Are you seeing lots of birds, critters, bees and butterflies in your gardens?
Certify your habitat during Pollinator Month,
Anyone can create a welcoming haven for local wildlife. Turning your yard, balcony container garden, schoolyard, work landscape, or roadside greenspace into a Certified Wildlife Habitat® is fun, easy, and can make a lasting difference for wildlife. Certify this June and save 20% when you purchase any Certified Wildlife Habitat sign. To see the requirements for garden certification as a National Wildlife refuge, go to this website: nwf.org, click on "Get Involved;" a menu will appear. Scroll down to "Certify a garden." Your garden needs these 4 elements - food, water, shelter, and a place to raise young.
Kathy Ramienski, one of our Garden Club members, has this certification. Here are photos of the 4 elements in her garden and some critters who inhabit this inviting space.
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Gardening has NOT been canceled.
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Bird visitors to the garden include: cardinals, robins, blue jays, chickadees, woodpeckers, gold finches, hummingbirds. We had a blue bird brood in the birdhouse in the maple tree before it leafed out. Now we have a pair of wrens making a nest in another birdhouse on a pole. This is the first time I had blue birds nest. Next year I will put a blue bird house on the pole, which is less obstructed. Hopefully they will stay and have a second brood. As you can imagine, there are countless insects, spiders, and many bees. Lately I've been seeing dragonflies. I found 2 praying mantis egg sacs as I was cleaning out the flower beds in early spring. I have seen quite a few toads, and one snake, see picture. I haven't seen it in over a week, so I guess it moved on... As far as mammals, there are rabbits, deer, and an occasional fox.
I noticed last year that as the summer blossoming plants waned, the insect pollinators - bees, hummingbird moths, wasps- had little to feed on in the back garden. I only had one aster, and some herbs. This year I added more asters and goldenrods. Also good for pollinators are herbs that are allowed to flower. I have a lot of thyme, and let half of it flower; I do the same with oregano. I do not let basil flower because once it flowers, the entire plant loses its flavor.
In my front yard, I have phlox and cosmos. My lawn has lots of clover which both the rabbits and deer like. I also have lavender, which is not only great for pollinators, but also for humans!
Here are some interesting sources for more information on pollinators and garden habitats:
Gardening for Pollinators Presented by Howard County Master Gardeners and the Maryland Extension. Monday, June 22, 2020 at 7 PM – 8:30 PM OnlineEvent http://host.evanced.info/hclibrary/lib/eventsignup.aspID=145707&ret=http%3A%2F%2Fhost.evanced.info%2Fhclibrary%2Flib%2Feventcalendar.asp%3Fln%3DALL
Save the Pollinators Save the Planet Ecological Landscaping https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6ejHn_fb18
A Presentation by Doug Tallamy - Nature's Best Hope https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY4aV5hqkxY
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How does your garden grow? Peonies made a good show in many gardens, along with roses and irises. Here are some pictures from Garden Club members:
Please feel free to add a comment below or send photos and articles to
Jan Baweja, janbaw2@gmail.com.Also follow us on Facebook - facebook.com/sandy spring museum garden club
Gardening has NOT been canceled.