Humble Bee Haven

Our home is on a sunny lot near the Willamette River in the Willamette Valley south of Portland, Oregon. When we first moved in, the yard seemed finished, with mature boxwood bushes, hydrangeas and lawns, but we rarely saw any insects or birds here. About four years ago, inspired by an article on restoring a white oak savanna to one’s yard (a once common Willamette Valley habitat), we have laboriously created meadows out of lawn space and replaced blackberries with native bushes.