Can't remember if I'd mentioned at some point in the past that I was
planting (mostly state-native) wildflowers in a few places around the
yard.
I obviously did (lots of) something(s) wrong, as not a whole lot came
up, in terms of variety (and have a few entirely bare patches too).
In the front, about the only thing that came up well were the Cosmos,
with maybe 1 or 2 Zinnia or Coreopsis plants that also came up to fill
in the lower spots (and basically none of the "early season" flowers
came up at all).
Think for next year, I need to keep a better eye on keeping the garden watered (especially in the spring/summer til things get established).
Maybe some additional fertilizer, or a mulch or something to protect the seeds from birds as well.
Think for next year, I need to keep a better eye on keeping the garden watered (especially in the spring/summer til things get established).
Maybe some additional fertilizer, or a mulch or something to protect the seeds from birds as well.
Dan Purgert wrote:
...
Think for next year, I need to keep a better eye on keeping the garden
watered (especially in the spring/summer til things get established).
Maybe some additional fertilizer, or a mulch or something to protect the
seeds from birds as well.
as a post script, cosmos are an annual and do well but
they also are best planted into some disturbed soil where
you want them as compared to letting them try to come up
willy nilly. they are great bee fodder for later in the
summer and into the fall until the frosts take them out.
it's a great way to do a census on your native bee
populations to have a patch of them and to stand there
and watch to see which bees visit.
Can't remember if I'd mentioned...snipped...Maybe some additional
fertilizer, or a mulch or something to protect the seeds from birds as
well.
On Wed, 25 Oct 2023 14:08:33 -0000 (UTC), Dan Purgert wrote:
Can't remember if I'd mentioned...snipped...Maybe some additional >>fertilizer, or a mulch or something to protect the seeds from birds as >>well.
I thought I had an epiphany this year. I have a some volunteer flowers
and grasses in the front yard that are turning to seed. I clipped the
seeds, mixed them in a 5 gallon bucket, and spread them about in the back yard.
The birds loved them!
I'm not too worried about them migrating, when I looked up the mix of
seeds I bought, none of them were said to creep or have wind-blown
seeds. That being said, I fully expect animals or other insects may
carry them about, but more power to the native plants!
I (visually) caught a few bumblebees in the flowers this year, as well
as what looked like possibly some wild honeybees. So hooray there. Especially considering most (all) of the houses here are otherwise
barren wastelands of "suburbia gardens".
None of the flowers are / should be perennial (well at least over here
in Zone 5 ... but then again, winters have been getting pretty mild,
which is bad) -- but with that being said, they should be able to
self-seed as well (if they've not all already become bird food :) ).
I'm not too worried about them migrating, when I looked up the mix of
seeds I bought, none of them were said to creep or have wind-blown
seeds. That being said, I fully expect animals or other insects may
carry them about, but more power to the native plants!
Dan Purgert wrote:
...
I (visually) caught a few bumblebees in the flowers this year, as well
as what looked like possibly some wild honeybees. So hooray there.
Especially considering most (all) of the houses here are otherwise
barren wastelands of "suburbia gardens".
one thing that also works well for me as a bee
food is onion flowers. i try to get some going
each season and leave them to overwinter so they
are coming up and blooming in the spring. i
[...]
well, i hate to be paranoid about this but the
seed mixes we used had some weed seeds in them and
so it pays to keep an eye out on the patch for any
pests that may have tagged along.
heading off a major weed infestation is really
easy if you can get the first few that appear before
they have a chance to drop seeds or spread further.
we have some other wonderful weeds that show up at
times from the birds moving seeds around (poison ivy
and thistles being the two toughest ones to get rid
of if i don't catch them early).
[...] if you keep
after any sprouts that come up they will eventually
give up.
On 2023-10-26, songbird wrote:
Dan Purgert wrote:
...
I (visually) caught a few bumblebees in the flowers this year, as well
as what looked like possibly some wild honeybees. So hooray there.
Especially considering most (all) of the houses here are otherwise
barren wastelands of "suburbia gardens".
one thing that also works well for me as a bee
food is onion flowers. i try to get some going
each season and leave them to overwinter so they
are coming up and blooming in the spring. i
Oh indeed! I've got a little patch of chives in the one corner that are starting to spread out just a little bit. They're pretty when they
flower (and, y'know, taste pretty alright too :) )
[...]
well, i hate to be paranoid about this but the
seed mixes we used had some weed seeds in them and
so it pays to keep an eye out on the patch for any
pests that may have tagged along.
The batch I got was from a local (like literally 20 minutes away) seed
house that specializes in the state-native wildflowers. So what came up
was pretty solid (if only more did). Granted I can't say that the
thistle and other unwanted plants I fight with in the garden *weren't*
in those packets :)
heading off a major weed infestation is really
easy if you can get the first few that appear before
they have a chance to drop seeds or spread further.
Well, I mean, many would call my wildflowers "weeds" (and til they
started flowering, things looked pretty bad).
we have some other wonderful weeds that show up at
times from the birds moving seeds around (poison ivy
and thistles being the two toughest ones to get rid
of if i don't catch them early).
INDEED. Thistles (or other spiky things) are the bane of my gardens.
I'm going to have to figure out "something" for the shadier garden --
the weeds pick up there fine, but it's hard to get back there without squishing what I want to keep, so maybe some pavers / stepping stones to
make the path look nice...
[...] if you keep
after any sprouts that come up they will eventually
give up.
There's only "so much life" in a root (etc) afterall ...
Dan Purgert wrote:
On 2023-10-26, songbird wrote:
Dan Purgert wrote:
...
I (visually) caught a few bumblebees in the flowers this year, as well >>>> as what looked like possibly some wild honeybees. So hooray there.
Especially considering most (all) of the houses here are otherwise
barren wastelands of "suburbia gardens".
one thing that also works well for me as a bee
food is onion flowers. i try to get some going
each season and leave them to overwinter so they
are coming up and blooming in the spring. i
Oh indeed! I've got a little patch of chives in the one corner that are
starting to spread out just a little bit. They're pretty when they
flower (and, y'know, taste pretty alright too :) )
i've had to remove a few hundred square feet of
chives from a patch that started as chives scattered
to try to deter the chipmunks. oy... the smell of
chive roots is gag inducing to me. the other patch
which we kept going until last year we've been able
to just mow and the chives are being gradually
replaced by grasses/weeds - much easier on me as
long as the weeds are not spreading too fast i can
control that edge just fine. the chives were able
to keep the grass out for the most part until we
started mowing them back.
[...]
well, i hate to be paranoid about this but the
seed mixes we used had some weed seeds in them and
so it pays to keep an eye out on the patch for any
pests that may have tagged along.
The batch I got was from a local (like literally 20 minutes away) seed
house that specializes in the state-native wildflowers. So what came up
was pretty solid (if only more did). Granted I can't say that the
thistle and other unwanted plants I fight with in the garden *weren't*
in those packets :)
it's a tough weed to get rid of, but gotten early
and often helps a great deal. keep at it! :)
heading off a major weed infestation is really
easy if you can get the first few that appear before
they have a chance to drop seeds or spread further.
Well, I mean, many would call my wildflowers "weeds" (and til they
started flowering, things looked pretty bad).
ha! :) you don't have a town ordinance against
having tall weeds? we're out in the country enough
that isn't an issue at all.
Sysop: | Keyop |
---|---|
Location: | Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, UK |
Users: | 297 |
Nodes: | 16 (2 / 14) |
Uptime: | 16:37:19 |
Calls: | 6,667 |
Calls today: | 1 |
Files: | 12,216 |
Messages: | 5,336,775 |