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Post by OregonRed on Mar 1, 2015 18:16:28 GMT -5
oh sorry, I see how that came out wrong. What I meant was, the CG still has no coordinator person(s), so I take free reighn to do what I want in the beds not being used. (last year I 'took' the one next to mine, not being used, and put in winter squash and cantelope :~D )
so at least this year, I think i'll 'ask around' to see if any of the other gardeners would like the idea and want to add some stuff, or make a pollinator plot of their own with the "not being used" bed next the THEIR plot ---
our community garden is not very community or friendly... it's a bummer to me...
that's what I meant
:~D
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Post by prunella on Mar 1, 2015 18:44:36 GMT -5
...our community garden is not very community or friendly... it's a bummer to me... Good grief, that's not cool! But in fact I have no property to plant, so I use flower pot in front of my office where I spend most of my time anyway, and , I have a small (2ft by 3ft) bit of dirt under each of my office windows. I have a nice Hardenbergia in flower now that is attracting bees, and I have a lantana coming back after the annual freeze. When that cone into bloom, and my flower pots hold the various zinnias and other Aster Family flowers, I will hav butterflies coming by to say hi. I also have black-oil sunflowers tossed in that will grow to a 3ft collection of nice blooms. It is possible to have a collection of flowers even when space is limited. I hope you will put a few flowers out on that patio you posted a picture of. You'll enjoy that.
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Post by OregonRed on Mar 1, 2015 18:54:11 GMT -5
steve, yes, I had all these grand ideas and plans when I moved into this apt, the back yard and all such... it turns out it get about a 5 foot slit of sun through out the day, not enough for most things... I figured this out and plan accordingly now 4th year here what I need is a gigantic turn table to place containers on, hahahha, that follows the path of the sun :~D
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Post by desertwoman on Mar 1, 2015 20:37:17 GMT -5
Red, the first place hubby and I lived in had a similar sun situation. The front yard had the most sun and it was really just a few feet wide for 4-6 hours.
I used mirrors to reflect sunlight into the shadier spots. It worked pretty well.
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Post by OregonRed on Mar 1, 2015 23:06:24 GMT -5
oh my goodness DW, that's far out! hahahah
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Post by Latitude33 on Mar 2, 2015 0:54:04 GMT -5
Aluminum foil might be an economical alternative to mirrors. Just sayin.
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Post by Latitude33 on Mar 4, 2015 1:32:47 GMT -5
Pollinator Patch was approved. Yay! :-[Not without some weird discussion though.... :-S
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Post by brownrexx on Mar 4, 2015 9:48:08 GMT -5
Yay, let us know what you plant. It's a great idea.
I don't know if alyssum grows in your area but its a very low growing annual with tiny white or purple flowers. I usually plant the white one around the edges of my garden and it really attracts TONS of little tiny bees. I don't even know what they are but they're bees and they like the flowers so I keep planting it.
It re-seeds itself too and is not invasive.
Don't forget to add some milkweed. You can always remove the seed pods (they are big) before they open if anyone is worried.
Oh and here's another idea - poke in a sign telling people what it is so that it can be a teaching moment too.
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Post by OregonRed on Mar 4, 2015 11:26:21 GMT -5
roger wilco on the sign!
I want to start starts out back here, I need more soil :~( not interested in purchasing - well maybe :~\
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Post by prunella on Mar 4, 2015 11:56:47 GMT -5
It re-seeds itself too and is not invasive.
Don't forget to add some milkweed. You can always remove the seed pods (they are big) before they open if anyone is worried. The irony here is that Alyssum (Lobularia) is very common, only one species, L. maritima, is Invasive. Mmilkweeds are in fact Native! Only the Asclepias curassavica is to be avoided. L. maritima is a roadside weed along coastal roads; pretty, but still Invasive. The nursery plants or seeds are fine, I'm sure. I certainly have purchased plenty. And last summer I had a volunteer milkweed (A. spciosa, bright yellow) show up under my office window. A nice surprise.
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Post by claude on Mar 4, 2015 19:12:24 GMT -5
The university of CT started this program in conjunction with (http://shop.monarchwatch.org) other universities in states where monarchs migrate as they go south. The offer is for a grouping of specific butterfly nectar plants and milkweed varieties. (I noticed that the tropical milkweed was on the list so I sent off the info about that variety being excluded.) You can have your garden designated as a butterfly habitat and included in a list of statewide gardens. They will send you enough starter seed for $16. There are lists of plants and their biological names..if you want to purchase seed yourself. You fill out an order form to get on the list.
I have common milkweed as well as native. The common variety..if it is happy will spread. The bloom fragrance is beautiful. It is no more invasive than the purple cornflower. It is 4-5' tall..so keep that in mind.
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Post by Veggie Gal on Mar 5, 2015 12:53:24 GMT -5
I scattered seeds to attract Butterfly's and Bees in my flower beds. Some are coming up. The packet had several types of flowers and I'm really looking forward to the variety and color and well as watching the Butterfly's and Bees.
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Post by prunella on Mar 5, 2015 13:10:44 GMT -5
I'm really looking forward to the variety and color and well as watching the Butterfly's It's a little early to offer info on watching butterflies, but what the heck! Like native plants show up as different species across the country, so butterflies also will be different species depending on location. Many will b quite similar (as are the plants) but subtle changes in markings will define them to species. This can be challenging, almost needing a good photo to study after the beast flies away. But I say this only because most people are happy just to watch them, not so concerned with the names. Depending on interst shown in this forum, I look forward to offering some tips and resources to help get more fun out od it, just as birders want to ID their visitors, butterflies are worth a bit of study.
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Post by brownrexx on Mar 5, 2015 19:14:15 GMT -5
Some birdwatchers who know all of the birds are now looking for some variety and are looking at dragon flies. They are also quite beautiful.
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Post by ellenr on Mar 6, 2015 6:43:30 GMT -5
our community garden is not very community or friendly... it's a bummer to me...
that's what I meant
:~D I have the same situation in my CG. I've been there 12-13 years, and it's always been this way. I became coordinator and made it my mission to have a friendly CG, you know - the kind where people talk to each other! share food at the end, share advice all year... I thought if I talked to everyone at the very beginning, and discussed the culture some of us wanted to have at the garden, that would work. I failed in my mission. It baffles me how some people could enter a CG, and walk past someone to get to their plot, without a word, and pretending not to see who is standing there. Some of us make a habit of calling out "hello" to everybody, esp. to those who don't want to interact with anyone. There have been times, depending on who is gardening there, when some of us collaborate on pest control, critter control, compost, amendments and such, and it is such fun.
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