#planting native wildflowers: to love and be loved

[geopsych]

I saw hundreds of bloodroot plants in the woods today. Hurray! I also saw the only other local Tumblr person I know walking on the trail but I didn’t manage to flag them down and show them the flowers. They rise like lotuses through winter's dead leaves and bloom for a few days at most. A true spring ephemeral.

[reasonsforhope]

"Next Monday [6/17/24] is the start of National Pollinator Awareness Week, and one Colorado advocacy group is hosting a flower planting drive to rewild Colorado’s meadows, gardens, and just maybe, its children too.

Created by constitutional amendment in 1992, Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) is a state-funded independent board that invests a portion of Colorado Lottery proceeds to help preserve and enhance the state’s parks, trails, wildlife, rivers, and open spaces.

This year, GOCO’s offshoot Generation Wild is distributing over 100,000 free packets of wildflower seeds to collection points at museums, Denver Parks and Rec. offices, and libraries all over the state to encourage kids and families to plant the seeds in their backyards.

The Save the Bees! initiative aims to make the state more beautiful, more ecologically diverse, and more friendly to pollinators.

According to a new report from the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, 20% of Colorado’s bumblebees are now at risk of extinction. Even in a small area like a backyard, planting wildflowers can make a positive impact on the local ecosystem and provide native bees with a healthy place to live.

“The Western Bumblebee population has declined in Colorado by 72%, and we’re calling on kids across Colorado to ‘bee’ the change,” said GOCO Executive Director Jackie Miller.

Named after Generation Wild’s official mascot “Wilder,” the Wilderflower Seed Mix was developed in partnership with Applewood Seed Co. and packets are now available for pickup at designated partner sites including more than 80 Little Free Library boxes.

By distributing 100,000 Wilderflower packets, Generation Wild is providing more than 56 million seeds for planting in every nook and cranny of the state. All seeds are regionally-native to Colorado, which is important for sustaining the living landscape of bees, birds, and other animals.

Additionally, by using flower species adapted to the Mile High climate, landscapers and gardeners need to use less water than if they were tending non-native plants.

“Applewood Seed Co. was excited to jump in and help Generation Wild identify a seed mix that is native to the Colorado region and the American West, containing a diversity of flower species to attract and support Colorado’s pollinator populations,” stated Norm Poppe, CEO of Applewood Seed Co. “We hope efforts like this continue to educate the public on pollinator conservation and the need to protect our native bees and butterflies.”

Concluding her statement Miller firmly stated that children grow up better outside, and if you or a parent you know agree with her, all the information on how to participate in Save the Bees! can be found here on their website, including a map showing all the local pickup points for the Wilderflower Seed Packets."

-via Good News Network, June 13, 2024

[summerwages]

daisy knows..

[thelethalsilence]

Calochortus plummerae

Angeles National Forest, CA, USA

[fandom-blackhole]

On a side note, its probably because I'm on my period and I always get sentimental when I am, but Kansas truly is beautiful in it's own right. Like sure we don't have rolling hills, beautiful forests, or towering mountains, but we we have prairies where you can see for miles, we have a beautiful patchwork quilt of land broken into squares of golden wheat and grasses and lush greens of corn and soybean and vibrant purples of alfalfa sewn together with lines of trees and silver dirt roads. All gently decorated by pastures loveable and sweet cattle and calves, or the occasional regal horses.

Maybe she's boring to most, long and an eye sore, but the older I get the more love for my home. The more I wish she was loved and respected for all she offers just like the more tourist-y states.

I guess maybe you just have had to grow up here to see her for what she is.

[los-plantalones]

Red milkweed beetle on common milkweed.

[clove-pinks]

Suddenly, the drainage ditches near my work in an industrial area are filled with exquisitely lovely pink flowers—huge, showy blooms on vigorous bushy plants that sprang from the ditch water.

It was very difficult to approach the flowers, with no shoulder on the road, train tracks everywhere, and few businesses open to the public. My phone pictures are not impressive, but I made positive ID as swamp rose mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos)!!

It is a native wildflower! Up close it's more obviously a type of Hibiscus. I can't believe that something so beautiful and exotic grows wild here and that it makes the drainage ditch its home.

