Letter from Publisher

As I was finalizing this April issue of Natural Awakenings Chicago, I completed my ritual daily inspection of the backyard to see how spring is progressing. The Equinox is behind us, and as the sun’s rays shine higher and more intensely, each trip through the garden brings more harbingers of the new season, as early bulbs blossom and native pollinator plants start to show small crowns of leaves at the soil level. I’m still searching for the first green shoots of bloodroot and trillium, but it’s still a couple of weeks until those spring ephemeral plants break their winter dormancy and start to emerge.

Ahhh, but spring has just started in our Zone 5 growing area, and as we all know, weather in Chicago is anything but predictable. Just as we scurry inside to stay warm while the season wanders, the birds, insects and animals in our yards also seek shelter. Many native bees and other insects are still hibernating in early April. Some butterflies like swallowtails, as well as moths, may overwinter in chrysalis or caterpillar form, burrowed under leaves or attached inconspicuously to twigs in leftover brush piles. Other insects have overwintered or taken shelter in last season’s standing flower stalks or leaf piles, and once our lawns start to grow, flowering native violets, clovers and dandelions provide some of the earliest nectar available for the bees and other pollinators (and some are even host plants to butterflies).

While it may be tempting to “clean up” outside on a gorgeous spring day, many of the pollinators in our yards aren’t yet ready for the season. Rakes  and other tools can disturb hibernating insects, destroy their winter homes and worse. In a recent blog post, the team at Xerces.org says that while each spring is different, and there is no one rule to indicate when it’s okay to clean up the garden, homeowners can ask themselves a few questions before they begin clearing the garden for a new season, including (and I paraphrase): Have I put away my winter clothes yet, can I plant tomatoes outside, is my lawn growing tall and have the fruit trees finished blooming? If you’d like to read more, check out Xerces.org/blog/dont-spring-into-garden-cleanup-too-soon.

For our Earth Month edition, aptly titled People, Planet, Purpose, we’re taking a hopeful and enthusiastic look at some of the important actions being taken by global farmers to nurture our soil and move toward truly regenerative agriculture practices. While soil health can seem a distant concern when going about our daily urban and suburban lives, the vitality of the soil that grows our food, anchors our landscapes, harbors myriad life and sustains the energy of the world’s plants affects us all. The soil ecosystem is critical to the survival (and thriving) of the health and future of all life on this planet, including our own.

If you’re planning your spring projects, garden expert Melinda Myers offers great suggestions for planning and growing a backyard habitat to attract and support birds year-round. And while April may not start off as colorful as May, writer Sheryl DeVore takes us on a tour of birds, blooms and insects to see this month in natural areas throughout our region.

As always, I encourage you to make it a goal to step outside every day, observe and participate as our landscapes transition from winter browns to vibrant and blossoming greens and other colors of the season. Watch for the first migrating birds and green darner dragonflies. Check the buds on your backyard trees and look for blooming magnolias and showy bulbs, as well as the quieter, ephemeral blooms of the native prairies and woods. Hike a forest preserve, river or lakefront trail. Tune up your bike for an early evening ride or simply sit in silence and watch a spring sunrise or sunset. Sample and enjoy each of the 30 days this month offers.                          

Happy Spring!