I am not a big fan of signs but want to help people learn about native plants. I add small plant signs to the garden. People's reaction surprises me, and is overwhelmingly positive.
Love the signs especially the one with the garden’s story. You’re doing a great job educating your neighbors. It would be wonderful if each neighborhood had its own ‘Jeff!’ Susan 🌞
Susan - You are very kind and I suspect every neighborhood would be better if it had a "Susan". I am really pleased with the sign "The Garden's Story" as it turned out much better than I expected. Thanks for watching and leaving such a sweet comment; it means a lot to me! Take Care!
Peter - I am getting more comfortable with the whole RU-vid experience and am starting to think outside the box. Thanks for continuing to be such a big supporter! Take care!
Do pedestrians who stop to admire your garden, rest in your chairs. It all looks so very inviting. I am the untidy gardener in my little group of houses. This year for the first time i grew a group of tall, vibrant zinnias. This week my meticulously, tidy gardener neighbour stopped to remark that he and his wife had observed monarch butterflies visiting my zinnias every day. It is ridiculous how delighted i was.
Jean - Everyone who walks by I invite to sit in the chairs any time they want. I only have seen two people actually sit in the chairs. It took a while for people to take the path (mostly kids) so I believe I will have to invite multiple times for people to sit in the chairs before they will. With the flowers starting to bloom, the butterflies now in the garden and the hummingbirds visiting there may be more interest to sit and watch. Unfortunately I think most people are so busy they can't take the time to sit for a few moments and enjoy nature. I completely understand the thrill you feel when a neighbor makes a positive comment. Yesterday I had a lady in the neighborhood drive by, roll down her window and state she and her husband walked by saw the QR code on the sign and scanned. They have been watching the videos and stated they were really enjoying. Yes that made me smile inside and out.
I hope you are correct and people are starting to think, "should I take a 5x5 area and plant some natives and see what happens". Lets hope so! I have other ideas to bring people to the rewilding family. I think episode 12 will be the next try...... stay tuned. Take care!
These signs look great - so happy to see the positive impact they have! I am in the process of redoing my front gardens - will add zinc tags like yours. I also have Pollinator Pathway and National Wildlife Federation habitat signs. Keep on spreading the good word, Earth Warrior Jeff!💚
Earth Warrior Patti - I was very concerned the signs would take away from the garden but they actually have drawn people in. I will be interested to hear if you have a similar experience with your signs. I would love to get a National Wildlife Federation habitat sign but I need to add a water feature and a couple of bird houses before I will apply for one. Take care!
Gideon - The garden and the positive response from people has been one of the most satisfying activities I have been a part of. We have recently had a lot of rain and the garden has exploded with flowers and caterpillars. I continue to be completely amazed on a continuous basis by the transformation of this small piece of ground. So glad you can get a feel of the develop of the garden by the videos. Take care!
Wouter - Always good to hear from you! For the first time I have so many ideas for videos I know this series will continue for a long time. Thanks agaqin for coming along on the journey with me. Take care.
I will have to look at the Xerces Society signs. Having a sign from one of the organizations which protects and restores habitat or helps educate the public about wildlife and habitat is a good thing. Thanks for caring and making a difference! Take care!
Nice touch with the signs. I have the PictureThis app on my phone that June and I use all the time when we are out on our walks through the neighborhood to figure out some plant/flower she likes. Keep the videos coming…..
There are a bunch of great apps to help identify plants. Amazing the technology we have at our fingertips. Thanks for watching! You and June take care.
Here in Wisconsin, March is when I start looking for any signs of spring so I thought this was going to be about signs that your garden is coming to life. LOL! These garden signs are cool, though.
Michelle - I am sorry if my thumbnail was misleading. I hope you enjoyed the video. I also hope you have a spring with many flowers to enjoy! Take care.
Just discovered your channel. I love it. I've been rewilding my front yard for a couple of years now, and it's been a lot of hard, but enjoyable work. Because of the rocky soil here in SW Missouri, my most commonly used garden tool, particularly when working on a new section of yard removal, has been my pickaxe. Looking forward to seeing more from you.
Russ - Always good to hear from another rewilder!!! A pickaxe is not a tool I have had to use in my rewilding but we all have our challenges in turning the land back to nature. The good news is I have a long list of episodes in my head and am working on a couple episodes as I write this but the bad news is it takes me forever to put together and publish. Glad you enjoyed the videos and great to have you along for the ride. Take care!
You are doing a fine job rewilding you garden, Jeff. I find the signs helpful. After watching your garden projects, I always feel an urge to cultivate native plants in my yard. Thanks for sharing and spreading the inspiration amigo!
Travis - Good to hear from you again. Glad you continue to watch the channel and have an urge to get some native plants in your garden. I think you would be amazed the bees and butterflies which showed up. You would get some cool pictures in your own yard!
Excited for your next round of winter sowing next year after hearing about the successes you're having with round 1. I found myself under 50% last year but still had 10-15 different types of plants that I broke up and placed around the yard. The fun part about those various milkweeds and few different flowers is how big of a seed haul I took in from them. This year almost half of my 160 jugs were 10x of the plants I already had so I could spread them to friends and neighbors who have given me permission to rewild. The other 90 jugs this year have been monitored more closely (last year i didn't keep some moist enough I think) and have had 80/90 germinate. Excited for what that means for my yard, but also what that means for what can be shared next year! So glad you're willing to put in the time for these videos Jeff, I notice a lot of similarities in the things we find exciting and new ideas, and it's fun to see it all laid out in a digestible journey to show others possibilities. Keep up the fantastic work 👏 💪 👍
Alex - I learned a lot with the first trial of winter sowing and plan to expand the number of plants I grow. Will be trying to grow a lot more milkweed as I want to be able to offer for free to get people on board with learning how they can help Monarch Butterflies. I think I need to water a lot more and maybe keep them in the jugs longer. Will have to experiment a little to optimize. Thanks again for watching the videos, providing great feedback and helping me learn! Have a great day and take care.
Allen - Your comment made me laugh. I have to admit I have a couple of plants in the garden I planted and can't figure out what they are for sure. Thanks for watching and leaving a comment. Take care!
Great idea and I don't know why I didn't think of that. I may add a second sign on a couple of the plants to see how it looks and the reaction I get from people walking by. Thanks for watching and providing the idea about using a second sign!!! Take care!
