I love your garden philosophy! So many channels seem to have an unlimited budget and constantly get free plants from sponsors. Yours is so much more real, and your gardens look fantastic! If you ever have a cooking onion that sprouts, plant it in your flower garden and the pollinators will thank you.
Thanks so much. I am definitely going to try the cooking onion trick. I love that kind of stuff. I planted overly ripe carrots this spring and that was a blast.
I just admire you so much. Not accepting anything for your garden from sponsors and not purchasing wholesale to keep your content realistic, You could have the friggin garden of eden, but you choose to be authentic.
Hi, I’m a new subscriber (zone 5) and I am totally in awe of your gardens! You are the only RU-vidr so far that has been totally transparent on what you have spent, so it could give us an idea of what can be achieved without sponsors etc. I certainly have been planting both perennials (95%) and annuals that attract pollinators. Thank you for sharing and the inspiration! 🌸❤️🇨🇦
You know it's a shame that every major lawn company and property owner and property maintenance company owner in this country doesn't watch your video and completely embrace what you're bringing to the table because it's the solution to so many of our problems we're facing right now in our society phenomenal job you're an inspiration I learned from people like you believe it or not 35-40 years ago when we were using cups of red wigglers from Folgers and chock full of blocks coffee cans into our compost piles and our neighbors looked at us like dirty hippies, I love growing up poor with intelligent people to teach me you remind me of them thank you very much for this video phenomenal job
Thanks so much for the kind note of encouragement. I am a true believer that we can make the world a better place one little garden at a time. Nature is amazing!
@@GardenMoxie you know I wonder if there is anyone in our hobby in this line of work that is perfected edible pollinating plants that we could put out there not only to help pollinators but also so that we could harvest something at the end of the season and make the ground in the area of the property work for us a little bit so that we don't have to rely on the normal food chain that's pre-existing that's going to fall flat on its face in this country
I'm a bit older (almost 73), and I'm interested in continuing to garden as long as possible. That's going to mean fewer annuals, more perennials. But that's okay by me. I love what you have done with your garden.
Thanks so much. I hope people weren't put off with my talking about money, but I thought it would be helpful to understand how much things cost. I was really inspired by the seeds I grew this season. Besides being fun, the plants are beautiful. I need more seed growing space....ha ha.
Your garden is magnificent! Your videos provide me with a wealth of information and inspiration. I'm a new subscriber recently retired living in planned community with HOA in zone 7a. My neighbors and HOA is very supportive of my flower gardening and planting which makes it easy for me. I'm adding new flower beds using, no-dig method, to reduce size of my lawn. Very ecosavvy. I am seeing so many different types of pollinators and birds.
I really enjoy your practical and relatable approach to gardening. We have a backyard raised bed garden and in and around the garden beds, and the rest of our home, I plant flowers and herbs along with the food I’m growing for that season. Growing from seed is what I try to do 90% of the time. Sometimes they are the better plant and it’s so satisfying to sit back and look at what has grown from a tiny seed. Growing for pollinators is always one of my goals, so I just love your front flower garden. Your videos are so enjoyable and it makes me love gardening even more and I’ve only been doing it for the last 5 years! I learn so much each season, and you’re right about learning best when you have your hands in the dirt. 🤗🌺
Thank you for sharing your process. I am also a one woman team with a goal of a no mow...or minimum mow. I also dedicate a patch/space at a time each year. I figure I'll be done the day before I decide to sell this house LOL. But each year when I see more butterflies, bees and hummingbirds I KNOW I am making the right decision. I really enjoy seeing you taking the time to build your garden. It somehow validates that it's ok that it's taking the time it takes to complete this work (if it's possible to complete a garden design). Last year my three big projects (well big for me LOL) were to create a little walking path, to create a rock garden with mostly shaded perennials all in containers for the time being, and to create a perennial succulent garden that I call "the Oasis" because I added a little makeshift solar water feature. I regret NOTHING about those decisions right now. I added a little bistro set to my front porch and it's my favorite place to have my morning/evening tea because the sound of that water feature is very relaxing. This year I will be reducing more lawn by installing a new no dig garden so my little pathway will be flanked by two pollinator friendly gardens and to turn a spot where I had a tree removed a few years ago into another garden bed. Your video has given me some great ideas such as adding more ornamental grasses that will work in a South facing lawn. My space has a slope to it so seeing what you did with your slope is so helpful. Love your videos!!! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and tips. Your garden is a DREAM!!!!