[landwriter]

Lilium columbianum, June 2024

[vandaliatraveler]

This past January, I made a resolution to get my garden beds to 70 - 75% native plants. My, oh my, that was an ambitious goal. I probably need another year or two to reach that level of coverage. On the other hand, the native wildflower seeds I purchased in January have germinated and produced healthy, vigorous shoots (above). Today, I planted the spreading Jacob’s ladder (Polemonium reptans) in four different beds. I have spots prepared for the rest also, including hairy beardtongue (Penstemon hirsutus), blue-stemmed goldenrod (Solidago caesia), yellow pimpernel (Taenidia integerrima), and wild geranium (Geranium maculatum). The project is at least moving ahead; this coming September, I’ll buy or collect more seeds to plant before the first frost.

[jensownzoo]

So I finished up outdoor cleaning tasks and was about to start outdoor construction tasks when the clouds started rolling in. So instead of risking frantically trying to get the tools out of the rain, I pivoted to a quick garden project.

A while back I picked up a discarded box fan that unfortunately had a burnt out motor. So I removed the two grills to use for plant protection and was going to put out the rest for the metal scrappers when I had an idea.

Scrapped the motor and blades, kept the case to use for planting. I dug down into the mulch beneath the crabapple tree until I hit dirt then placed the case on top to keep the mulch restrained and packed the mulch back in around it. Lightly cultivated the dirt then spread the wildflower seeds I got from the natives program at the library as well as three packets of very old sunflowers (they probably won't do anything but why not). Added a light coating of spent potting soil on top and tamped in.

I put one of the grills back on held in place with a brick to keep the critters from digging everything up. Then it started raining, so no more outdoor projects today.

But from an earlier garden walk:

Oops! I sowed nasturtium seed in this pot and covered it with a tote to prevent it from being excavated and kinda forgot about it. Now some of them are super leggy. We'll see how that sorts itself out.

Also in the oops category:

These are the two earthboxes that have been covered in thin insulation blanket and some wire caging. It doesn't look nearly as bad in the pic as it does irl but the plants are pretty yellow. I removed all coverings (we'll just have to chance the cabbage moths) to get more sun and also gave them a drink of mild liquid fertilizer for a boost. These are the extra Chinese broccoli and bok choy and kale with bonus green onions. Technically fine for part shade just...not this much.

But in good news the pollinators seemed to have liked the extra-dwarf pak choi I let flower and I should have plenty of seed to collect.

The two pansies that came back (originally obtained half-drowned but free) after winter are now flowering. If I can get them to produce seedpods I can immediately sow the seed to have more of them. It's worked before!

My second sowing of basil is up. Might be ready to transplant by the time all the radishes are done flowering and can go in in their place, right next to the row of tomatoes.

And hey, my fern isn't dead (it just looked that way a month ago).

Climbing rose thriving in the singular patch of sunlight in the side yard started blooming. I've got it trained in an arch down to the ground instead of actually climbing anything.

Elly Belly's (cat) replacement memorial plant is blooming too. It's got two main canes -- this one is doing fine but the other has significant chlorosis going on. No idea why. Maybe all the rain we've gotten this spring? That is somehow only affecting half the plant? I gave it some iron and magnesium based fertilizer just in case, but it's weird.

The next project will be to get all the canna bulbs in the ground. Somewhere. Once it stops raining. Possibly Friday.

[herbalnature]

Check out the fiery beauty of Platanthera ciliaris, with its vibrant orange blossoms reaching out like little flames. These charming orchids add a burst of color to the green tapestry of their native U.S. habitats.

[dinosaurwithablog]

I love tiger lilies!! I've never seen them in the wild, but i am glad to see them now!! They are beautiful 😍 I love this photo, don't you? 😁😍

this could be the start of something big

[thelethalsilence]

Leichtlin's mariposa lily, Calochortus leichtlinii Stanislaus National Forest, CA, USA

[wiisagi-maiingan]

Becoming a gardener has made me discover so many different types of bugs that I never knew about. I had no idea that my area had so many native bees (there's a species of North American bee that only visits squash plants!! there are bright green metallic bees!!). I've seen bugs behave in ways that I've never found anyone talk about irl or online (a garden near me has a catnip plant that is ALWAYS covered in blue mud dauber wasps, why?). I've learned that there's many, many bugs and other creepy crawlies that are impossible to find information about online for whatever reason, and there's many spiders specifically that I've never been able to find the names of.

It's also made me terrifyingly, devastatingly aware of how few bugs there are compared to when I was a kid and that those numbers are visibly dropping every year. Butterflies are still a rare sight, no matter how hard I try. I'm getting more bees visiting my squash and bean plants, but less in the flowers. The wasp nest that was built near my window like it is every year is considerably smaller than previous years, even with more material to build with and a consistent source of water nearby. There's fewer grass spiders and the huge orb weavers I loved so much have disappeared completely in the last couple years.

