Category Archives: Pollinators

Gardening For Bees, Bugs and Butterflies

Posted on November 6, 2017 by Ann Lovejoy
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To forward this worthy agenda, many folks designate an area near orchards and vegetable beds to become home ground for beneficials. Organic growers call such areas “bug banks,” since they become storehouses of invaluable insect garden allies. In its simplest form, a slim strip of bug bank might line or abut each row in a veggie patch, holding perennial herbs such as oregano, thyme, sage and rosemary as well as annual flowers like feverfew and sweet alyssum. The greater the variety of plants on offer, the greater the assortment and quantity of insect helpers that will make themselves at home. Continue reading →

Posted in pests and pesticides, Pollinators, Sustainable Gardening | Tagged | 6 Comments

Planting For The Planet

Posted on October 30, 2017 by Ann Lovejoy
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If this all feels hopeless, it’s heartening to know that we gardeners can make a genuine difference right now. All of us can preferentially choose food and clothing made from organically grown crops, but anyone with a meadow or a backyard or even a windowbox can also provide food and shelter for local insects. Even the tidy minded can set aside an area to be a Bug Bank, filled with plants that local beneficial insects can chew and sip and make homes amongst. Let a little land go wild and the wild will return. Turn a pocket lawn into a meadow and insects will make a home for themselves. Let a lot of land return to nature and natural communities will reestablish. Continue reading →

Posted in composting, Drainage, Garden Prep, Growing Berry Crops, Health & Wellbeing, pests and pesticides, Pollinators, Sustainable Gardening, Sustainable Living | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Bluest Of The Blues

Posted on March 20, 2017 by Ann Lovejoy
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So far, anyway, deer have ignored my delphiniums, along with the foxgloves, the sea hollies, the globe thistles, the agastaches, the penstemons and the cone flowers (Echinacea). Perhaps best of all, these new hybrids can stand up for themselves, so no unsightly cages or stakes are needed. In borders on flat ground, such props can usually be more or less hidden but in mounded or sloping beds, they are all too visible, even when the metals is carefully wound about with willow switches or raffia. The old delphiniums had strong stems but tended to blow over, and when they were staked, they’d snap right at the top of the stakes or cages. Happily, these new ones are cage-free and take windy days in stride. Continue reading →

Posted in Drainage, Easy Care Perennials, Garden Prep, Pollinators, Soil, Sustainable Gardening, Sustainable Living | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Saving All the Bees

Posted on March 13, 2017 by Ann Lovejoy
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Nectar is not the only attraction in a well stocked garden, so don’t get bugged by bugs. Having a haze of insects hovering over your beds will just about guarantee you a host of birds (even hummers need protein as well as sweet desserts) as well as butterflies. Housing helps too; many grasses (especially stipas) are butterfly friendly host plants, while roses offer building material to leaf cutter bees along with their pollen and nectar. That’s a large part of why I tidy now, in late winter and early spring instead of in autumn; putting off the work protect and supports native pollinators and when I finally get around to it, there’s a lot less to do, since so much as self-composted in place. Continue reading →

Posted in composting, Early Crops, Easy Care Perennials, fall/winter crops, Garden Prep, Pollinators | Tagged , | Leave a comment