Spice Up Grandview
What if yards throughout Grandview Heights could collectively become habitat for one of Ohio’s most beautiful native butterflies?
Spice Up Grandview is a Sustainable Grandview initiative to establish Northern Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) throughout our community. Beginning in spring 2027, we plan to distribute more than 100 spicebushes to Grandview residents for planting in yards and gardens across the city. Our goal is not simply to give away plants. We want to create a growing network of native habitat that supports the Spicebush Swallowtail and the many other insects, birds, and wildlife that depend on native plants.
Why spicebush?Northern Spicebush is a native deciduous shrub found naturally in forests and woodland edges throughout Ohio. It is remarkably adaptable in a home landscape. Spicebush can grow in sun or shade, tolerates a range of soil and moisture conditions, and typically grows into a large shrub of roughly 6–12 feet. Its ability to thrive beneath trees makes it particularly valuable in an older, heavily shaded community like Grandview Heights, where many flowering garden plants struggle.
It is also an excellent native alternative to Amur honeysuckle, an invasive shrub that has spread throughout central Ohio's natural areas. Where conditions are appropriate, removing invasive honeysuckle and replacing it with spicebush can preserve the attractive shrub layer while providing much greater ecological value.
Grandview can be known as the home of the Spicebush Swallowtail
The Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus) has a particularly close relationship with spicebush. Female butterflies lay their eggs on spicebush and a small number of related native plants, and the leaves provide food for the developing caterpillars.
The caterpillars are remarkable animals themselves. Young caterpillars mimic bird droppings, while older caterpillars develop large eyespots that make them resemble tiny snakes. They often fold a spicebush leaf around themselves with silk, creating a shelter in which they can hide during the day.
Planting spicebush provides a place for butterflies to reproduce and complete their life cycle. Nectar plants help feed adult butterflies; host plants make new butterflies possible. And, spicebush supports more than its namesake swallowtail. Its foliage is used by a variety of native insects, including other moth and butterfly species. Those insects, in turn, are part of the food web that supports birds and other wildlife.
Food and shelter throughout the year
Spicebush provides benefits in multiple seasons. Tiny yellow flowers appear very early in spring, often before the leaves emerge, providing an early-season floral resource when relatively little else is blooming.
Female plants can produce bright red berries later in the year when pollinated by a male plant nearby. Those fruits are eaten by migrating and resident birds. The shrub itself also adds structure and cover beneath the tree canopy, creating the kind of layered vegetation found in natural woodland habitat. That combination is one reason native plants can contribute so much more to a functioning ecosystem than plants selected primarily for ornamental value.
Grandview Heights is only about a square mile, which creates an unusual opportunity. More than 100 spicebushes distributed throughout such a compact community could begin to create a network of host plants rather than isolated patches of habitat.
A butterfly moving through a developed landscape encounters houses, streets, lawns and other areas that provide little usable habitat. Native plants in individual yards can function as small habitat patches along that journey. As more households participate, those patches become more numerous and closer together. So, no single yard needs to become a whole nature preserve. A spicebush beneath a mature shade tree, a patch of native flowers along a sidewalk, or a small native garden replacing part of a lawn can each contribute something. That is the larger idea behind Spice Up Grandview: to use the collective landscape of an entire community to support biodiversity.
Our first goal is to establish 100+ spicebushes in spring 2027. We hope that's just the beginning. By reserving a free spicebush and planting it in your yard, you will help make Grandview the home of the Spicebush Swallowtail and wildlife of all types.
What if yards throughout Grandview Heights could collectively become habitat for one of Ohio’s most beautiful native butterflies?
Spice Up Grandview is a Sustainable Grandview initiative to establish Northern Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) throughout our community. Beginning in spring 2027, we plan to distribute more than 100 spicebushes to Grandview residents for planting in yards and gardens across the city. Our goal is not simply to give away plants. We want to create a growing network of native habitat that supports the Spicebush Swallowtail and the many other insects, birds, and wildlife that depend on native plants.
Why spicebush?Northern Spicebush is a native deciduous shrub found naturally in forests and woodland edges throughout Ohio. It is remarkably adaptable in a home landscape. Spicebush can grow in sun or shade, tolerates a range of soil and moisture conditions, and typically grows into a large shrub of roughly 6–12 feet. Its ability to thrive beneath trees makes it particularly valuable in an older, heavily shaded community like Grandview Heights, where many flowering garden plants struggle.
It is also an excellent native alternative to Amur honeysuckle, an invasive shrub that has spread throughout central Ohio's natural areas. Where conditions are appropriate, removing invasive honeysuckle and replacing it with spicebush can preserve the attractive shrub layer while providing much greater ecological value.
Grandview can be known as the home of the Spicebush Swallowtail
The Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus) has a particularly close relationship with spicebush. Female butterflies lay their eggs on spicebush and a small number of related native plants, and the leaves provide food for the developing caterpillars.
The caterpillars are remarkable animals themselves. Young caterpillars mimic bird droppings, while older caterpillars develop large eyespots that make them resemble tiny snakes. They often fold a spicebush leaf around themselves with silk, creating a shelter in which they can hide during the day.
Planting spicebush provides a place for butterflies to reproduce and complete their life cycle. Nectar plants help feed adult butterflies; host plants make new butterflies possible. And, spicebush supports more than its namesake swallowtail. Its foliage is used by a variety of native insects, including other moth and butterfly species. Those insects, in turn, are part of the food web that supports birds and other wildlife.
