No, not mine. Seven years ago I was tickled and honored when my son asked if we might hold his wedding in our backyard. It was, as it turned out, the last summer I would spend at that Pennsylvania house, though we did not know that at the time. What I did know, was that I wanted the setting to be as beautiful as possible, peaceful and welcoming, not just for the wedding party and guests, but for life of all kinds. In the years leading up to the wedding, I had been slowly transforming our relatively conventional, rural/suburban yard into a one that hosted myriad creatures, large and small and I was eager for others to enjoy their presence, as well. Below are some musings soon after that magical evening.
"The journey of remaking my yard into native
habitat supporting an untold number of insects and a “bird list” of more than a
hundred species has been a rich and rewarding endeavor, one appreciated not
just by wildlife but by human visitors who are taken with its beauty. We
recently hosted my son’s evening wedding in the back yard and the gardens were
a patchwork of color: deep red cardinal flower, pink and white garden phlox,
red and purple bee balm, white daisy fleabane, orange butterfly weed, rose-pink
swamp milkweed, and bright yellow black and brown-eyed Susans. During the
wedding, ruby-throated hummingbirds zipped about, grey catbirds murmured in the
shrubs behind the pastor, mourning doves cooed in the background
and robins, Carolina wrens, northern cardinals and cedar waxwings sang
their evening song, to the enjoyment of everyone who paid attention. For
many of the guests, this was the first time they had ever been surrounded by
songbirds and pollinators and they were delighted to be a part of something
even larger than they knew. They had come for a wedding but, in addition,
witnessed the abundance of life that can only be had in a native landscape."
Thank you again, Jon and Tara, for asking me to host that most special of evenings, all those years ago.
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