Garden Glimpses: 05.16.25
wildlife welcome here
I can’t remember a stormier, wetter Spring. Halfway into the month, we’ve received over 7” of rain with more in the forecast. I’m not complaining exactly. I got all my seedlings in the ground ahead of the last deluge and haven’t had to water once, so that’s nice. But it sure is mucky.
Back when I was beekeeping, I learned that long periods of rain are hard on bees because they don’t forage on rainy days. Nectar can get washed out of flowers, and it takes them time to recover and start producing again. When honeybees only have a few months to collect nectar to store for the entire year, a few rainy weeks can impact their honey supply.
Anyway, I have to think this was a very happy bumblebee to find this giant hyssop and a dry day.
Wildlife Welcome Here
The success of a garden isn’t just the flowers that it can produce, but the life it can support. Selecting species that are native to your area for your garden contributes to biodiversity and overall health of your local ecosystem. They can be quite pretty too.
Along with pesticide use, habitat loss makes wildlife vulnerable to extinction. It’s hard to believe it, but even bumblebees are threatened. Obviously, a big conservation effort is needed to protect birds, bees, and everything in between. But small efforts count too. Adding native plants and swearing off pesticides can make a difference.
Of course, when you offer a native plant buffet to wildlife, you will have to accept that it will get eaten. The serviceberry tree produces berries for birds and hosts a variety of pollinator larvae. The paw paw tree is the only host plant for zebra swallowtail butterflies. So while missing bits might look like imperfection, the garden is actually working quite perfectly when you see these nibbles.
Bouquet of the Week
Native plants and nibbles aside, I obviously don’t want holes in everything. Growing a wide variety helps mitigate or hide losses to wildlife.
Wow, the love-in-a-mist continues to be one of the weirdest and most wonderful things I’ve grown! I snipped off a few of the more mature seed pods for this bouquet, which definitely adds some interest. I love its soft and otherworldly look against the colorful petals.
Till next time,
Ashley
I am falling I love with your garden glimpses and the picture quality does help.
Rains have been pouring here in East Africa more than usual too, I guess it's climate change.
And, I have a personal question about your garden, that I left in your inbox, when you have time you can check it out.