Sharing nature with native plants and pollinators

By MITCH MAERSCH

Ozaukee Press staff

Every day, Allon Bostwick carries a book and cup of coffee or glass of wine out on his double lot and takes in his little piece of peace.

He can hear a host of birds and witness active insects engaged in their work on a diverse assortment of native plants in various stages of bloom, often in places he didn’t plant them.

“There’s every kind of color out every day,” he said. “It’s my own little park.”

It’s a serene scene on West Michigan Street in Port Washington that Bostwick doesn’t take for granted.

Bostwick, 71, returned to his childhood home about a decade ago when he retired after working as a physician for 40 years, and he started to convert his mother’s flower beds into native and prairie plants.

“The problem is you get going on it and you just keep going,” he said, describing his process. “That’s a great plant. That would look good here. And the next thing you know you bought $100 of plants.”

In 2014, he bought $200 worth of native plants. They didn’t look so good the first year, and they looked about the same the next year.

“I’m thinking this isn’t a great investment,” he said. “The third year they just took off. What I’m learning is you have to be patient with the prairie plants.”

One advantage is that prairie plants grow deep roots. Bostwick hasn’t had to water his yard this season, aside from a few trees and his vegetable garden, despite the dry conditions.

Bostwick is involved with the Western Great Lakes Bird and Bat Observatory, which sells native plants twice a year that will thrive in Ozaukee County’s mostly clay soil.

Besides the tranquility Bostwick can find just by stepping out of his back door, he discovered an additional benefit of his yard transformation.

“I’m glad I did because the whole pollinator thing has become a big deal, when you consider 75% of the food in this country is produced by pollinators,” he said.

Bostwick decided five years ago not to have a manicured lawn, and as a result he has noticed more fireflies, bees and ants.

“Lawns are the most irrigated crop in the United States,” he said.

Bostwick doesn’t understand people who use services that spray their yards and place the little white signs warning others of the pesticide use. A yellow sign on Bostwick’s yard warns against pesticide and herbicide use and suggest saving the bees.

“Would they sprinkle it on their breakfast cereal?” he asked of the lawn chemicals.

“In the long run, they’re doing just that for their children and grandchildren. It gets into the water and their food.”

The state, he noted, just pledged $125 million to clean up forever chemicals. Bostwick would like to see pesticides and herbicides go away, but he understands their use in the agriculture industry.

“They probably use it more judiciously than city dwellers on what they put on their lawns,” he said. “We have to get beyond the selfish things of green, weedless lawns.”

He supports the No Mow May initiative with a caveat.

“I think it’s a great thing because it raises awareness,” he said. “But it really doesn’t pay to do no mow May if you don’t have any clover or violets in your lawn.”

Bostwick mowed his lawn two days before Memorial Day weekend so it wouldn’t look unruly to his neighbors.

Bostwick lives on an edge of a hill that descends  to Mineral Springs Creek — a great source for birds, he said. Half a mile to the southeast is the new Prairie’s Edge subdivision, the biggest in Port’s history.

“That was our playground when we were kids,” Bostwick said. “It’s ironic they call the subdivision Prairie’s Edge. There’s no prairie and no edge anymore.”

Bostwick has taken time to develop his yard, and it has drawn wildlife from near and far. Fourteen bird feeders will dispense 540 pounds of birdseed this year, he said, drawing orioles, blue jays, cardinals, goldfinch, catbirds, house finch and black cat chickadees and others. Special food brings in humming birds, which jump from one meal spot in the front yard to another in Bostwick’s backyard.

He once had a nesting owl stay in his big pine tree.

“The owl calls are just fantastic,” Bostwick said.

Wisconsin’s official bird is often found fluttering around the yard, and Bostwick developed a bond with one.

“This year I have a pet robin,” he said.

While digging a hole for a plant, Bostwick dropped in his Miracle Grow and turned away for a second. When he looked back, a robin was in the hole looking for worms.

The same bird follows Bostwick around the yard, hoping he will work up the soil and uncover more food.

“He knows I’m the worm man,” Bostwick said.

Bostwick is less friendly with deer, which would decimate much of his work if he didn’t deter them. He found a recipe for a spray that includes the hottest hot sauce available. Spraying that on the plants every couple of weeks keeps the deer at bay.

Planting clover helps feed resident rabbits and limits their attack on his garden.

Bostwick planted seven oak trees in his yard after learning that oaks support 400 different insects. He prunes the trees in February when there’s less of a chance to spread disease through his tools. Much of oak wilt, he said, is caused by pruning at the wrong time.

It will take 35 years before an oak tree produces an acorn.

“I’ll never see any acorns but hopefully someday people will enjoy them,” he said.

He planted milkweed one year to attract monarch butterflies after hearing their population fell from 1 billion to 34 million.

Bostwick has his own shredder to make his own mulch, but not much of it is needed to manage native plants.

“Native plants take very little care. The more growth, the less weeding you have to do because the cover is so heavy,” he said.

Bostwick considers his effort so vital that he has a plan for the time when he isn’t able to live in his own home anymore. Bostwick said he will interview potential buyers to make sure they support his native and prairie plants.

“Our legacy will be how we take care of the environment, not in the subdivisions we build. It’s not about us,” he said.

“I know that we have to leave something behind for our children and grandchildren. A healthy environment is kind of my goal.”

For those interested in native and prairie plants and pollinators, Bostwick recommends three organizations for information: the Western Great Lakes Bird and Bat Observatory (https://wglbbo.org) the Ozaukee Washington Land Trust (www.owlt.org) and the Wisconsin Pollinators (https://wisconsinpollinators.com).