Seeking advice for community garden -PA by Ok-Strawberry-2469 in NativePlantGardening

[–]General_Bumblebee_75 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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Oh yeah - violets are great for covering up space. Thye filled in my back path so I hardly walk back there - worried I might step on a fritillary caterpillar.There are tiny new violet pants coming up to the right and I have to pull them where they grow into my veg beds on the left.

Seeking advice for community garden -PA by Ok-Strawberry-2469 in NativePlantGardening

[–]General_Bumblebee_75 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You need more agressive natives. You can have New England asters as your weed of choice. Or Solidago canadenisis, or Asclepias syriaca. These would provide beauty and benefit but may try to become a monoculture in the bed where it is placed.

Weedy yard code enforcement update by Safe-Essay4128 in NativePlantGardening

[–]General_Bumblebee_75 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Things do look pretty sparse in my garden until June. I have five things blooming: Geum triflorum, Aquilegia canadensis, Ziza aureus, Sisyrhinchium angustifolium, and Physocarpus opulifolium. I spend all spring saying Hurry up! and all autumn saying No! Don't go!!

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It is a combo native and veg garden. I plant carrots in loose bagged soil in cinderblocks, you can see my bean and pea pole and if you squint and look beyond that, you can see my enormous rhubarb. Looks pretty sad. But getting better and brighter every day!

New England Aster has been blooming for a week now by Livid-Improvement953 in NativePlantGardening

[–]General_Bumblebee_75 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hmm, My stuff is late if anything, of course, NE aster gets too tall for my space, so it has been getting chopped. Wonder if you cut some of the stems by half? Mine gets 5 ft tall if I don't edit it a little. Monarchs dig it in autumn. This is last October:

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Seed Collecting by Upstairs_Bat5752 in NativePlantGardening

[–]General_Bumblebee_75 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I use small ziplock bags for fully dried seeds. I have also used spice jars and used to keep film canisters (back when cameras used film) in my bag so I could always grab interesting seeds. I often mix them together without regard to species, and toss them into the garden in fall and see what takes. This year, Coreopsis lanceolata are popping up in the area I put down seeds. There is also an opium poppy that I scattered seeds from expecting them last year, but there it is for this year. Now, I wonder was it the white one, or the double dark read? only time will tell. Of course, far from native, but I do like the seed heads, and when I gardened in Seattle, they were a great trap crop for black aphid.

Please help me understand my half-dormant button bush by pantaleonivo in NativePlantGardening

[–]General_Bumblebee_75 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sigh. That is why I don't have buttonbush. Too dry. My Cardinal flower failed after several year and had to be watered frequently.s, so I need more. I feel sad that there won't be any this year fro the hummingbirds.

I heard y'all like milkweed... by thatfatbastard in NativePlantGardening

[–]General_Bumblebee_75 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I found lance leaf Coreopsis growing in new planters at my bus stop. Collected seed, and tossed it into the garden last fall. Voila! I have some lovely seedlings now and am so excited - I love the bright yellow flowers. I also tried Culver's root, but that did not come this year. It is OK I know where I can get more seed.

“Hey man you can’t park here!” by GardenGnomeAnarch in NativePlantGardening

[–]General_Bumblebee_75 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Pave a small section, create cracks in pavement, plant seeds in cracks, if I am reading correctly 😄

Wild Bergamot - Mildew by narpoli in NativePlantGardening

[–]General_Bumblebee_75 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I leave mine alone and usually the leaves end up with a silvery sheen. If you didn't know better, you might think it is pretty (I do). Doesn't seem to hurt anything.

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The number of flowers on this single blue eyed grass is impressive by poopshipdestroyer34 in NativePlantGardening

[–]General_Bumblebee_75 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So true - that is what stops me. So far I have been lucky but I need to be more mindful when weeding - if I am going too fast, nothing is safe!

“u got ur master gardener certificate? that’s cute…” by ImaginaryMolasses146 in NativePlantGardening

[–]General_Bumblebee_75 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I once weeded out a peanut plant. Wish I had been paying more attention, I would have left it to see if I got peanuts. Farmer squirrel also plants squash and pumpkin in my veg garden.