Thank you for this video. I appreciate that you are creating these garden beds with plants from seeds, grasses, shrubs, etc. The things you planted are things that I could find. It's nice to see another home gardener creating lovely spaces without breaking the bank. A number of other content creators accept plants or gardening equipment that the average gardener can't access. I live on the NC coast and all those lovely branded plants are not available in my area. I understand gardeners in other areas of the country experience the same frustration. Where I am I'm lucky if the 2024 plant introductions make it to my area by 2026. Thanks for the video showing how just a regular person can create lovely spaces. I think your yard is beautiful and serene. I too am tired of turf.
Thanks so much. I always find it challenging to find the plants that I read about in books without breaking the bank. I think that is why I love growing plants from seed. There are so many cool plants to grow.
Your gardens are truly lovely. I'm sure your neighbours are enthralled with the flowers and shrubs, well worth the $$$. I removed all the grass from my front yard and I have numerous regular walkers-by who express their happiness, seeing the lush growth of beautiful plants.
It’s glorious! When we moved in 6-1/2 years ago, the front yard was an expanse of St Aug & 2 mature sweet gums. (Not including the house hugging bank of boring boxwoods) I have slowly started (in the last 3 years) to whittle down on the grass. The sweet gums’ surface roots are horrible to mow over/around, so at first that was my goal. I had already ripped out the boxwoods and plugged in salvias, oxalis, abelia, ajuga, cosmos and such… The smaller tree-hugging beds were okay, but… So I expanded them. And I expanded them again this spring. I got some more natives/adapteds in, put a bird bath out there, too. I want them to be abundant, but for now…their spare appearance will have to do. With north Texas highs in the 105-107 being an all too daily a thing, I am going to have to wait for fall to do anything else. I’m just trying to keep the plants alive and the failing-due-to-sunlight grass to skate by. The little ‘throw-down’ couple of packets of wildflower seeds bed in our backyard was going gangbusters but the heat has taken a toll, but it’s inspired me for next year around the house!
Wow! Texas gets some serious heat. You must be a champion gardener. It sounds like you have created a gorgeous garden for yourself. I love hearing how other people garden. Thanks for sharing and thanks for being here.
It’s certainly impressive that you have achieved such great success in one year with the pollinator flower border, I’m in awe. the flowers grown from seed are attracting bees and the unknown poppy from your friend is stunning. I’m so in agreement with you, less grass and more flowers.
Yay! Less grass and more flowers sounds like a new mantra for us. Thanks so much for your note. I just watched your stumpery video. Wow! Your garden is amazing.
I'm just starting to build pollinator-friendly flower beds around my house in central Wyoming (elevation over 5000 ft.). One of the challenges is the resident deer population that resides in our town (it's not unusual to see a buck walking down a sidewalk!). So far I've gotten Mountain Fireweed from a friend and hope to add several layers of height and color as the years go on. The plants also need to be drought-tolerant and winter-hardy. I'm enjoying your videos and writing down ideas to research to see if they'll work in my own spot. Thanks for making enjoyable and encouraging videos!
Thanks so much for being here and thanks for the kind note. You have a challenging set of growing conditions. I'd love to hear how the garden progresses. Thanks for sharing.
Amazing transformation! One thing that you reminded me and should be a reminder for all of us gardeners is to do a soil test. This is absolutely essential step before starting any garden. Even for those impatient gardeners like myself… Sue your eye for design is impeccable, I said it before and saying it again!
Seeds and your own garden transplants are definitely the way to go. I am also working on a pollinator garden in my front yard. Perennial plants from seeds take longer but are so much more economical. Two new plants I started from seed were cardinal flower (needs moist soil) and agastache. The cardinal flower took 2 years to bloom for me but it is the most amazing red color, better than any of the online photos. The agastache apache sunset is listed as zone 5 or 6 depending on the website. I am in zone 5 and it survived the winter here in Illinois and is twice the size it was last year. The humming birds just love both 😊. I really like the mix of plants that you have in your front bed. I hope the neighbors that were complaining are now convinced it was a good idea.
