The pollinator garden is designed with native perrenial plants supplimented with some annuals which reseed readily. Our goal is to provide as much food as possible for our insect friends.
In an article from Scientific American (Oct. 2017) we learn about the real danger to our world of decreasing insect populations. "Are we facing insect Armageddon? A recent study found that German nature reserves have seen a 75% reduction in flying insects over the last 27 years. The researchers involved made stark warnings that this indicated a wider collapse of the general insect population that would bring about an ecological catastrophe if left unchecked." It is not just butterflies and birds -- all food chains are in danger from our profligate use of pesticides |
Our goal is to fill this space with perennials that will cut down on weeds.
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Weeding the GardenThomas Jefferson considered all spontaneous plants to be good. Even poison Ivy which he used as filler. (It does take a brilliant color in autumn).
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A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson Some weeds are best left early to help maintain soil moisture and provide cover as babies emerge, but must be removed before they go to seed. Indeed, we often weed out invasive species to replace them with native "weeds" which feed wildlife. |