Dane County Extension educator urges Verona residents to plant and protect pollinator gardens

Lisa Johnson, a horticulture educator with the Dane County Extension, told a Verona audience that homeowners can make meaningful contributions to insect conservation by planning gardens that support all life stages of butterflies and other pollinators.

"In order to really, truly support these insects, [your garden] needs to support all the different life stages," Johnson said, urging attendees to include both nectar plants for adults and larval host plants for caterpillars. She described how many species—such as monarchs—are specialists in their larval stage and need particular plants to reproduce.

Johnson highlighted regional context to explain the urgency. "The rusty patched bumble bee ... has dropped by 87%," she said, using the example to illustrate broader declines driven by habitat loss, pesticide use, disease and fragmentation.

The presentation, introduced by Karen Linwell of the Eastern River Gardeners, covered garden siting and features: sunny locations, rocks or decking for basking, shallow "puddling" water for mineral uptake, shelter areas, and extended bloom from April through October. Johnson advised leaving some dead perennial stems and leaf litter in place as overwintering habitat: "Ideally, you would not remove dead perennial stems from the garden," she said, noting that many stem‑nesting bees and overwintering insects rely on stems and garden litter.

On plant choices, Johnson recommended prioritizing native species while acknowledging that up to about 30% nonnative nectar plants can be useful for adult pollinators. She named key tree and shrub choices—native oaks, willows, serviceberry and chokeberry—because they support large numbers of caterpillars, and recommended milkweed species and long‑blooming perennials (swamp milkweed, native hyssop, coneflower, Joe‑Pye weed, asters) for different site conditions.

Johnson also discussed the merits and limits of nativars (cultivated selections of native plants), seed source selection (local provenance matters for woody plants) and cost‑share programs and resources such as Plant Dane and the Southern Wisconsin Butterfly Association. She offered attendees a spreadsheet of host‑plant associations and said her slides and materials would be posted by the library for later review.

During a question-and-answer period, residents raised concerns about pesticide drift from neighboring lawns, small-space and balcony plantings, rabbit and deer damage, and ground‑nesting bees or wasps. On protecting small properties from drift, Johnson suggested outreach and interpretive signage to educate neighbors and said, "Try and get them interested and engaged... the carrot rather than the stick." For apartment balconies she recommended three pots staggered to provide spring, summer and fall blooms; for rabbit‑prone areas she suggested aromatic plants, potted displays or fencing.

Johnson encouraged persistence: even well‑planted milkweed may not attract monarchs immediately, but local insect use can increase over time. The presentation concluded with information on local plant suppliers and an invitation to the Dane County Extension Teaching Garden and its spring plant sale.

The event was organized by local gardening and sustainability groups and included a short signup table with brochures and further information; attendees were encouraged to follow up with Johnson or extension staff for plant lists, identification help and workshop scheduling.