Thank so much. I am happy to report my neighbors love the flowers. Yay! I love any flower that attracts humming birds. They are so cool. I laugh because they always startle me when I first see them I think they are a huge bug..ha ha.
When I lived for 1 year in Sri-Lanka, I truly loved the No Lawn gardens there! Just dirt on the ground and beautiful lush tropical plants everywhere❤ I think the more lawn that can go on your large property will be always comeout a wonderful decision to a secret garden everywhere the eyes look!! And 2 +metre wide long meandering lawn pathways would look divine!
Thank you for the cost breakdown and your decision to garden without sponsors so the rest of us could get a more accurate idea of what creating something like this would entail. So rare to find a channel like yours!
This channel is real compared to other channels in which bad / sad looking plants are not shown in a video “ don’t point the camera on those….” I do the same. But plants on sale and buy my own seeds. Thank you.
You are delightful and insightful. What a pleasure to learn from your channel as I navigate many of the same challenges you do, but here in Monterey. Deer and bunnies all over my garden test me daily as do gophers. Water is a huge issue and yes, my lawn is gone. I live on almost two acres so keeping up the landscape is time consuming yet rewarding. Your gardens are lovely and you inspire me not only with your approach, but your beautiful results! Thanks again!
Wow, thank you! I am amazed at the number of bunnies in my area this season. I don't envy you with gophers. We get those here too and they are ruthless in the garden.
I try to grow everything I can pollinator friendly. I even incorporate flowers like zinnias, cosmos, snapdragons, and calendula into my vegetable garden. I have seen more bees and butterflies, hummingbird moths and actual hummingbirds this year than I have in the past four that I’ve been working on my gardens. Your garden is beautiful, and it will continue to grow more and more beautiful and more and more friendly to the bees in other pollinators as it matures. It’s the gift that keeps on giving 😊
I love your videos! They’re my favorite to watch. I’ve been gardening now for about 11 yrs and have come a long way. I had ZERO knowledge at the start. Thanks for all the inspiration!
You did an absolutely beautiful job. It’s an amazing thought that we have a part in making the world a better and more lovely place. You never know beauty’s long reaching effects. Thanks for the video!
Thank you so much! I totally agree. I think we can make a huge difference even with our small garden spaces. I'm always amazed at all the critters in my garden. What a blessing.
Thank you for your real-life gardening "adventures" and sharing your experiences. Bravo for helping the pollinators. I've changed over a lot of plants to well-behaved natives in my front yard. It's a smaller lot 20' x 8' and no more grass there-well little bluestem. I have something blooming at all times for the pollinators. Sadly, many in our neighborhood have lawns only. When bees visit, they behave like they're on a feeding frenzy. One thing I have concentrated on the last couple of years is much-needed autumn flowers. I've added some smaller aromatic asters and beautiful sky blue salvias. Had to rein in the solidago (goldenrod). Even the less aggressive are too much. Your garden is beautiful and as you know evolves over time. As you allow the seeds to come up naturally, you'll find you couldn't have planned things better yourself when nature takes over. We just give it a little nudge and do some editing.😉🌺 I always look forward to your new videos and wait in anticipation to see what you're doing next.
Thanks so much. I have started thinking about adding a little structure for the winter and what I am going to continue planting so I have early and late blooms for the pollinators. Your garden sounds like a dream. I appreciate you sharing your experience with your pollinator garden.
Luckily, I don't have an HOA either. I started 2 pollinator gardens in my backyard and one in the front. The bee and butterfly response has been fantastic. Thank you for sharing your beautiful garden with us
Beautiful Job! Perennial gardens are so satisfying...Of course I appreciate my food producing plants, shrubs and trees - but the mostly flower gardens are still my fave. Especially when one flower is dying back while a different one is coming up - it's like watching fireworks 🦋
Your quickly becoming my favorite garden channel. I love you do not take plants from sponsors and have a focus on gardening like the rest of us. So many of the channels make their entire channel a commercial for plant corporations. Putting in thousands of dollars of sponsored plants the rest of us could never afford. They push greenhouses, ponds, that would cost the rest of us tens of thousands of dollars! We cant afford that. Thank you for your content.
