Gillette's Habitat Garden142 plants are in the ground across eleven beds as of late September 2026, and 98 of them are Ohio natives or native cultivars. One more, spring beauty, is likely lost.
| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Location | Columbus, Ohio · Franklin County · USDA Zone 6b |
| Ecoregion | Eastern Corn Belt Plains |
| Lot size | 0.17 acre (about 7,400 sq ft); about 1,260 sq ft in planted beds |
| Planted beds | 11, plus a flowering lawn |
| Plants in ground | 142 (98 Ohio native or native cultivar · 12 US native, not Ohio · 15 hybrid · 16 non-native · 1 unknown) |
| iNaturalist | Project "Gillette's Habitat Garden" · 229+ observations since April 2023 · 59+ research grade |
| Soil | Clay, compost-amended in most beds |
| Microclimate | Urban heat sink. Based on my own observations, bloom runs about two weeks ahead of published Ohio ranges. |
How the beds connect
Most beds connect. Beds 7, 8, 6 and 2 run continuously around the back and south side of the house, with Bed 8 meeting Bed 6 across the fence. Beds 3 and 5 wrap the front and north side. Beds 9 and 11 are now one continuous bed in the southwest corner. Beds 1, 4 and 10 stand alone.
| Bed | Name | Size | Light | Character |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Driveway Strip | 111 sq ft | Full sun, house shade from about 3 PM | Dense prairie showpiece |
| 2 | Corner Strip | 146 sq ft | Full sun | Lean-soil prairie, upper terrace and lower strip |
| 3 | Front Door Bed | about 103 sq ft | East-facing, sun to shade | Foundation bed with a bone-dry eave strip |
| 4 | Birdbath Bed | about 40-48 sq ft | Open left arm, shaded corner | Brick alcove under the eave, hand-watered, 18 in height cap |
| 5 | North Shade Alley | about 56 sq ft | Morning sun only | August lily conversion bed |
| 6 | South Shade Alley | 123 sq ft | Morning sun, afternoon shade | Woodland-edge connector |
| 7 | Back Door Bed | about 150 sq ft | Part sun to part shade | Moist outer arc, dry eave strip |
| 8 | Creek Bed | 171 sq ft | West-facing, sun from about 3 PM to sundown | Wet fence-line band grading to a dry body |
| 9 | Woodland Corner | 67 sq ft | Dry shade under silver maple | Spring ephemerals on the best soil on site |
| 10 | Tree Ring | about 40 sq ft | Under sweet gum | Converting from ajuga |
| 11 | West Fence Corridor | about 248 sq ft | Part shade south, full sun north | Started September 2026, wet north end |
Design principles
- Wetland indicator status guides placement. Not the final word, but each species' NWPL Midwest code is a useful guide to how much moisture it likes and where it fits.
- Mass, don't scatter. Specialist bees need dense patches, so more of an existing species usually beats a new one.
- Straight Ohio natives first. Cultivars are welcome when the flower form is unchanged. Non-natives stay only where they fill a real bloom gap, labeled honestly.
- Bloom continuity is a whole-property job, not a per-bed one.
- The generalist matrix is the meal. Specialist hosts are the seasoning.
- Every plant has an ecological job.
Trees and woody structure
| Tree or vine | Where | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Silver maple (Acer saccharinum) | Edge of Bed 8 | Main afternoon shade for the back beds; dry-shade roots into Beds 8 and 9; cecropia and dagger moth host |
| Sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua) | Front center | Anchors Bed 10; luna moth host, leaf litter left for pupation |
| Willows (Salix spp.) x3 | North fence, NW corner | Viceroy host; April catkins are early bee pollen |
| Callery pear, 'Bradford' (Pyrus calleryana) | Backyard, south of the sweet gum | Non-native, low wildlife value; dropped most leaves early in September 2026 |
| Sand cherry x2 (Prunus x cistena) | South of Bed 2; north of Bed 5 | Non-native; tiger swallowtail host |
| Korean lilac | Street hellstrip | City street tree, outside the garden |
| Virginia creeper, virgin's bower, wild grape | Back fence vines | Sphinx moth hosts; clematis seed heads for winter birds |
Link to the field notes: Full Plant List, What 2026 Taught Me, Wildlife Record, 2026 Phenology Log, Plans for Next Season.