We normally grow our annual field crops in pre-burned landscape fabric to help with weed suppression, but since perennials spread from the base as they mature, using fabric on the beds wasn’t an option for this project. We chose to space plants quite closely together (roughly 8 to 9 in) because we wanted them to establish quickly, essentially forming a living carpet so that they would be able to compete with the heavy weed pressure we have here on the farm. Once the beds were prepared, Becky laid out all of the baby plants according to her designs and we followed behind tucking them into the ground. In the spring before planting, each bed was amended with a few inches of high-quality compost and natural fertilizer (I love Walt’s Rainy Pacific Northwest blend ) and this mixture was incorporated into the soil with our walk-behind rototiller.Įach pollinator strip is roughly 3 ft wide and about 80 ft long with a 2 ft wide landscape fabric-covered path. This allowed us to use drip irrigation in the beds and landscape fabric to mulch the pathways in between, making maintenance much easier in the long run. We decided to keep the design as simple as possible and plant the pollinator strips in long rows along the edges of our flower fields, similar to how our field crops are grown. ![]() In the end, we settled on seven different color and plant combinations. For some of the pollinator strips, we opted for a monochromatic color palette of all whites or purples, while others included multiple colors in softer complimentary shades. ![]() ![]() īecky organized the perennials based on color, size, and flowering time. If you don’t already have Piet’s books, they are all really wonderful, but my favorite is Planting the Natural Garden. It creates the effect of wide brush strokes of color and texture. We are both huge fans of Piet Oudolf’s style and how he composes plantings in large drifts that are repeated in a loose pattern throughout the garden. I tried to select plants that had softer, more muted colors, rather than really bright and bold selections.īecky and I considered a number of different approaches when it came to designing what eventually became the pollinator strips. When making my selections, I ordered everything that was noted as being attractive to pollinators and also easy to grow. If I were doing this on a smaller backyard scale, I would still choose to start with the smallest plants I could find because what I discovered was that nearly all of the perennials I grew as part of this project are fast-growing and fill in quickly, catching up to the size of a 1-gallon potted plant within a single growing season. Rather than investing in large plants, I instead opted to order plugs, which are smaller plants, usually sold in trays of 32 to 50.īuying smaller plants in bulk was the most affordable option and necessary given the scale of the project. The first step in this experiment was to source as many easy-to-grow pollinator-friendly perennials as I could find. I wanted to see if I could find a way to create a beautiful pollinator-friendly garden that was also low maintenance, drought tolerant, and would provide a food and nectar source for pollinators and songbirds throughout as much of the growing season as possible. ![]() While that effect is fitting in a wild, meadow-like setting, it’s not very suitable for a more curated garden. So often when you see pictures of a pollinator-friendly garden it’s typically a jumble of color and feels chaotic and messy. While many companies do a great job identifying which plants are attractive to pollinators (usually with a bee or butterfly icon), I found it hard to know which plants had similar growing requirements and would make good companions in the landscape. There were numerous wildflower seed mixes available specifically blended by region, but when it came to perennials, I couldn’t find any planting plans, suggested plant combinations, or design samples that I could use for inspiration. When it comes to pollinators, honeybees usually get all of the credit, but there are so many other hard-working creatures that aid in the important task of pollination, including bumblebees, honeybees, native bees, wasps, hornets, flies, moths, butterflies, and even birds.Īs I started looking for information about what plants were most attractive to pollinators, I found myself getting a bit overwhelmed. One of the big projects I wanted to tackle as part of the new farm design was finding a way to attract as many pollinators as possible to help with seed production and increase the overall life and biodiversity here on the farm.
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