Thanks for your note. I love to see big projects to get inspiration. I learned a while ago that a great way to add stress to your life is to spend money you don't have so I am very serious about my garden budget. I am happy to hear it is something other people appreciate. That made my day.
I am so happy to see those coreopsis blooming. The bunny ate the first batch of seedlings. I had no idea they would eat those plants. I'm not sure why I thought they were bunny proof. I want to try using the flowers for natural dye.
How beautiful! Yes, I’m only planting pollinator friendly & native plants in my backyard where deer don’t have access. I’d love to do this in my front yard…but deer. Thank you for the beautiful quote from John Muir.
Hi Sue! I always get excited when I see a new Garden Moxie video pop up. That front flower bed turned out sooo good. I bet you are able to make some beautiful bouquets for the house. I am glad that you shared your philosophy about sponsors and "shopping your own garden" and how much you spend on the garden. There are some gorgeous gardens in RU-vid land. I have stopped watching some of their channels because it is unattainable for me and most people. Thank You for being here ❤ ps I am glad I don't live in an HOA also🙂
Thanks for an informative and beautiful new video! I wrote down a couple of the seed names to possibly try growing this winter for next season. I’m with you on focusing on deer-resistant, pro-pollinator plants!
What a wonderful job 🧡 I hope your neighbours are inspired 🐞🐝 I have been reading dreadful stories of HMO's; they should be ashamed. Owners in these HMO's need to protest. Greetings from 🇦🇺
Thank you for sharing. I am truly inspired by your video. I am trying to do like so; just so busy working and handling family life. But, I'll take it one day at a time. Thank you for giving me the inspiration to never give up; keep moving and taking it one day at at time. God Bless you and yours.
Thank you. Handling family life is more important than the garden. That is for sure. But like you say. One day at a time. That is the best way forward. God bless you too.
Thank you for sharing such a wonderful pollinator garden. I only have a concrete patio for my flowers. I did plant 10 additional pots this year and hope to add the same number next. Regretfully I do not see any bees just wasps. The hummingbirds do love the additional pots of flowers. I have garden envy ❤❤
I live in west central Florida and luckily I have plenty of shade. My sunny half of my back garden is for vegetables and flowers. I dug up my mostly weeds lawn years ago because I dont like all of the watering and chemicals that lawns here require. Everything else is planted with shrubs and plants that grow just fine in our drought conditions. I can go for weeks without rain so I do water my vegetables and potted plants as needed. Your garden is looking so nice and congratulations on growing it all your way!
Thanks for your note. It sounds like you have created a beautiful garden. I agree with your assessment of lawns. Too much watering and chemicals for me too. And I bet shade in Florida is a welcome addition to any space. It gets hot and humid there for sure.
I appreciate that you include your budget details. I am in hot, dry California zone 9a/9b and slowly eliminating my lawn for drought tolerant pollinator plants. All my planning is done during July and August because it’s just too hot to work in the garden. I’m lucky to have a long growing season and can plant almost any time of the year except when it is hottest. I have a limited budget of about $50 a month for all garden purchases so I have to get the most bang for my buck. I divide plants or choose easily reseeding ones and buy off the clearance racks in the garden centers. I’m planning to start utilizing purchased seeds as well and see how that goes. I really love that you are demonstrating a realistic working budget with no sponsors, utilizing what you have and doing the work yourself. It’s often frustrating to watch gardening channels who push their sponsors since of course they get their plants/structures/hardscaping for free and also often paid to do so. I no longer watch these and instead try to find the backyard gardeners working hard and doing their own thing. Even if they aren’t in my zone I can draw inspiration and ideas from them.
Thanks so much for your note. We sound like we share the same gardening philosophy. I have to say I am glad it has been cooler than normal here this summer. It is very hard to work outside when it is smoking hot. I always think of the roads crews standing on that pavement in the sun. Yikes! Thanks for being here.
You’re garden is looking great! I changed my herb garden into a native plant/pollinator garden and have been so happy with it. I also used seeds to grow my nigella, blue vervain, and milkweed and that what so rewarding!
