WBDS Service · Signature Bi-Directional Waterfall
The Hillside
Road Story
How a bare, patchy front lawn became a certified Monarch Waystation — and what a single book had to do with it.
The Tool That Started Everything
Not a shovel.
Not a rake.
A book.
When Bob Barrett looked at the 30 × 25 ft space at Hillside Road, he didn't reach for a garden catalog. He reached for Bringing Nature Home by Douglas W. Tallamy — and that decision changed everything.
"That book was my #1 tool for that garden. More useful than any shovel or rake. What happened in that space was amazing — and it started with reading the right book."
— Bob Barrett, Wild Bird DesignScapes
The Transformation
750 sq ft Behind the Garage.
Different World.
Bare, patchy turf
Zero ecological value. Zero wildlife habitat.
Certified Monarch Waystation
Tagged Monarch from Mexico. Hummingbirds. Hawks. Goldfinches.
Total property size
Pocket garden behind garage
Years of transformation
Primary tool used
Wildlife documented
The Journey
How a Lawn Becomes
a Living System
The Before
A bare, patchy front lawn at Hillside Road. A single young street tree. No ecological value. The photo is dated April 1, 2007 — and it's no joke.
The Book
Bob picks up Bringing Nature Home by Doug Tallamy. Not a shovel. Not a rake. A book. That decision changes everything about how he sees the 30 × 25 ft space outside his window.
First Plantings
Native coneflowers, Little Bluestem, Verbena, and Echinacea go in. By October 2011, a Red-tailed Hawk is perching in the conifer at the top of the property — drawn by the prey the habitat now supports.
Hummingbirds Arrive
Ruby-throated Hummingbirds begin visiting the nectar garden. The 750 sq ft Pocket Pollinator Meadow behind the garage is now a functioning habitat corridor — documented in photos and video from inside the house through the window.
Monarch Waystation
The Pocket Pollinator Meadow achieves certified Monarch Waystation status. A tagged Monarch butterfly — traced back to its overwintering site in Mexico — visits the garden. 750 sq ft behind a garage on a 0.4-acre suburban lot. One book. One tagged butterfly from another country.
Living System
American Goldfinches eat Coreopsis seeds at the window box. Hummingbirds return each summer to the nectar garden. The system sustains itself and keeps giving — season after season, species after species.
The Moment That Changes Everything
A Monarch from Mexico
in a 750 sq ft Pocket Garden
This Monarch butterfly was tagged as part of the Monarch Watch program — meaning its journey was traced back to its overwintering site in the mountains of central Mexico. It found its way to Hillside Road in Wayne, PA.
This is what Doug Tallamy means when he writes about the ecological web. Your backyard is not separate from the larger landscape — it is part of it. A 750 sq ft pocket garden tucked behind a garage on a 0.4-acre suburban lot in southeastern Pennsylvania is a stop on a migration route that spans two countries.
Native Milkweed for PA Gardens
The plant here is Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) — a true Pennsylvania native and one of the most reliable Monarch host plants for average to moist garden soils. WBDS recommends three native milkweeds for the mid-Atlantic: Swamp Milkweed (A. incarnata), Butterfly Weed (A. tuberosa), and Common Milkweed (A. syriaca). Avoid Tropical Milkweed (A. curassavica) — it does not die back in winter, disrupts migration cues, and can harbor the OE parasite (Ophryocystis elektroscirrha).
Certified Monarch Waystation
Hillside Road is an official Monarch Watch Waystation — one of thousands of registered habitats that form a network of refueling stops along the migration corridor.
The Window Experience
Wildlife, From Inside
Your Own Home
One of the most powerful outcomes of a well-designed native habitat is the intimate viewing experience it creates — wildlife so close you can watch it from your kitchen window.
Hummingbird Garden — Through the Window
Filmed from inside the house at Hillside Road. The native nectar garden in full bloom — Salvia, Agastache, and Monarda — visible from the kitchen window.
Male Eastern Bluebird — Suction-Cup Mealworm Feeder
Suction-cup mounted mealworm feeder on the glass. The bluebird is 6 inches from the window — completely unaware of the viewer inside. This is the experience WBDS designs for.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird — Trumpet Honeysuckle
Lonicera sempervirens in full bloom along the fence. The native vine that replaced Trumpet Vine in the WBDS palette — all the hummingbird value, none of the invasive spread.
The Next Level — Integrated Nature Viewing
Cameras Embedded in the Architecture
For larger custom projects, Bob has designed and proposed a fully integrated nature streaming system: cameras flush-mounted in the exterior trim of the home — invisible from outside — streaming four simultaneous live feeds (hummingbird garden, bluebird nesting box, window box, window feeder) directly to a dedicated kitchen nature screen. The habitat and the technology are conceived together from the start.
Documented at Hillside Road
The Evidence
Every photo below was taken at Hillside Road or in Bob's Wayne, PA gardens. Click any image to enlarge.
