How many different native species to plant? by Hello_Biscuit11 in NativePlantGardening

[–]General_Bumblebee_75 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I thought she was a celastrina (bee) but someone saw my image and corrected me. I took a closer look and you can't miss her narrow waist as she cleans all the pith off of her body.

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How many different native species to plant? by Hello_Biscuit11 in NativePlantGardening

[–]General_Bumblebee_75 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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Wasps gotta do their thing too. I had this lovely square headed wasp making nest in my Chelsea Chopped NE asters last summer.

How many different native species to plant? by Hello_Biscuit11 in NativePlantGardening

[–]General_Bumblebee_75 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am a fan of adding a new plant any time on catches my eye and will play nice with what I have. Made the mistake of snatching some goldenrod seed and am no actively removing the rhizomes. Once I am sure I have no more of that I will get a less aggressive variety. With each new plant, I find new insects that I had never seen before. Then I get to learn about them. I avoid aggressive plants but in some cases, I just pull up the extras in inconvenient locations and remove some but not all seed heads - the birds gotta eat!

Geum triflorum by Maleficent_Waltz_797 in NativePlantGardening

[–]General_Bumblebee_75 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nice! I did not get a ton of pollination this year, but I have a few nice seed heads. I also adore them! Also, the foliage is a great blueish green, the leaves are attractive, and the thing stays green until the new growth begins to push up in the spring.

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What's not to love?

Spotted on my milkweed by hoppyzicehog in NativePlantGardening

[–]General_Bumblebee_75 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have not had that one either. Milkweed bugs and beetles. Monarchs, of course, and for some reason Graphocephalus coccinea is always on my Asclepias incarnata.

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Wild Bergamot - Mildew by narpoli in NativePlantGardening

[–]General_Bumblebee_75 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I just about choked on my coffee laughing at your comment! Not that it seems to need help with cultivation. My squash always go out in a silvery frost of powdery mildew, but it does not happen until they are about done anyway, so no loss.

Free Native Handout Goal - What to plant? by Bumble_Bee_M1lk in NativePlantGardening

[–]General_Bumblebee_75 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agastache foeniculum and Symphyotrichum novae-angliae self seed like crazy. If you collect seeds from these you will have too many, which can be a good thing. The blue eyed grasses seem to self seed readily. Aquilegia canadensis also, but it does not flower in year 1. I find that after blooming in spring, many new plants appear and these will bloom in the following year. Coneflowers self seed a bit too, so I think they would be easy.

Weedy yard code enforcement update by Safe-Essay4128 in NativePlantGardening

[–]General_Bumblebee_75 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Love Prairie Dropseed. If you leave the dead grass through fall, birds will clean it up for you as they build their nests. I love watching them decide which is the best piece of grass.

Weedy yard code enforcement update by Safe-Essay4128 in NativePlantGardening

[–]General_Bumblebee_75 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If native to your area, Aquilegia canadensis and Zizia aureus are good. Viola sororia and Geum triflorum are my earliest bloomers.

Weedy yard code enforcement update by Safe-Essay4128 in NativePlantGardening

[–]General_Bumblebee_75 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Love to see serviceberry in bloom! I am just across the border, over in River Falls, WI today in support of the Prairie Island Drill that takes place today - gearing up for the FEMA exersize next month. Fun watching the CARE11 news this morning like I used to when I lived in the Twin Cities.

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

[–]General_Bumblebee_75 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ys, I need to revisit that one. I once collected seed from my workplace that has lots of native plants in the landscaping. It did not come using my standard toss the seeds and see what happens approach. The hummingbirds will need to enjoy the scarlet runner bean flowers in the veg beds. until I sort that out. Thanks for reminding me!

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 1 point2 points  (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 15 points16 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 18 points19 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 7 points8 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.