We've stopped raking the leaves. We've planted more things, even started a wildflower garden. I've set out bug baths and a bee house. I'm planning on planting more next year, but will that even help? How can my little yard even begin to undo just a fraction of a fraction of the damage done by climate change and massive loss of habitats?

This isn't meant to be a doomer post, so please don't lecture at me like it's one. I'm just tired and sad and I miss my spiders.

[reasonsforhope]

re: sending an ask about something that makes you hopeful to start off the new year on a good note. this is a personal project that has given me hope! (sorry for the length, i'm a rambler)

next to my house is a shallow creek. when we first moved in the banks were choked with trash, scrap metal from the road, and invasive brush. when it stormed, rainwater would run off the road, turn the creek black, and make it smell like roadkill mixed with chemicals. once we were settled in our house, we decided to try and clean it up a little bit at a time. we got to work replacing the invasive bushes with native groundcover just a few seedlings each season, and every spring since then we've made a tradition of sending out an invite to a bunch of neighbors/extended family/friends to come help clean trash out!

its been a source of hope and pride for me to see how the younger people in our community have gotten excited about taking care of the creek after that first little push. our little ecosystem has slowly improved thanks in part to our efforts: the biodiversity has steadily improved with each passing year, the baby trees we put in are going strong, the wildflowers on the banks are beautiful in the summer and help catch the gravel/muck that slides off the road! Its all very rewarding, and i love the feeling that we have made an impact, even if its a small one :)

anyway, that's something that brings me hope! i wish that 2025 will be an even better year than the ones before, for our little creek and for the world in all. p.s thank you for this blog, it has been a real light for me in the past year <3

!!!!!!! This is amazing!! This is what it's all about - picking a spot where you can make a difference, and then doing it. Small, local impacts make such a huge difference, especially in terms of ecology and ecosystem restoration

What an amazing story, and thank you so much for doing this!! That little creek and the plants and animals that live there are so lucky rn

[rederiswrites]

You can train your tastes. You can choose what you see beauty in.

Lemme go further, actually. You are constantly doing so--or letting others do it for you.

Nearly two decades ago, when we were planning our wedding, I made a very firm decision not to look at any wedding planning magazines or anything with marketing material for wedding products. I wanted our wedding to be uniquely us, and I also wanted not to be bombarded by product advertisement and beautiful photo shoots of very expensive weddings. Consequently, maybe we wasted a little bit of time reinventing the wheel, but we had a wedding we were very happy with that only cost perhaps four thousand dollars at most, probably not that much, spread out over our finances and those of both our families. Our guests went home with live potted plants that we'd paid pennies for at end of season, our florist had a great time getting to design a bouquet that tested her skills because I didn't have any preconceived ideas, my dress was utterly unique--and I really do feel that those magazines would have had a corrosive effect on all that.

When we moved to this property three years ago, I spent a LOT of time looking at images online, trying to form a coherent vision for a property that was at the time a fairly blank slate. I found myself scrolling through a lot of Russian dacha Instagrams, of all things, and they unlocked something for me. Seeing the same homey make-do decorations and techniques I grew up around a continent away, the same plywood cutout old ladies and tractor tire flower planters, somehow chewed through that last binding cord of classism, and suddenly I saw the art in it. The expression of a desire to embellish and beautify, even when you have very little, even when all you can afford is things the more well-to-do consider trash. I saw the exuberance of human love for beauty in a brilliant flower bed planted next to a collapsing shed--it didn't need to be perfect to be worthwhile. They didn't wait til everything was pristine to start enjoying things. And now I earnestly and unironically covet my own version of the tractor-tire Christmas tree at the farm down the road.

We've spent centuries now idolizing the manicured estates and quaint country retreats of the European wealthy elites. We've turned thousands of miles of living ecosystem into grass deserts in service of this vision. We need to start deliberately retraining our tastes. Seek out images of a different idea of beauty and peace. I'm not telling you what it'll be. I'm telling you this is not involuntary. You can participate. You can look at the many beautiful examples of native xeriscaping for arid climates, or photos of chaotic tangles of wildflowers, tamed by narrow paths, a bench under an arbor overwhelmed with wisteria. Maybe instead of trying to get lawn to grown under your mature trees, you'd actually get far more joy out of a patch of dirt. A hammock. A firepit ringed with log sections for seats.

You can free yourself from harmful conventions of taste and beauty, and you do it through imagining something better.