Tidbit Thursday

5 Reasons Wildflowers Are Important

 

On a warm, sunny morning, when a gentle breeze blows, I like to sit in the middle of the meadow on our small farm. The meadow grasses sway, as if to wave good morning to me. The bright colors of the wildflowers and their fragrant smell surround me. What a spectacular way to start a day!

Why are wildflowers important? Here are 5 reasons.

1. Wildflowers are native plants. They are adapted to the soil, the climate, the diseases and the insects that live in the area. We don’t have to water them as much, feed them with fertilizer, spray them with insecticides and help them survive diseases. They can do those things on their own.

        2. Wildflowers are an important part of an ecosystem’s biodiversity. They support many types of insects, pollinators such as native bee species, small animals and birds.

          3. Wildflowers help to control erosion, manage rain water, improve soil, and help the area to survive a time of drought.

4. When used in agriculture, wildflowers improve soil, provide protein and forage for wildlife, increase the presence of pollinators, and provide food and habitat for wildlife.

1. Wildflowers are a source of natural beauty for us. We breath in their fragrance, admire their colors and shapes, wait in anticipation for them to arrive in the spring and summer, hoping to catch them before they are gone for another year. We marvel at how and where they grow, sometimes in the most unlikely places.

 

Get out and enjoy your local wildflowers. Do some research and find out what species grow in your area and when they bloom. Go for a wildflower walk with a naturalist at a local park. You’ll be glad you did!

 

“We admire the strange and brilliant plant of the green-house, but we love most the simple flowers we have loved of old, which have bloomed many a spring, through rain and sunshine, on our native soil.”   Susan Fenimore Cooper

Peace,

Nature Mamaw

The illustration is my original. All photos courtesy of Pixabay.com