Yard to pollinator garden!
Just 2 years ago I got a slightly crazy idea. I threw it by the Mr. because he’s really good at telling me when my idea is a little too much. My idea was to cover all of the grass by the garage with cardboard and wood chips. Then, take that area and turn it into a bunch of flowers; therefore, turn it into a pollinator garden!
Here’s the area as just a grass patch:
Next up was the part that made me wonder if I made a bad choice. Turns out that just wood chips isn’t a great look!
But, I planted out what I could (mainly seeds) and slowly the area was starting to show some small blooms and green plants!
By the end of the first season, I had lots of ideas for next summer. Overall, I thought it looked pretty great though! And, I also was able to have this area registered as a certified wildlife habitat!
Over the winter I started more plants from seed, and I was excited to see that lots of flowers came back up the next season!
We were able create lots of nectar and pollen sources for the bees and butterflies!
Sulphur cosmos
After giving the planted milkweed a second year to grow, we also had this area certified as a monarch waystation. And I don’t know if the butterflies read the sign (ha, ha), or really liked the 3 varieties of milkweed (swamp, butterfly weed and common) but they have showed up in huge quantities this year!
And here is how it looks today! I can honestly say that I’m very glad that I had a crazy idea and just did it! I love feeding us with our garden food, and I love being able to feed our bees and butterflies too!
llewellynhomestead 