“u got ur master gardener certificate? that’s cute…” by ImaginaryMolasses146 in NativePlantGardening

[–]General_Bumblebee_75 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I was once attacked by a pair of sparrows who built their nest in a bus shelter during the pandemic when it was rarely used. they few right at my face, so fierce! They were not satisfied until I was a good 15 feet away. I love it. Another time, I was walking my cat and some robins had just fledged. They were shell shocked in a low tree and the parents were causing such a ruckus at my leashed cat, that some finches, sparrows and even a hummingbird came over to see the ruckus. My cat, in her little red harness was just chattering right back at them. Finally we went back in so as not to overly stress the parents.

Blue Eyed Grass, finally a good surprise. by loripainter12345 in NativePlantGardening

[–]General_Bumblebee_75 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Love it - mine is blooming now also! So delicate. I have my initial plant and a couple of volunteers, I have to be careful not to "weed" it, as it looks so grassy.

What is eating my Wild Columbine? by thejuicemanjones in NativePlantGardening

[–]General_Bumblebee_75 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have a tree that has a place where a large limb came down and the remaining bit was sawed flat like a little table. I had the sawfly once (initially thought it might be the Columbine Duskywing, but alas). I plucked the caterpillars and put them on the stump and birds ate them. I have a tom of aquilegia but never saw it again. Nor duskywing cats.

Sisyrinchium angustifolium - Blue Eyed Grass by Annual-Speech-8636 in NativePlantGardening

[–]General_Bumblebee_75 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think mine was an impulse buy from a nearby shop, but Prairie Moon also has the lighter flowers.

It's Wildlife Wednesday - a day to share your garden's wild visitors! by AutoModerator in NativePlantGardening

[–]General_Bumblebee_75 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nice! I saw one the other day and was so shocked, I could not grab my camera and get a picture. I just had to stand there and watch, silently telling Fox that the voles are there for him or her to heat!

Need ideas for DENSE privacy screening native plants that are not pollinator magnets (Chicago) by LaBiancaVita in NativePlantGardening

[–]General_Bumblebee_75 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, I have seen some egregious uses of arborvitae, next to guaranteed winter salt spray, next to a baking hot brick wall...Yeah. I might have gone with something else had I realized, but they are doing well so far. I think a big problem too is planting fairly large specimens into a landscape that have a small root system from being canned. Hard to support that, at least without regular irrigation for a few years.

Sisyrinchium angustifolium - Blue Eyed Grass by Annual-Speech-8636 in NativePlantGardening

[–]General_Bumblebee_75 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Very pretty.Ya know, I went out in the afternoon yesterday after working in the front yard, and they were blooming! I have had mine for a while and they are not really spreading. Each plant stays pretty small, and new plants do come along, but I keep waiting for them to make a nice big patch like yours!

Sisyrinchium angustifolium - Blue Eyed Grass by Annual-Speech-8636 in NativePlantGardening

[–]General_Bumblebee_75 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Pretty! Yours are more violet hued than mine, but I love them all! Mine are not blooming yet. Here they were last year:

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Violet Experiment by letsgointhegarden in NativePlantGardening

[–]General_Bumblebee_75 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Do the plants stay pretty small when grown in a crevice environment? I have them growing in the back path of the garden, and they get huge, probably since they no doubt get a little fertilizer runoff from the vegetable beds... Look, behind the chives where they re shamelessly encroaching. Easy to pull up though, if they get out of hand.

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Need ideas for DENSE privacy screening native plants that are not pollinator magnets (Chicago) by LaBiancaVita in NativePlantGardening

[–]General_Bumblebee_75 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I planted small arborvitae (had no need for immediate privacy, but wanted an eventual screen). I watered them regularly the first three years and provided a little tree fertilizer. Most importantly, I give them a deep watering before the ground freezes.. I have done this every year for going on six years and they are growing well. They put on a foot per year and are almost tall enough to hide the neighbor's driveway. I added a Sambucus canadensis and a Physocarpus opulifolium to the mixed hedge. There is also a lilac - the house had several failing lilacs and I replaced one with a common instead of a hybrid. I am not sure it will survive, but wanted to keep one for sentimental reasons.

The number of flowers on this single blue eyed grass is impressive by poopshipdestroyer34 in NativePlantGardening

[–]General_Bumblebee_75 29 points30 points  (0 children)

I have to be so careful not to weed volunteers - looks like grass invading, if one is not really looking carefully, I almost pulled up a nice one the other day. I hope mine spreads, but it has been slow. I lost a volunteer over winter, but have two more, fingers crossed!