyard.

If you grow vegetables, having these visitors is extremely beneficial.

“According to the data, if you can put native plants in your yard and attract more pollinators if you’re a vegetable gardener you can grow 30% more food,” Andrews said.

You’re convinced, what’s the first step?

Andrews suggests getting a soil test before you start your garden.

“It’s a very inexpensive but often overlooked thing that people (can) do is go ahead and get a soil test,” Andrews said. “It’s really important to understand what you’re dealing with. And if you know the type of soil, there’s a native plant that will appreciate whatever you have.”

While in the process of starting your garden, consider shrinking your lawn.

“Lawn is the number one crop here grown in Pennsylvania, so if we all just shrunk our lawn by 50% and made more beds, we’d have the largest homegrown National Park in North America,” Andrews said.

This Homegrown National Park initiative is being led by Doug Tallamy. It helps the environment, makes room for more plants in your yard and will make your life easier. The more native, pollinator plants you grow to replace grass, the less lawn maintenance you will need.

And you’ll be helping wildlife along the way.