BEFORE — April 1, 2007. Bare, patchy turf. Zero ecological value.
AFTER — Certified Monarch Waystation. The 750 sq ft Pocket Pollinator Meadow behind the garage, transformed. The full 0.4-acre property at Hillside Road, Wayne PA.
Monarch butterfly on Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) — wings fully open, August 2019. A. incarnata is the recommended native milkweed for average to moist PA garden soils and one of the most reliable Monarch host plants in the mid-Atlantic.
Verbena hastata (Blue Vervain) at Hillside Road — a magnet for pollinators and hummingbirds.
American Goldfinch eating Coreopsis seeds at the window box — Wayne, PA.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird at the nectar garden — Agastache and Cuphea in background.
Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird hovering — the garden now hosts multiple individuals each season.
Red-tailed Hawk in the conifer — October 2011. Apex predator drawn to the property as the habitat matured.
Purple Coneflower (Echinacea) in late bloom — October 2011. Seedheads feed goldfinches through winter.
Pink Coneflower through Little Bluestem grass — October 2011. The five-seasons garden.
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Hillside Road native garden in full bloom — dense layered planting, Wayne PA, 2014.
Early May 2014 — garden emerging from winter. Native plants establishing their second season.
Spring 2014 — native groundcover and early blooms at Hillside Road.
Native garden overview — structural planting with grasses and perennials, Wayne PA.
Native border detail — layered planting with sedge understory and flowering perennials.
Peak summer July 2014 — full bloom. The garden at maximum ecological output.
September 2014 — late season color. Native asters and goldenrod carry the garden into fall.
Giant sunflower at Hillside Road — the garden as a living classroom. Wayne, PA.
One of Bob's daughters in the garden — orange Zinnias, giant sunflower, and the fence draped in vines. This is what it means to grow up in a living garden.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird hovering at Cypress Vine (Ipomoea quamoclit) — the shadow on the stucco wall is the photograph within the photograph. Hillside Road.
Native tubular bloom close-up — the flower architecture that hummingbirds are built to access.
Native honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) — red tubular blooms, a hummingbird magnet.
Native bloom detail — the color and form that signals nectar to a passing hummingbird.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird perched on Verbena bonariensis — the dead-still moment between hovering flights. Hillside Road, 2012.
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Monarch butterfly on Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) with Blue Mistflower — the Monarch Waystation in action. Hillside Road.
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Monarch butterfly on native Phlox — wings fully open, fueling up before the migration south. Hillside Road.
Lantana with red Zinnia — the 25% approved non-native annual palette that fills the seasonal gaps and keeps the nectar flowing.
Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) in bud — the essential Monarch host plant at Hillside Road.
California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica) — a brilliant self-seeding annual that fills the groundcover layer with color from May onward.
Monarch butterfly on Butterfly Weed — wings spread, the orange-and-black against the yellow blooms is unmistakable. Hillside Road.
Native Phlox 'Jeana' with Cypress Vine — the red tubular flowers of the vine are irresistible to hummingbirds. Summer 2012.
Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis) rising through Little Bluestem — the vertical layer that hummingbirds target from above. Patio garden, Summer 2012.
The 750 sq ft Pocket Pollinator Meadow behind the garage at peak — the mulch path, the drip irrigation line, the layered planting in full summer bloom. This is what 750 sq ft of a 0.4-acre suburban property can become.
Monarch butterfly on Mexican Sunflower (Tithonia) — a high-impact annual at the front garden edge, with the neighborhood canopy oaks behind. Summer 2012.
Monarch butterfly on Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) in the front lawn planting — the first native plant to bring a Monarch to Hillside Road. The lawn is still there; the transformation has just begun.
Winterberry (Ilex verticillata) after an ice storm — February 2011. The red berries encased in ice are a lifeline for Cedar Waxwings, American Robins, and Eastern Bluebirds in the depths of winter. The Accoya wood nest boxes stand ready in the background.
Winterberry (Ilex verticillata) macro — February 2011. Each berry cluster encased in ice. This is why native shrubs with persistent fruit are non-negotiable in a four-season bird garden.
Monarch butterfly on Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) — wings fully open, August 2019. The pink flower clusters of Swamp Milkweed are irresistible to Monarchs and are the most reliable host plant for wet or average garden soils.
Monarch butterfly on orange Zinnia with Agastache behind — the 25% approved non-native annual palette doing exactly what it should: keeping the nectar corridor alive all season.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on Verbena bonariensis — the tall airy stems thread through any planting and draw butterflies from across the garden.
Joe-Pye Weed (Eutrochium purpureum) in full bloom with a Swallowtail — one of the most powerful late-summer natives for pollinators and migrating Monarchs. A must in the five-layer system.
"If you have a backyard, this book is for you."
— Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods, on Bringing Nature Home
Bob Barrett has been a messenger for Doug Tallamy's work for years — bringing it into talks, seminars, and every landscape design he creates. The Hillside Road garden is what happens when you take that message seriously in your own backyard.