Kreemoweet, I used to feel as you do, but have been reading more and have started to connect the dots among distinct pieces of information . Below, I'll share some of the things that I've recently learned...and understand, I'm 62. I've been gardening for a while! I've always realized that we need to do more to protect the environment and that without nature we are doomed. The statistics are horrifying, for example, did you know that only three percent of the Monarchs that used to be in 1976 are still accounted for. That means 97% are gone. That's just one animal, but as we take away their feeding sources and places to lay eggs, we are taking part in a trophic cascade that we may not be able to rebound from. Obviously, the Monarch is just one of thousands of species. I wonder what the numbers are for all of the Lepidoptera. The 'nasties' in our gardens are necessary to keep the whole food web functioning. We need the pests so that other animals can feed. If we remove the food source, we remove the feeder. One bird pair will feed over 4,000 caterpillars to their hatchlings over a five day period, and must gather them in a relatively small area. We are at the tipping point, and if everyone doesn't help, our days (and especially our kids' and grandkids') are numbered. To get back to the butterfly bush, one may ask why it matters. "Natives" or indigenous species matter because animals have adapted to feed or raise their young on them. This is why jumping worms, the elm borer and red lantern fly, for example, are so dangerous. They have been imported and nothing feeds on them to keep them in check. In Asia, where some of these are native, there are natural predators. Back to the butterfly bush, while its nectar draws in some insects, it's only for a very short while and does not assist in all phases of its life cycle. If the bush has crowded out the insect's symbiotic plants and it has nowhere to live or raise its young...it dies, and so the trophic cascade begins. The rate at which extinctions are happening is staggering. Biologists think 50% of species will be facing extinction by the end of the century. One in five species on Earth now faces extinction, and that will rise to 50% by the end of the century unless urgent action is taken. We are in a period that the scientists are now calling the 6th great extinction and anyone who isn't petrified by this isn't paying attention. We can all do our little bit. We need every bit of natural habitat that we can keep and we need to add to it by turning areas of our property back to native gardens, complete with trees and ground covers and everything in between! Lawn does nothing for wildlife, especially when chemical fertilizers, insecticides, etc. are added. Monocultures in any form are not good. Miles of just corn, for example, are destroying the natural flora and fauna, and are leading to our own demise. When something like the butterfly bush encroaches and takes over--same. Meanwhile, an oak tree supports at least 934 species of caterpillars alone, say nothing of other creatures! I just ask that we all try to be more informed. Maybe something I said here will make someone more curious and they will stop and look something up and then share their learning and perhaps know to be more careful about what they plant. I wish I'd known about the butterfly plant and the ramifications of planting one a few years ago!
) that I tremble around the idea of transplanting them out into the garden, since they grow very deep roots . Mine were grown from seed and I have never seen any offsets or other propagules that could be cause of detriment to nature. I'm planning to grow it in the garden along with the native Buddleja globosa. The latter is also fragrant and its rounded blooms are orange, a very good complemento for my mostly dark purple, B.davidii
