Luigi Mangione was the Valedictorian of Maryland's Gilman School's class of 2016. Here's a little from his speech. 👓

This Eastern Tiger Swallowtail- a rock-star pollinator,
is having at our zinnias.

Flower nectar is a major part of their diet.

Me, during the Oct 2020 debates, kicking Pence's ass, in the midst of Covid, and undoubtedly influenced by couple of drinks and too many YouTube free kickboxing classes. The childish sound effects were me too.
Thanks, husband...

Another stunning, native perennial which loves sun or shade and can exist in any soil type is Lobelia cardinalis or the cardinal flower. Easy to transplant and can grow to over 4 ft.

Hummingbirds visit our NJ yard multiple times a day when it's in bloom --from late July throughout the early fall.

Here's the same guy the next day. He tried to take off and his wings weren't ready. My husband put him back up on the milkweed launch pad where he could continue to dry his wings in the sun and fully inflate them to ready for flight.

One plant everyone should have in their yard is butterfly weed- and even plain old milkweed (although it's an aggressive spreader). Nine monarchs developed in our small NJ yard this year. Here's one that had just popped out of its chrysalis.

Native plants support native species.