Biodiversity

Wikipedia says, “Biodiversity is the variation of life forms within a given ecosystem . . .”  Basically, what this means to me is planting a lot of different kinds of plants, rather than just a few.  The more plants there are the more attractive my garden becomes to insects and birds.  These insects take care of pest problems so that I don’t need to use pesticides.  Species become extinct when their habitat is lost and that harms our planet.  I live between the deciduous forests and the tall grasslands in Illinois.  I experiment with prairie plants and try to plant native species that the local insects love.  I like things simple and natural, but I like them beautiful, too, so I experiment to see what grows well in my yard.  Sometimes my mix of plants is a mess, but sometimes the surprising combinations are wonderful!