This was extremely inspiring and helpful because I have a roundish garden bed that should be able to be beautiful but I’ve never really known how to plant it. Drifts, that’s brilliant. Can’t wait for Spring
Bravo! It looks stunning! Oh Sue, you don’t realize how much of a positive impact you’ve been. From early Spring, when I asked you about the size of those boxwood beds in your backyard until now, the transformation of our backyard has been miraculous. Lots of bug bites, sweat and some tears later it’s been worth it. Thank you!
Thank you. I would love to see photos if you are willing to share them. I can post them to the community tab so everyone can be inspired. Thanks for being here. I'm so happy to hear you are enjoying the garden season.
Oh wow! This turned out great. I fully appreciate that you did this on your own, both financially and physically, so relatable for the rest of us home gardeners. Thank you! ❤
Thank you for sharing your experiences. Your videos are so inspiring and helpful. I'm learning so much. Yes I want to create a pollinator garden! 🏵️🐝🐝🐝Excited to see what you do next! Love your ideas! 😍
You will be amazed how many pollinators will come to your garden. It was a great project and I am excited to keep adding to it next season. Thanks for your kind note.
I love seeing what you’ve done. Flower beds vs grass any day!😁 To cut on cost and enrich my soil I like to prep my bed the year before. I cut out and turn over the grass, top with cardboard then compost and mulch. This way the grass has time to decompose. By the next spring it’s ready to plant in and the soil is wonderful to work with. It also gives me time to get divisions, cuttings from family and friends and start from seed.
Yes!! Each year I add a few more . . . I'm about five years in. I continue to split plants and fill in and it's looking "lush" and full now. I also focus on pollinator friendly flowers. I'm in town enough that I don't have to worry about deer, but the squirrels - ugh, the squirrels! They will literally pull up new plants and bulbs and eat them.
Oh my goodness. I have not had issues with squirrels in the garden. Little stinkers. I have had squirrels get into some container gardens. The great challenge is figuring out how to live in harmony, right? It's not always easy. That's for sure.
Love that New Look Dusty Miller. Going to try that from seed. My front bed is alive with pollinators...phlox, verbena, coneflowers, Joe Pye are mostly what's blooming right now...I'm editing out some perennials that don't perform so I have room to add more seed-grown annuals like verbena bonariensis, tall ageratum, dalmation foxglove that bloom the first year...
That plant list sounds awesome. You will love that dusty miller. It is stunning and super fun to grow from seed. I don't know what it is about baby plants that have cool foliage, but I love growing plants like that from seed. This year was the first year I grew geraniums from seed too. So fun!
Yes me too. This spring we expanded an existing border adding pollinator plants that are deer resistant. And last week we moved and mixed our partly decomposed leaf piles with leftover topsoil. We shoveled the mix onto a prepped semi circle And created a small flower bed in the front corner of our yard in front of a triangle of not so pretty old blue spruce trees. Like your yard ours is a corner lot so I was inspired by your videos showing your thought and planning process for your front corner bed. We are experimenting with not removing the grass first but instead piling the leaf and soil mix quite thickly on top. I’ll report the results. So far the transplants are happy. Thank you for the well thought out tutorials. And for showing us thrifty propagating and splitting of plants. Too many IG and RU-vid gardeners showcase gardens that are filled with thousands of dollars of sponsored plants. I’m back to my 70s early gardening roots of starting from seeds too.
Thanks so much for your kind note. I used the technique of piling compost/soil very thickly onto turf when I created part of my backyard garden. It worked like a charm. I am not sure why I was afraid to try that for the front. It would have made things much easier. Keep me posted on the results because I am interested to hear how it goes. Like you, I am all about being a lot more thrifty with the gardening these days and I love growing plants from seed.
There is a gardener on RU-vid ( Jay’s Garden Journal) who uses the cardboard sheet mulching method to eliminate lawn and expand her garden beds with stunning results.
@@katworkstowander9853 I LOVE LOVE LOVE Jay's Garden Journal. She also creates the most amazing gardens along the narrow strip between the sidewalk and the road. She can give a Master class on sheet mulching. She's brilliant!
Hello, just stumbled upon your channel, and I love it, as well as your approach and attitude towards gardening. I will definitely be following and looking forward to what's going on. Cheers.
