If you have ever been to Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary on Martha’s Vineyard during the summer, there’s a good chance you had an encounter with a mosquito, or 1,000. Turns out, these pesky insects love the wildlife sanctuary just as much as we do.

It’s one thing to have them on the trails, but each season they take over the Nature Center, where we host programs for kids and adults of all ages. The mosquitoes lurk in the tall grass that surrounds the front of the center, just waiting for the door to open so they can make their grand entrance.

Enough was enough, and the team at Felix Neck, led by sanctuary director Suzan Bellincampi, decided to do something about it. First step: remove the unruly grass and replace it with gravel all around the building. Then Sue, a long-time volunteer and garden maven, suggested installing an anti-mosquito, or mosquito-repellent, garden. Or, as we like to call it, a “scented garden.”

The Makings of Scented aka Mosquito Garden

Scientifically, we know that mosquitoes are attracted to the carbon dioxide we breathe out. So unless we stop exhaling, mosquitoes will keep on coming. We also know that, in an effort to create a more “natural” mosquito repellent, many manufacturers have turned to nature’s bounty for scents that have been suggested to ward of these little buggers.

Taking a cue from Mother Nature herself, we decided to go right to the plant source that provides repellent properties to all those off-the-shelf products. Our volunteer built some raised beds and installed plants that are believed to have anti-mosquito properties. In our scented garden you will find:

• Lemon Balm
• Eucalyptus
• Marigold
• Garlic
• Lemon Verbena
• Basil
• Sage
• Scented Geranium
• Nasturtium
• Catmint nepeta
• Sweet Annie
• Lemongrass
• Rosemary
• Fennel

The season has just begun, but we have already noticed a decrease in the number of mosquitoes indoors. Is it because of the garden? Or was removing the grass enough to do the trick? There’s still much to learn and observe before we can deem the experiment a success.

Regardless of whether or not it really repels mosquitoes, we now have a lovely, scented garden that visitor can see, smell, and touch. Seems like a win-win situation to us!

There are many reasons you should include native plants into your landscape plans. For one, most native plants require little maintenance because they have evolved to thrive in our local habitats and growing conditions.

That means after the first year of making sure they are well watered and have put out roots, very little watering and care is needed. Perhaps the most compelling reason is that not only do native plants look good, they also do good for wildlife.

Five Native Plants To Consider

So what native plants should you consider if you live in Massachusetts? Here are five of our spring and summer perennial favorites that will come back year after year.

Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
Similar to its cousin, the dusty pink-flowered common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), butterfly weed is a host plant for monarch butterfly caterpillars. A host plant is a specific plant that a species of caterpillar will eat.  Butterfly weed requires full sun and can grow as tall as one to two feet, with orange or yellow flowers that bloom in summer.

Joe-Pye Weed (Eutrochium maculatum)
Don’t let the “weed” in joe-pye weed fool you. The term in this case refers to the fact that it’s commonly found, not that it’s unwanted.  The dusty pink late-blooming flower attracts pollinators and clouds of butterflies in the late summer. The Gateway variety will grow to six or seven feet tall, where as Little Joe reaches only three to four feet.

Foam Flower (Tiarella cordifolia)
Attracting small bees and butterflies, this little bottle-brush of a white flower is held above a nicely toothed leaf. There are many new varieties of foam flower that have interesting red markings on the leaves. It can spread and become a beautiful spring flowering ground cover.

Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)
The native columbine has an orange-red flower with a yellow center and is attractive to pollinators and hummingbirds. After blooming, the delicate blue-green foliage continues to look beautiful all summer long. And while there are many attractive species of columbines, the only one native to Massachusetts is the Aquilegia canadensis.

Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum penduatum)
This native is one of the most delicate-looking ferns. Its thin black stems and bright green foliage add a light frothy texture to a shady garden.

Many local nurseries sell native plants. Before you purchase one, make sure they were cultivated from seed. We like the wild plants to stay wild!

Do you have a favorite native plant? If so, share in the comments!