I was out working in the garden today and I realized while I was out there just how far my work in promoting biodiversity in the yard and creating a pollinator lawn has come along. When I first started being the caretaker of this patch of land some years back, it was an unfortunate "manicured monoculture" (basically just a green sea of one kind of turfgrass). Not anymore. 🍀🌿🌾🌼
Throughout the year now, you'll find a vast array of plants. There is a mix of 🌾 native grasses 🌾, along with so many flowering natives, brushes, shrubs. The Shrubby St. John's Wort popped last year, and hopefully there should be more blooming this summer. Last year, there was also what I think is Wild Bergamot/Bee-Balm growing along one of the property boundaries; so, I'm looking forward to seeing if that comes back this year. There's Wild Ginger I never planted, along with other surprises that have come up in the forms of Strawberries, Dew Berries, Wild Garlic, and Wild Spinach. You'll find Virgin's Bower vines, Thistles, Toothworts, Asters, Fleabane, cute little Seedbox flowers, Wild Violets, Dandelions, Flags, and Goldenrods. There's even been a Mustard patch this year, though I didn't plant it (it must have been a gift from the birds). There are wildflowers growing alongside my ornamental flower gardens, swaths of sweet-smelling Clover peppered here and there (and there and here), Bluebells and Morning Glories basking in the sunshine.
And, most importantly, there are birds, frogs, bees, butterflies, dragonflies, lizards, squirrels, spiders — wildlife everywhere, everyday. We even have a resident groundhog duo. 🦋🐸🐞🐦🐌🦆🐛🦉🐝🦗
There are still a lot of things I want to do with this space to improve it (a micro farming project I'm working on starting in one section of the property next year, introducing more wildflowers and herbs to the space, introducing some flowering native trees, and bringing in Milkweeds and Coneflowers again, because those have done well here in previous years and the butterflies loved them), but I'm really proud of getting things to the point that they're at now! And seeing all of the local wildlife enjoy it so much (as well as having plants that can provide them with food and shelter) is the greatest reward for the love and hard work put into this.
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