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Post by ncgarden on Mar 15, 2015 17:37:15 GMT -5
This year I decided to put in a new Bee Garden. Mostly because (a) the last bee garden had to be dug up so we could replace the low, attractive and ineffective Virginia rail fencing (which did stop the sheep, but not the dogs); and (b) there is a spot in the front where there is a power pole and if I hit the guy line one more time with the tractor while mowing, I am probably taking it down and killing myself into the bargain. So, since November I have been digging and filling and mulching and preparing. There are a few things that had to overwinter, but in three weeks I am seeding the rest. I am claiming it is for the bees, but really, it is just another gardeny play ground for me!! But the bees can share it too. Also the dogs. And probably the rabbits.
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Post by OregonRed on Mar 15, 2015 17:51:37 GMT -5
way cool!
I plan to plant a pollanators bed at the CG this year in one of the unused beds, I can hardly wait. I've been collecting seeds :~D
thought I'd put lavender in the corners, dill at the ends, cosmos around the edges, etc etc
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Post by SpringRain🕊️ on Mar 15, 2015 17:52:21 GMT -5
WOW! I love the layout and the design. You can really do a lot and create some spectacular arrangements with that kind of bed. But where on earth did you get the logs? Are they from your property? Or is that the Virginia rail fencing to which you refer? I'll bet you'll tell me you chopped them all down by yourself and don't even have a backache!
Seriously, that is one spectacular amount of work and great plan for a creative garden. And if you don't ache, so much the better!
Red, love your idea. Can I copy it? Anchoring a bed with lavender is a great idea; I'm sure it will be lovely. Just watch out so you don't get stung when you enter the bed!
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Post by brownrexx on Mar 15, 2015 17:55:46 GMT -5
Don't forget some milkweed for the Monarch's and some Dill for the Black Swallowtail caterpillars. Dill will re-seed itself too.
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Post by OregonRed on Mar 15, 2015 17:56:55 GMT -5
I have that milk thistle seed from the bulk b ins that I use in my liver tea...
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Post by ahntjudy on Mar 15, 2015 21:55:56 GMT -5
How wonderful to have such a nice, big, new palette to play with! So many possibilities!
some alyssum maybe...bees like that here?
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canadiyank
Blooming
Central WA, Zone 6B
Posts: 125
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Post by canadiyank on Mar 16, 2015 12:08:48 GMT -5
Oh shoot, the picture doesn't show up for me. :(
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canadiyank
Blooming
Central WA, Zone 6B
Posts: 125
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Post by canadiyank on Mar 16, 2015 12:09:17 GMT -5
Never mind - now it is! How fun, looks great so far.
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Post by ncgarden on Mar 16, 2015 18:41:17 GMT -5
These particular rails are some lovely cedar logs that were piled in the back of our property. 20 - 30 years ago this area was forested with cedars and the property owners at that time cut hundreds of them. So now I have lovely old split rails and some little outbuildings. I keep changing the fencing, but reuse the logs because I love them so much!
This is what's going into the bee garden, or sometimes I call it the front meadow garden
Bachelor's Button Tall Mixed/Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus, Tall Mixed) Rocket Larkspur (Delphinium ajacis) Bigleaf Lupine (Lupinus polyphyllus) Lanceleaf Coreopsis, Coastal Plain NC Ecotype (Coreopsis lanceolata, Coastal Plain NC Ecotype) Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) Shasta Daisy (Chrysanthemum maximum) Beardtongue (Penstemon) Sweetwilliam (Dianthus barbatus) Blackeyed Susan, Coastal Plain NC Ecotype (Rudbeckia hirta, Coastal Plain NC Ecotype) Marsh (Dense) Blazing Star (Spiked Gayfeather) (Liatris spicata) Showy Goldenrod, Southern WV Ecotype (Solidago speciosa, Southern WV Ecotype) Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) Whorled Rosinweed (Silphium trifoliatum) Spotted Beebalm, Coastal Plain SC Ecotype (Monarda punctata, Coastal Plain SC Ecotype) Corn Poppy/Shirley Mix (Papaver rhoeas, Shirley Mix) Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) Eastern Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) Oxeye Sunflower, PA Ecotype (Heliopsis helianthoides, PA Ecotype) Plains Coreopsis (Coreopsis tinctoria) Mountainmint Vervain thyme feverfew calendula borage hyssop
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Post by brownrexx on Mar 16, 2015 19:05:42 GMT -5
That is going to be so beautiful. Can't wait to see it.
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Post by gakaren on Mar 16, 2015 21:29:32 GMT -5
NC, I have some native columbine that would reseed and I also have some orange butterfly weeds ( I think I planted all the seeds I had left) that I could save you some seeds this year if you want them. The native columbines are blooming for me right now...and they grow the first year and bloom the second, drop seeds and mine then died and tiny new ones came up. They have red flowers with yellow centers and the bloom stems are tall, mine are about 2-3' tall. Soooo, you want me to save you some seeds from these this year?
I love your new bee bed! And at first I thought it might have been an old horse lunge line/walker area. ;) That's going to be beautiful!
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Post by ncgarden on Mar 17, 2015 17:01:26 GMT -5
gakaren - if its no trouble to set aside, I'd love some seeds. I have some from other posters, and from family and friends, and somehow, they just mean more!!
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Post by SpringRain🕊️ on Mar 18, 2015 14:14:30 GMT -5
NC, I am just in so much envy for the space and the bed you've created. You've given me an idea for the center of my yard, so I thank you for sharing the photo!
I have dozens of sketches for smaller railed beds, almost all of which include a vining flower all around the fence. What I had planned were smaller versions of your circle for the various beds, with morning glories, sweet peas, beans and/or peas vining around, as if they were being espaliered along the fence rails.
Please keep us posted on your progress. I can't wait to see how your bed progresses.
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Post by claude on Mar 19, 2015 10:11:22 GMT -5
Yes! I can't wait to see it in bloom too! Can you plant some kind of a vining plant to climb the central post as well as the guide lead wires?
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Post by ncgarden on Mar 19, 2015 16:56:34 GMT -5
I had not thought about vining things - so inherently untidy. But I do like a sweet potato plant.....
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