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Some 4,000-5,000 species of bees are native to the United States (with around 500 of those residing in Illinois) and their habitat is disappearing quickly. Needless to say, we’re not cool with that.

When you think of bees, it’s a safe bet you see honeybees swarming over the outside of a hive. Videos from elementary school showing them performing their intricate dances to indicate sources of pollen, direction and distance. Perhaps a bumblebee or two.

But these simplistic images of pollinators held by most Americans – and others around the world – are problematic. Not only are they limited in the extreme, but they lend the impression that all bees are social creatures.

The reality is far more complicated. While honeybees and bumblebees are certainly social, most bees are actually solitary. That means aside from mating, they live, eat and sleep alone.

(And not in a sad way. They’re making a choice, okay??)

Even more problematic: Because we fail to recognize the importance of native solitary bees, we don’t do much to accommodate their habitats (many of which are in steady decline). And if we want to keep enjoying, you know, food … then that needs to change. It’s time to learn how to create nesting habitat for native pollinators.

Ipe is a supposedly sustainable darling of the landscaping, outdoor living and homebuilding industries, but is it really all it’s cracked up to be? We’re going to be blunt: No.

Ipe.

If you’re even tangentially related to landscape architecture, home and outdoor living design, or carpentry, then you know about ipe. Also known as Brazilian hardwood, a name that hearkens to its origins, it grows in Central and South America, largely Brazil.

In other words … the Amazon. One of the world’s most important ecologies in terms of both genetic diversity and environmental benefits (you know, when it’s not on fire, as it has been recently.) It is bigger than Earth’s next two largest rainforests combined; it covers 40 percent of South America; it’s estimated to have 16,000 tree species and 390 billion individual trees.

It is a total boss of a rainforest, in other words – and we really don’t want to kill it.

Right? RIGHT??!

… right.

And to that end, it’s time to stop using an environmentally damaging wood posturing as a sustainable choice. If we want to make the most responsible choices and steward the world responsibly, we need to take a closer look.

Turns out getting back to nature isn’t just a mood booster; it can actually help you improve your health. Enter forest bathing, the hot new way to commune with Mother Earth.

Anyone who has ever pulled out of a fussy nosedive by going for a walk in the woods already knows that time spent in nature is good for your mood. In fact, research shows that you can even moderate mood disorders with plenty of time outdoors.

If that sounds simple enough, well, it is. Recently, though, health advocates have taken a more prescriptive approach: forest bathing.

Most people know that America used to be prairie, but most don’t know the incredible richness of diversity that these endless grasslands comprised.

To hear the colonists of the 18^th and 19^th centuries tell it, America was at one time a vast expanse of virgin forest and grassland.

Then there are more recent historical accounts, such as Charles C. Mann’s 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, which holds that all that untenanted space was an illusion. Rather, Native Americans had stewarded these lands for 20,000 years – and were only absent due to very recent cultural influences and devastating disease.

Those Native Americans intentionally set controlled burns that held back the advance of forests in the Southeast, Midwest and West, leading to billions of acres of gorgeous and diverse prairie.

Whatever version of the anthropological record you choose to believe, one thing’s for sure: From coast to coast, America used to boast grasslands of epic proportion. Equally certain: Most of them are now gone, with devastating consequences for the health of humans, animals, plants, pollinators and the ecosphere as a whole.

It’s time to bring them back.

Genetic diversity is critical to the long-term health – and even survival – of the ecosphere. Here’s how to make a difference through native gardening.

Native gardening.

If it hasn’t yet fired your imagination, we don’t blame you.

For one thing, smelly hippies talk about like all the time.

Also offputtingly, it seems to fuel a whole new spendy sector of Big Horticulture, and who wants to give their dollars to that?

And perhaps of greatest concern for the devoted gardener, it just seems so … leafy. I mean, can we get a flower once in a while?

These are some of the most prevalent myths about native gardening: that it’s crunchy, that it’s expensive, that it’s boring.

That’s not necessarily true, though. Native gardening is much more than a dry fad promulgated by back-to-the-landers who have no real concept of the urban environment; it’s one of the most important things you can do to help the world, reduce monoculture in cities, create broader-sweeping green infrastructure on roofs and in built environments, and increase genetic diversity today.

And you can do it right at home.

Cultivars are everywhere in nurseries and garden centers, but should you use them in a garden geared toward pollinators? Spoiler alert: no, and here’s why.

So you want to plant a pollinator garden. You like the idea of the birds and the bees hangin’ out right beyond your living room window or just past the kitchen stoop. Heck, the butterflies and beetles are welcome to join the show as well! Let’s get alllllll pollinated up in here.

Only one problem:

You’re not using the right plants.

Whoopsie.

This is a common mistake that new gardeners make. It even happens to experienced green thumbs, who are used to making seasonal (or monthly, or weekly, or daily … ahem, never mind) trips to the garden center. The problem can be summed up in a single word: cultivars. And when it comes to a healthy pollinator environment, cultivars just don’t play nice.

Building a green roof is a complex process that involves many stakeholders and experts. Here’s a quick breakdown of whom you can expect to work with on a green roof project.

So you’re ready for a green roof.

Maybe you’re in it for the energy savings. Perhaps you dream of taking your weekend cocktail on a rooftop patio surrounded by cute little plants. Maybe you just live for those bucolic duck moments … 40 stories up.

We’re cool with any and all of that – and we’d love to help.

First, though, it’s important to understand how the process works and who’s involved. Let’s take a look now.

When deciding what to plant in your garden or on your green roof, there’s a lot to choose from, and a lot of classifications into which those plants fall. Here’s a look at natives, nativars and cultivars to help you make better decisions.

Figuring out what to plant in your garden is a chore, that’s for sure.

For some of us, it’s a joy. The winter calm, during which we can pore over gardening magazines and pick the old favorites and new experiments, is always a welcome respite.

For others, though, it’s an existential nightmare: The bees are dying and I need to help them! Which plants don’t require chemicals? Can I find specimens that meet my aesthetic needs while still helping the planet??

If this is a frequent freakout for you, you’re not alone. Dire news about the environment gushes from the media, while garden centers are simultaneously promoting an increasing variety of “native” options. The whole time, experts are giving those “natives” the side-eye … but why? And what is their place in gardening, green roofing and green infrastructure in general?

The confusion boils down to a new invention of the industrial botanical complex: the nativar.

This is distinct from natives and cultivars, both of which you’re likely familiar. In order to make the best possible decisions about what to plant in your urban garden, you need to understand the difference between the three.

Lucky you: We’re here to help.