#wildlife gardening

[homesweethellsite]

Show of hands please, who else has a spreadsheet/table of all the plants they want to have in their garden someday plus notes on their growing conditions, if theyre edible or good for pollinators and wildlife etc

I'm forever frantically typing a new note when listening to a gardening podcast or watching a show. my firm favorite is the wildlife gardening podcast. love a bit of banter alongside great information. one bit thats always stuck with me is "go to the local garden center and see what the bees are on" rather than buying something thats apparently good for them. if every garden in your street has lavender then its better to have something else in yours for variety

https://wildlifegardenpod.substack.com/podcast

Though anything is better than that god awful astroturf bs. who tf looks at that thinks, ah yes please lego-ify my garden tyvm - beyond pure aesthetics the harm it causes to the environment is just shocking and the idea its low maintenance is just ridiculous too. the brainwashing on the sellers in the following video is really something. "Let me sell you a mower shaped hoover for your microplastics that you should use weekly - btw we're so low effort and eco friendly!". mate, my grass gets a trim maybe 3 times A YEAR and thus is usually full of hardy wildflowers who can survive not being watered, they host a tonne of insect life and they'll renew every year rather than breaking down over 10yrs with no recycling options. you can keep your lifeless plastic desert away from me thanks!

https://www.facebook.com/capabilitycharlottegardens/videos/665885714945554/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v

[charmingcreatures]

Cosmic ✨

[rorowland]

Thomas the tank givin it all that

[thiscountry]

I am here waiting

[typhlonectes]

Plant a Bee-friendly (and butterfly friendly) garden!

See higher quality image and find out more:

PollinatorGardenBrochure.pdf (sierraclub.org)

[littlepawz]

Dahlia flower grower is delighted to find small green frogs using the dahlia petals as their own little hotel rooms ;)

[expressions-of-nature]

Fox in the Village by Alexander Nikitinsky

[lycomorpha]

An elephant hawkmoth warming up it's wings. May we forever have moths like this in the world 🦋💖

Edit: for those wondering - yes, this is very definitely A Moth. (Not a butterfly, bee, hummingbird, any other bird, or an extremely smol plane... Though they do sound a bit like tiiiiny planes when they vibrate their wings.) There's more on the elephant hawkmoth here, here, and here. If you love it and you have a garden then don't overdo the weeding, bc it eats rosebay willowherb (UK)/fireweed (US).

[katiajewelbox]

It's hard to believe this isn't a painting or digital art, the composition is so perfect! I would love to visit Australia one day and see these amazing plants and animals in person.

Source: Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney Australia Instagram page

[lovehina019]

[maureen2musings]

In the garden

country_garden_jottings

[ostdrossel]

Happy Groundhog Day! Apparently, we are expecting an early spring. After the boring fall and winter, I gotta say I am happy to hear. Have a fabulous weekend!

[rebeccathenaturalist]

So, long story short--a Master Gardener who has been maintaining a native plant garden for years is now being harassed by a neighbor, with whom the city code enforcers sided, and she's facing daily fines if she doesn't turn at least half of her yard into grass lawn. Apparently the only plants that are allowed to grow higher than seven inches are those that are edible, useful, or decorative.

If you are at all ecologically aware, you know that grass lawns are essentially ecological wastelands. A monoculture of non-native grass, especially if it's sprayed with herbicides, fertilizers, and so forth, is not going to support much in the way of native wildlife. Moreover, it can be argued that native plants do fall under the allowable category of "useful" and "decorative", and some are even "edible."

The article above is dated from two days ago, but this apparently started last year. And I found an article in their local paper from this past July that says she's still fighting the city about it, plus it has a bunch of photos of her garden if you want to see what the fuss is all about. Do be aware that if you decide to contact the Prospect Code Enforcement Board, City Council, and/or Mayor with a polite note in support of her, the website only allows you to send five messages every hour and you can only message one person at a time.

ETA: I did hear back just now from one of the code enforcement folks, who says--in their words--"Prospect City asked Ms. McGrail to redesign her current plantings into a more attractive and organized layout with edged definitions to her plant beds and a more obvious ‘walking path’ in between with a more “lawn-like” appearance, using native and no-mowing options"

[rorowland]

Logo / work tee design / flyer layout • The Wild Gardeners Collective

[thiscountry]

Rufous

[princesscatherinemiddleton]

The Princess of Wales in pastels🌸