Native Pollinator Garden

For a native pollinator garden, I divided my front yard into sections around a bee lawn. The photo above is a DURING photo, showing the mulch covering the bare dirt until I plant my plugs. Below are the BEFORE photos.

The native rose will be planted near (but not too near) the electric box.

Clover will surround the sharing library, now an official Little Free Library.

In front of the lilac shrub, I'll have some plants.

These two corners will be filled with a variety of plants. I dug the dip out, filling it with rocks and covering with mulch so that we capture some of the water taht would normally head down the storm drain.

Here's a DURING photo. My darling dear of a husband helped me dig. 

These AFTER photos are unimpressive now. The plant plugs are about the size of the four packs of annuals from a greenhouse. In this bed, I have blanket flower and butterfly weed (orange color palette), along with alyssum and transplanted lilies from the rock.

This is the biggest garden by far with a purple palette: purple coneflower, prairie smoke, wild lupine, prairie phlox, silky aster, annual salvia, and alyssum. I've also planted some sunflower seeds (Velvet Queen). I'm hoping they bloom the same as the orange plants to tie all this together. The aster was munched the first night by rabbits, so I've sprinkled cayenne pepper around the plants now. 

This is a small corner with plants from the rock and one prairie smoke plug. I'll update when the plants start filling out and (hopefully this year) blooming. 

Baby steps of new gardens

I said I'd put the steps of adding gardens to our new residence. It's tough to get motivated to put this online. I see people who are living through the internet, and I can't blame them. It's pretty much the only way to stay connected with multiple people. I'm more of a hermit. And I'm happier when I'm not on the internet, where people are getting political and the news is scary. But I find that I'm enjoying books and articles (yes, some online) about gardening and wishing that there were more gardening shows, so I'll honor those who need a little gardening in their lives by showing mine. Let me just say that I'm not intending to brag or tell you what you "should" do. And my joy is just that...delight in the process. This has been a lot of hard work, digging and lifting, sore muscles and calluses. And I have lots more to do! So, yes, there are mistakes and failures but also new flowers and less lawn. I'm just happier playing in the dirt...and reading a book outside overlooking all the work I did. (Photo above: new pots  of flowers soaking in today's rain)

Prepping for a bee lawn

To prepare for a bee lawn, I followed the directions given to me by the folks who promote the Lawns to Legumes grant program. I mowed the lawn, picking up the clippings, as low as the mower would go. Then I raked up dead grass, roughing up any bare dirt visible. Next I sprinkled bags of compost around. In hind sight, I probably should have used more compost. I'm trying to honor the stay at home order, so normally I would run to the store, but this time I'll make do. The I sprinkled a layer of seed, which is a combination of fescue with some white clover, creeping thyme, and self-heal. I bought it pre-packaged. I added some additional white clover around the large rocks to create a short border of ground cover so that when I do have to mow, I can skip that area. I have watered deeply and will water again every other day, unless we get rain. Soon I will add some native plants, but it's too cold for that yet! Yes, this is a boring photo, but it's "before." Stay tuned...and Happy Earth Day!

Spring and Stress Nibbling

Happy Spring! When I trimmed the branches of the crab apple, I brought a few in for me. I set them in sugar water...and here's what's happening so far.

Also, I find that I like to bake when I'm stressed. And who isn't stressed during this virus outbreak? The problem is that I stress nibble...I made this cake for this evening. You see the problem.

Branches for Bunnies

I'm no expert at pruning. I marvel at those who do it well. But I know how to remove branches that cross each other. And I can remove a few for better air circulation. I don't think this tree has been pruned for years--no judgement--so I put my pruning saw to work and trimmed a few branches. Above is the "before" photo.This next photo is how the branches look before wildlife chew. And the "after" photos follow. What's good about this? I'm helping bunnies survive the winter. The bad news? I have to plan to protect my plants this spring!

January Blahs and Carbs

This potato soup (see above) is a product of a new Instant Pot because we are without a kitchen for a while (see below). I'm so grateful that we are able to afford this project...and an Instant Pot. I do have the January blahs, and life moves a little more slowly and with more carbs. For example, I peeled potatoes for the soup but substituted green onions because I couldn't bring myself to chop and saute an onion. I intended to add kale but forgot to buy it in the store. And I may have bought two new kinds of oreos to "try" them.   How do people eat low carb in January? 

Happy Holidays!

Happy holidays! Whatever you celebrate, I wish you a time of good food and personal connections. And a seed catalog for summer dreaming. For those of you in the know, this is a Thanksgiving cactus (which bloomed with perfect timing on Thanksgiving). It looks like a Christmas cactus, so I'm pretending that it works for this post. We're still in the process of adjusting to our new place, so Christmas is a little "less" this year: fewer decorations, fewer cookies, less hubbub in general. But we still have the full spirit of good will to all!