@@GardenMoxie Hello! Yes, I’m gardening already. I’m in zone 8a in North Carolina. Our winter was mild this year. The wind is cold though. I’m controlling my self about making decisions too fast. About 20 trees were taken down by neighbors around me and I feel like my garden has so much more sun. Is like working in a new area. I have to learn again where I have the most sun. I couldn’t grow zinnias because I didn’t have 8 hours of sun anywhere in my yard. Now, I have to wait for the trees to get their leaves so I can see where is my sun and shade. Is exciting to think about all the new possibilities. Thank you so much for sharing your experience in the garden. Mine is not as beautiful as yours but like you, I have done a bigger project every year with a limited budget. I do most of the work and my husband helps me with construction. I retired in 2022 and he retired in 2023. I started the serious transformation of my garden in 2013. My children were gone to college and my husband traveled a lot at that time. It takes a long time when you do little projects in every corner. I get ideas,draw a little sketch,dream about it and I can’t wait to get to it. I’m so sorry for my long note. I want to be sure that you KNOW that your hard work with your husband doesn’t go unnoticed. May you and your husband enjoy a long life together see your garden grow.🙏
Gardening could become very costly year after year especially when you have a large area of sod to transform into a flower garden bed. I have been trying to shrink my yard little by little but I have so many challenges with deers, rabbits, birds, ground hogs and a partner who believes that everything is a weed. I am always moving my plants around as well seeing what will do better in certain areas around my house. I plan to expand each garden bed this year and have plenty of seeds to toss around to look as beautiful as your garden beds. Happy gardening.
Your garden is beautiful and an inspiration! Love your philosophy in regard to your channel. Very refreshing. My pollinator garden is in its second summer. Just like you, I am growing a lot from seed and experimenting with what will thrive in my area( Coastal Virginia 8b). The plants that thrive will get duplicated through division and saving seeds.. It has been quite a learning curve!
Thank you. I am constantly learning. It is amazing how much you can learn by just getting out there and trying to make the best of it, isn't it? Growing plants from seed it the best, isn't it?
I just found your videos and I’m at Aw! I just moved from Kentucky to Northwestern Georgia and I’m starting over. I have wanted to do a English garden for years and I’m full feeling my dream . I absolutely in love with ur Mary garden . I would love to have a design and more idea what plants you have used. I absolutely love you videos and and have inspired me to continue my dream .Thank you so much .God Bless You and your family 🙏
Beautiful and inspiring! I have a tiny patch of lawn/weeds in full sun that I hope to transform to a pollinator garden using the no-dig method. I have several plants in pots that I plan to spit up, including two varieties of Joe Pye Weed that are just starting to open. The bees just love these. Last year, I think Ladybug larva was on one of them. I also bought seed for a type of flowering ground cover too. In another small area of full sun, I have white asters that the bees love too. They should start blooming in a couple of weeks. I'm in zone 8.
Thank you for watching. Your idea for your new pollinator garden sounds great. I had quite a few ladybug larva on my Joe Pye weed this spring too. I thought that was so great. I am excited for my native seedlings to get bigger next season. The native woodland plants I planted in the back are doing really well except the meadow rue that is an apparent favorite of the bunny. Who knew?
Beautiful! I started planting in my huge new flowerbed today. On hole three, I hit the internet cable.🙄 They can’t come until tomorrow afternoon to fix it. I’m going for a mixed border with lots of evergreens. Seems like my whole garden is a pollinator garden and I’m missing structure and interest in the fall and winter. But you reminded me to save money by moving and dividing plants! Thank you!
Seed starting is awesome. You can grow varieties of plants that are hard to find in the garden centers and it is a great way to save money. Plus, it is just plain fun to grow plants from seeds.
About a decade ago, when my sons had grown up and left home, and no longer needed a lot of ball playing space, I gradually removed the turf from most of my front lawn and replaced it with a pollinator friendly garden. (I have to say the reaction of my neighbors has been entirely favorable. We have a lot of walkers in this neighborhood and they come by to see what's blooming.) I only water new plantings and, occasionally, trees. The deer and the rabbits have been a challenge; they don't seem to read the stuff about what they don't like to eat. But I am really happy with it, imperfect as it is; it's given a lot of pleasure.
