I spoke to my sister on the phone the other day, and during the conversation she told me that she and her husband had a good laugh over the fact that I’m creating a pollinator garden. She reminded me, for years, I’ve told the two of them that I never wanted to do any gardening.
Gardening was boring. I’ve always lived in houses where the gardens required lots of maintenance and fussiness over plants where I didn’t have any interest. I didn’t care because the plants were the same everywhere I turned. I started to notice the blandness of the suburban gardens all around. It seemed that every builder chose the same landscaping plants for every house, making everything the same. No wonder biodiversity is one of the major environmental crises of our time. Even the gardens at older houses have the trends of their particular time. I think of the pachysandra, which I mentioned before, and forsythia of the 1970’s. Every house in suburbia in the northeast grew these plants. Is it so scary to be unique?
How wonderful to downsize and have a small garden with plants that are far more meaningful to me. It isn’t just about taking care of a garden for aesthetic reasons, but for the purpose of helping native pollinators. Just by adding the environmental element to the task of gardening has changed my entire perspective.
I’ve also started to notice more of the native wildflowers around me. While taking a walk along a local mountain biking trail last week, I kept a list of the native wildflowers that were blooming. The list included 28 species.
By keeping track of when these plants bloom and if they need sun or shade, I’m developing more ideas for my own garden. Perhaps other species may be more successful than the ones I’ve chosen. But first I have to see how well my plants do this year.
Here’s to creating a pollinator’s paradise!
Yes! It’s fun! I like hearing about your process. And the journaling is a great idea.
For years ( eeek, decades) I grew vegetables and flowers for cutting and a few perennials and shrubs around the house foundation.
But a few years ago I converted the veggie garden to a native pollinator sanctuary, and it’s more fun! More about restoring habitat and supporting the natural world, and for me, less about aesthetics and blooms for a vase. ( But I still tuck in kale and herbs )
I love creating an oasis for insects and butterflies and birds, and listening to the loud buzzy insects all summer.
There's definitely something about having plants be there as an integral part of the native environment and not just to look pretty.