a garden story: Pollinator Paradise
Every yard is unique. This the garden story of Abby and James, two first-time homeowners, and their toddler. Abby and James have a general enthusiasm for pollinators, native plants, and the earth in general, but not a lot of garden know-how. They love their house, but ended up with a lot more yard than they imagined - nearly a half acre, most of which was turf grass.
On their own, they had established a number of raised beds for vegetable gardens, but they felt overwhelmed when it came to deciding how to tackle adding more perennial beds and removing some of their turf grass (or even identifying which plants in their yards were weeds).
Sedges & Celery helped create a pollinator paradise alongside Abby and James’ existing raised vegetable beds. In May, layers of cardboard were used to lay out the shape of the bed and smother the turf grass. In the front of the house, there was a large, ornamental plum tree that Sedges & Celery removed. Logs and branches from the tree created the shape of the new pollinator bed.
Sedges & Celery had the idea to include some pathways within the garden, which activates the garden space and makes it more inviting for Abby and James (and their toddler). Compost was laid on top of the cardboard shape, with mulch over the garden pathways. By June, the plants were in the ground. Annual zinnias were planted between sedges to fill in the space while the perennials get established
By mid-July, the annuals were taller than a toddler! The cardboard and mulch did a good job of smothering the weeds on the paths, which invite exploring. This became one of the most satisfying and interesting parts of their yard, and needed the least maintenance. All summer long, they cut blooms to bring inside and watched the many, many insects attracted to the garden.
After the first frost, the zinnias started to die back. At the very end of the garden, the purple lovegrass is beautiful, even after the color fades. When the winter snows come, the garden continues to be a point of interest in the yard, inviting a new kind of exploration.
