You need a house for insects

March 14, 6:00 AMSoutheast MI Home & Living ExaminerJackie DiGiovanni

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Photo credit: bcballard   Sedum 'Autumn Joy'

British gardening expert Elspeth Thompson has a good idea for attracting insects to your garden. 

When you are clearing hollow-stemmed plants from your garden beds this spring, save the stems to make insect homes. Cut the stems into 4 inch lengths and use string to tie about 20 of them into bundles. Place the bundles in out of the way, unseen places in shrubs or between rocks with the openings parallel to the ground.

I saved Filipendula rubra 'Queen of the Prairie', Asclepias incarnata 'Swamp Milkweed', and sedum stems.

Why do you want insects in your garden? Some of them are "beneficial" because they eat other insects that damage your plants. Insects are also a food source for many birds.

Thompson says solitary bees are also attracted to these "houses." Solitary bees are pollinators and do not sting. 

Photo credit: nlrockrans   Swamp Weed

Photo credit: Karon Miller   Queen of the Prairie

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