Ecological gardening

The New York Times published an article by Margaret Roach whereby she discusses ecological gardening with Douglas Tallamy. Since you probably cannot access the article without a subscription, I'll briefly list the four actions that are crucial for an ecological garden:

• Manage the watershed
• Support pollinators
• Support a viable food web
• Sequester carbon

That's a lot to ask of a suburban homesteader who has to abide by local tall-grass-and-weeds laws and whose neighbors employ lawncare companies that not only fertilize and treat weeds but also spread insecticide with every application, but a good place to start is to add natives and remove invasives.

Two books that can help guide us are Tallamy's Bringing Nature Home and his latest, How Can I Help? Saving Nature with Your Yard.

Tallamy suggests that one does not need to completely redo one's landscape, just add something beneficial here and there...

... like plant some goldenrod...

... but not hostas (which I justify because the hummingbirds feed at them).

Catmint is good... but I'm not sure whether the cultivar currently in bloom, Nepeta 'Cat's Pajamas', attracts pollinators. The other, Calamintha Nepeta Nepeta, does - a lot.

And so I try, best I can.