Habitat Hero – September 2021

Dustin Smith

Congratulations to Dustin Smith our newest Habitat Hero winner!  The front yard was designed by his parents and has always caught my eye as I turned down Hilltop for Blue Ridge but when he recently posted pictures of what he transformed his back “40” into, I knew I had to go take a look.  And I wasn’t disappointed!   He is transforming the back area once overgrown with invasive plants into a true habitat by planting native plants, adding brush piles, leaving snags and leaving the area a little “messy”. He had a pileated woodpecker hang around for a few months because of the snags he has left standing.  Many other songbirds and squirrels stop by the feeders. The foxes also come strolling through.  He has quite a wide variety of native plants he has grown by seed, transplanted, rescued from work or purchased. 

Everything from groundcovers to understory to perennials to trees can be found in this wonderful reclaimed area.  The front yard has no grass but it is a beautiful oasis on the streets of Cape St Claire with a tranquil pond and mini beach area.  The frogs, birds and dragonflies frequent the pond.  The plantings are a combination of native and non-native plants to complete the habitat.

The list of native plants is extensive but I will give you an abbreviated version.

Conoclinium coelestinum Blue mistflower, Penstemon beardtongue, Echinacea coneflower, several varieties of Solidago goldenrod, Pycnanthemum virginium mountain mint, Aquilegia canadensis eastern red columbine, Passiflora incarnata passion flower, Rudbekia black eyed Susan, Heuchera coral bells, Asclepias spp. milkweed, several native ferns and grasses such as Panicum switch grass and Chasmanthium latifolium sea oats. Several shrubs on the property include Clethra sweetspire, Prunus maritima Beach Plum, Asimina tribola paw-paws.  In addition to these being excellent nectar and pollen sources for butterflies and pollinators there are also many host plants (the plants butterflies need to lay their eggs).  Without caterpillars there are no butterflies!

Dustin has added a small hoop house and hopes to eventually sell some of the native plants he has begun to propagate.  He has dreams of purchasing a larger piece of land and continuing to restore, propagate and sell native plants in the future.  In the meantime, he will continue to turn his own slice of land into a Hometown National Park (Doug Tallamy).

The ideas and inspiration have come from reading, hands on training and a quest to do better for a healthy ecosystem. Thank you Dustin for being a Habitat Hero and creating this amazing space.