Your garden sounds amazing. I laughed when you mentioned your rabbits and deer don't read the memos about what they aren't supposed to eat. I know exactly what you mean. It is the same here in my garden.
For my birthday this year my son and his partner bought me a rhodo and then helped me put in a garden in the front yard which I am also making into a pollinator garden. I also need to use plants that are deer and rabbit resistant. My garden is definitely a work in progress, but bees are happy with it so far.
My goal this year was to begin the very needed process of amending my soil structure. This spring there were many tale tell signs that my garden wasn’t happy. I know it won’t happen over night but it’s a start!
It sounds like you and I are at the same part of building our flower gardens. Before we know it, the soil will be happy again. Thanks for watching the video.
I love what you have created! I have also reduced the size of my lawn drastically but my garden is a handkerchief one in comparison to yours ;-) I garden on a budget but I do invest in roses. One day I will have some orange cosmos too, I "only" need to buy some seeds but they seem unavailable where I live.
If you are in zone 6 try short toothed mountain mint. It is an excellent pollinator. The bees come out of the woodworks and go crazy over it. It can be obtained through an online nursery.
Looks wonderful!! I see you grew the coreopsis from seed, was it easy? I've been looking for pink coreopsis in local nurseries and hard to find, would consider growing from seed🌼
They were surprisingly easy to grow from seed..thank goodness. The only issue I had was the bunnies ate a ton of the plants in the beginning. Now that they are blooming, they leave them alone.
Where do you order your seeds from? I just removed a swimming pool this summer and have my whole back yard to fill. I love your videos. Thanks for sharing
My favorite companies to order seeds are Select Seeds, Swallowtail Garden Seeds, Pinetree Garden Seeds, and Botanical Interests. I have always found each company to have high quality seeds. Johnny's Seeds also has excellent veggie seeds.
We’ve removed about 80% of the turf in our front yard, and replaced it with a combination of perennials and shrubs. We have roses, peony, forsythia, weigela, coneflowers, sedum, and more! 😅 It’s been a lot of work, and it’s not perfect - but it brings us a lot of joy to see it blooming and the insects/birds enjoying the space. 🌱 We are in 🇨🇦 zone 4, so our biggest challenge is making sure everything can bounce back after a lot of snow!
My garden was already pollinator friendly, but this year I kicked it up a notch by going NATIVE. Already the diversity of visitors has increased. I still have one area devoted to annuals: poppies, larkspurs and zinnias. Gradually as native perennials need to be divided, that area will become densely filled with plants more supportive of specialist bees. Attempting to have a diversity of blooms April-Oct.New: 4 species aster, golden Alexander, bee balm, 4 spices coreopsis, 3 species echinacea, 3 colors Veronica, 3 kinds rudbeckia.
I have a large lawn that I am gradually reducing by using divisions from existing plants. Can you please show how you keep your garden edges neat? Thank you!
I start off by using a straight edges spade to create an edge to remove the turf and create an edge that is roughly 3-4 inches below the turf surface. The key is to keep the height at the edge of the turf at least 3-4 inches from my experience to prevent the turf from growing into the garden. When I start to see the edge height getting smaller or I see turf starting to grow towards the edge, I use my Kusakichi Nejiri Scraper to clean up the edge. It honestly is not something I have do often during the garden season so it is very low maintenance to have the border without any hard edging.
Such a lovely garden! I created a pollinator garden from scratch in my front yard this past spring. I am loving the garden. The only problem: I bought a globe blue spruce and it has needle cast. It's about 3.5 feet tall, the globe is about 12 inches diameter -- so still very small. Not sure if I should take it out and replace with something else next spring, or go through all the spraying and praying and waiting to see if I can save it. Has anyone had any experience with needle cast on a spruce? What did you do? I know now that it's pretty common. Thanks for your garden channel --
I am sorry to hear about your blue spruce. I am not familiar with the condition, but I did find a link that I think will be helpful to you extension.umn.edu/plant-diseases/rhizosphaera-needle-cast. Thanks for the kind words of encouragement on the garden. It sounds like you have a great pollinator garden that you started. Isn't it great to see all those insects enjoying the flowers?
