Biodiversity Timeline

Let's talk a little bit about biodiversity. Biodiversity is a concept related to how many different species are part of a particular community. In this particular case, how many different species are part of our yards. In nature, the amount of life a place can sustain, the more healthy it is considered. In other words, high biodiversity and an ecosystem's health are directly related. The wonderful thing about our yards, is that we as the stewards have direct control over how biodiverse our property is. If we choose to maintain a homogenous monoculture of turf grass, then we elect to keep biodiversity low. If we choose to plant a variety of flowers, grasses, shrubs, and trees, then we elect to increase the yard's biodiversity. Here's our biodiversity story so far.

2011

We moved into our home in April of 2011. The yard was fairly sparse, noteworthy plants included Siberian Iris, Tulips, Daffodils, and Asiatic Lilies. The yard had no trees and two ornamental shrubs. Its diversity is documented in the table below.

Flowers	4
Grasses	0
Shrubs	2
Trees	0

I immediately began to increase the yard's diversity focusing primarily on extending the existing flower bed and adding some shrubs.

End of Spring 2011

Flowers	13
Grasses	2
Shrubs	4
Trees	0

In the spring of 2012, we renewed our focus on adding native plants. We added trees to the yard in 2012, and it was the first year we started keeping track of our animal diversity. We wanted to see the impact the new plants had on the ecosystem of our yard.

2012

Flowers	13
Grasses	2
Shrubs	5
Trees	5

2012 Animal Species

Reptiles and Amph	1
Bees and Butterflies	13
Mammals	5
Birds	31

In 2013, we spent some time trying to dig out and eliminate the non-native plants with only some success. We also added a couple more trees and replaced some shrubs which had been chewed back by the rabbits.

2013

Flowers	11
Grasses	3
Shrubs	5
Trees	7

2013 Animal Species

Reptiles and Amph	1
Bees and Butterflies	14
Mammals	7
Birds	40

This year, we've focused on the front yard, and once again we've needed to replace some shrubs. Our most recent round of plant purchases included: Prairie Dropseed, Little Blue Stem, Blazing Star, Bee Balm (Genus Monarda), Obedient Plant, and Wild Onion.

2014

Flowers	14
Grasses	3
Shrubs	5
Trees	7

2014 Animal Species to Date

Reptiles and Amph	0
Bees and Butterflies	5
Mammals	5
Birds	37

From what we can tell so far, it appears that as we increase the diversity of the plant life in our yard, the diversity of the animals which come to visit increases as well. Between the flowers, butterflies, birds, and shrubs, we have interesting colors in our yard from May through October. And while the winter has less visual interest, the regular bird traffic provides more visual appeal than what the yard would have otherwise.

Here's a list of a the current plant species which have been planted intentionally in our yard:

Flowers:
• Blue Lupine
• Blazing Star
• Obedient Plant
• Bee Balm
• False Indigo
• Cardinal Flower
• Black Eyed Susan
• Purple Coneflower
• Prairie Coneflower
• Columbine
• Butterfly Milkweed
• Pre-existing Tulips
• Pre-existing Daffodils

Grasses:
• Big Blue Stem
• Little Blue Stem
• Prairie Dropseed

Shrubs:
• Serviceberry
• Black Chokeberry
• Pagoda Dogwood
• Staghorn Sumac
• Highbush Cranberry

Trees:
• Bur Oak
• Red Oak
• Quaking Aspen
• White Spruce
• White Pine
• Washington Hawthorne
• Eastern Redbud