By: Phyllis Giffard
Diane Baker and Richard Day celebrate their bronze-level
Louisiana Certified Habitat in Lafayette Parish.
Diane and Richard's home is located on a corner lot in the Saint Streets in Lafayette. The subdivision was developed in the 1960s and at that time, the boy scouts of Acadiana planted slash pines in the new neighborhood. These tall pines line the back of their property and provide habitat to small mammals and birds. Three Mississippi kites circled above the pines and called as we walked through their yard. Diane is a graphic artist who has illustrated public documents for BTNEP (Barataria Terrebonne National Environmental Program) on Louisiana coastal habitats and bird species who utilize it, and Richard is a geographer working on coastal issues with USGS. Besides the pines, a mature bald cypress shades the front yard with Turk's cap blanketing the understory. An elderberry thicket provides flowers for pollinators and berries for Richard and the birds! The couple enjoys the flowers and growth habit of thistles, mowing around them under their large tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera)! They clip the thistle seed heads after flowering to keep the population from taking over the yard. A low-growing pollinator garden on the corner of two streets mixes zinnias with native Rudbeckias and wild petunia (Ruellia humilis) for a splash of color.
From the August 2022 ANPP Newsletter