The last post in this series is the Hummingbird/Bee/Butterfly Garden.
I have this 10' diameter edged area I intended for one plant but it spreads through seeds elsewhere. Lysymachia Firecracker is an EVIL plant! I am seeking to kill it before it spreads further. Herbicide is not out of the question though I try to stay organic. It doesn't die being scraped off at ground level; apparently, I'll have to dig each and every one out deeply.
But that left the place it was intended for. So I bought some individual hummingbird, butterfly and bee seed mixes. The flowers can grow in the medium soil I have, but want a good soil for germinating. And they do best without much weed competition.
I have a big rototiller. But it doesn't work very well in small areas or with a lot of grass roots. So last year, I bought a little electric tiller. It won't get more than a few inches deep. but it is light and I can hold it in place over stubborn weeds to grind down below the roots.
I'm a few days behind the actual events, but a few days ago, I dragged it out and used it in the bed. I went north/south once and east/west once. Then I dragged it backwards along the inside edge of the plastic edging. I raked out most of the rocks and dumped two 5 gallon buckets of rocks along the fenceline (well, they have to go "somewhere").
Then I spread 1/2" of 50/50 compost/topsoil mix on the raked surface. After that, I spread the hummingbird, butterfly and bee seed mixes on the surface and added another 1/8" loose soil on top. Moistened the whole area with a mister nozzle (to not move the seeds).
Can't wait to see what grows!
1 comment:
It will be interesting. Do you expect to be able to identify them all by sight, or will you need to get out a gardening book with photos?
Megan
Sydney, Australia
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