Let's not forget about the plants

With all the focus on wildlife, I sometimes forget about the plants. This article by Debbie Cafazzo, of The News Tribune in Tacoma, reminded me of that. Often plants are endangered species too, and intertwined with the animals they support. This rescue was by the Native Plant Salvage Alliance.

There are several groups that tend to the native plants around here, and WSU has a great native plant guide that's worth checking out. And of course there's the Washington Native Plant Society and the Central Washington Native Plant Society.

King County also have a native plant guide. I watch butterflies during the summer, and often prevent my hubby from pulling up every last dandelion, since many butterlies lay their eggs on them and use them for food. I'll have to replant our butterfly bush, which was ripped up by last year's windstorm. Also a multi use plant for the butterflies.

And since my husband grow orchids, I'm also reminded how linked these plants are to their pollinators. We once had a rather drap white orchid that didn't do much, until I got up at 2 am to let the cat out. A beautiful smell had filled the living room. It was the orchid (blc Little Stars, for those orchid lovers reading this), putting out a wonderful lure for its pollinator, a moth.

Photo by News Tribune photographer Janet Jensen.