Food and shelter throughout the year
Spicebush provides benefits in multiple seasons. Tiny yellow flowers appear very early in spring, often before the leaves emerge, providing an early-season floral resource when relatively little else is blooming.
Female plants can produce bright red berries later in the year when pollinated by a male plant nearby. Those fruits are eaten by migrating and resident birds. The shrub itself also adds structure and cover beneath the tree canopy, creating the kind of layered vegetation found in natural woodland habitat. That combination is one reason native plants can contribute so much more to a functioning ecosystem than plants selected primarily for ornamental value.
Grandview Heights is only about a square mile, which creates an unusual opportunity. More than 100 spicebushes distributed throughout such a compact community could begin to create a network of host plants rather than isolated patches of habitat.
A butterfly moving through a developed landscape encounters houses, streets, lawns and other areas that provide little usable habitat. Native plants in individual yards can function as small habitat patches along that journey. As more households participate, those patches become more numerous and closer together. So, no single yard needs to become a whole nature preserve. A spicebush beneath a mature shade tree, a patch of native flowers along a sidewalk, or a small native garden replacing part of a lawn can each contribute something. That is the larger idea behind Spice Up Grandview: to use the collective landscape of an entire community to support biodiversity.
Our first goal is to establish 100+ spicebushes in spring 2027. We hope that's just the beginning. By reserving a free spicebush and planting it in your yard, you will help make Grandview the home of the Spicebush Swallowtail and wildlife of all types.
How to Get Your Free Spicebush
Participating in Spice Up Grandview is easy. Start by clicking the reservation link below and letting us know that you'd like a shrub. Sustainable Grandview will order the plants and hold a community distribution event in spring 2027. The exact date, time, and location will be announced as we get closer to planting season.
At the distribution event, you'll pick up your spicebush and receive a handout with more detailed planting and care instructions. We'll also have people available to help answer questions about choosing a location and getting your shrub established.
Where should I plant it?Spicebush is quite adaptable, but it is particularly useful in places where many other landscape plants struggle. It naturally grows as an understory shrub and does well in partial shade and even substantial shade, making it a good choice beneath Grandview's mature tree canopy. It generally prefers average-to-moist soil and can ultimately reach roughly 6–12 feet tall and wide. Here is some info from Missouri Botanical Garden:
Choose a location where the shrub will have room to reach its mature size. After planting, water it thoroughly and keep the soil reasonably moist while its root system becomes established. A layer of mulch around the plant can help retain moisture and reduce competition from weeds—but keep mulch away from direct contact with the stem.
Those are the basics, and we'll provide a more complete planting and care guide when you pick up your shrub, including advice on planting depth, watering during the first growing season, mulching, and long-term care.
Will my spicebush produce berries? Maybe! Spicebush is dioecious, which means individual plants are either male or female. Both male and female plants produce the small yellow flowers that appear in early spring, but only female plants produce the bright red berries—and a female needs pollen from a male plant to set fruit. Those berries mature in fall and are particularly attractive to birds. Because our young plants won't necessarily be old enough for us to reliably identify their sex, we can't guarantee whether the spicebush you receive will be male or female. If you have enough room, consider planting more than one. Having multiple plants increases the chance that you'll have both sexes represented and therefore a fruit-bearing female. It also means more host-plant foliage for Spicebush Swallowtail caterpillars and more habitat overall.
Participating in Spice Up Grandview is easy. Start by clicking the reservation link below and letting us know that you'd like a shrub. Sustainable Grandview will order the plants and hold a community distribution event in spring 2027. The exact date, time, and location will be announced as we get closer to planting season.
At the distribution event, you'll pick up your spicebush and receive a handout with more detailed planting and care instructions. We'll also have people available to help answer questions about choosing a location and getting your shrub established.
Where should I plant it?Spicebush is quite adaptable, but it is particularly useful in places where many other landscape plants struggle. It naturally grows as an understory shrub and does well in partial shade and even substantial shade, making it a good choice beneath Grandview's mature tree canopy. It generally prefers average-to-moist soil and can ultimately reach roughly 6–12 feet tall and wide. Here is some info from Missouri Botanical Garden:
Choose a location where the shrub will have room to reach its mature size. After planting, water it thoroughly and keep the soil reasonably moist while its root system becomes established. A layer of mulch around the plant can help retain moisture and reduce competition from weeds—but keep mulch away from direct contact with the stem.
Those are the basics, and we'll provide a more complete planting and care guide when you pick up your shrub, including advice on planting depth, watering during the first growing season, mulching, and long-term care.
Will my spicebush produce berries? Maybe! Spicebush is dioecious, which means individual plants are either male or female. Both male and female plants produce the small yellow flowers that appear in early spring, but only female plants produce the bright red berries—and a female needs pollen from a male plant to set fruit. Those berries mature in fall and are particularly attractive to birds. Because our young plants won't necessarily be old enough for us to reliably identify their sex, we can't guarantee whether the spicebush you receive will be male or female. If you have enough room, consider planting more than one. Having multiple plants increases the chance that you'll have both sexes represented and therefore a fruit-bearing female. It also means more host-plant foliage for Spicebush Swallowtail caterpillars and more habitat overall.
Photo credits (clockwise from upper left): US Fish & Wildlife Service (1, 2), Wikimedia Commons (3, 4, 5), UConn Plant Database (6)
