10/04/2026
Water — Lifeblood of Ecosystems
By Yvonne Lelong Bordelon
My garden is filled with memories — native and pass along plants shared by friends and family, objects passed down through the generations and saved heirloom seeds that breed true. I feel my ancestors in these things and the remembered stories of long ago told by my parents.
Many of the objects and plants came from our old home-place in North Louisiana. Some, such as the mushroom birdbath, were purchased on vacations in other states and countries. Interesting fat pine (heart of pine) sculptures were picked up during walks in the woods. Many of the special stones and crystals were brought back as mementoes. Century old handmade bricks, now covered with green moss, were salvaged from the chimney of the Clark house after the house burned down sometime in the 1940’s.
The old wash kettle also came from my grandmother Clark’s place on the Red River near Gahagan. My great grandmother probably boiled many clothes in it. Now it is a water feature, complete with an old hand pump, given to me by a neighbor. A tiny inexpensive solar pump circulates the water through tubing in the old hand pump when the sun shines.
The trickling sound attracts wildlife — countless birds, dragonflies, frogs, lizards, bunnies, a box turtle and other animals visit the habitat around it. The fountain keeps the soil moist so violets, Indian pinks, Salvia and other hummingbird, bee and butterfly plants thrive in the partial shade. The moving water dissuades mosquitoes from laying eggs in the kettle. Native green moss covers the old bricks and terracotta pots.
Native flowering plants for a part-shade moist soil area include:
Indian pink (Spigelia marilandica)
False nettle (Boehmera cylindrica)
Spotted jewelweed (Impatiens capensis)
Salvia coccinea, S. lyrata, and others
Rhexia mariana and R. virginica
Florida betony (Stachys floridana)
Violets (Viola spp.)
I attached several photos (with captions) of some of the native plants and animals that inhabit the ecosystem around my back porch water feature.
