“Pollinator gardens are beneficial and beautiful” – Niagara This Week

Kylee Smith provides a few tips for those wanting to help the bees and other pollinators

Original Article Found Here Published in the Niagara This Week on May 4th, 2020.  Author: Kylee Smith

The sudden pause of our busy lives has inspired many to begin their yard work. If you’re looking for something esthetic and beneficial, a pollinator garden is the answer. Not only do native wildflowers provide vibrant colouring, but the pollinators increase biodiversity and yield. Due to infrastructure and commercializing, they have endured dangerous habitat loss; a garden welcomes a homeless pollinator.

The first step: inspect the area. Decipher the amount of shade available, then examine the type of soil you have: rocky, clay, sandy, etc. These observations define what plants will thrive. Next, prep your land. Tilling soil and adding a layer of topsoil is essential for establishing the area. To further benefit your garden, certain locations in the Niagara region host events for giving out mulch and compost.

For sunnier areas, blue-eyed grass, grey-headed coneflowers, and cosmos are self-sufficient and colourful. Make sure to water before soil dries. For a mix of sun and shade, asters, bee balm, and wild geraniums are suggested. Another useful tip is to stagger blooming periods for colour in all seasons. For shaded gardens: wild blue phlox, figwort, and common bonnet. Play with the heights. Some listed wildflowers are companion species, growing better together: blue-eyed grass and asters, coneflowers and cosmos, geraniums and phlox, and common boneset enjoys asters and coneflowers.

Next, purchase flowers. You can find seeds online, but buying from local companies is economically and environmentally preferred. Matchbox, Stokes, William Dam Seeds, and OSC (Ontario Seed Company) sell asters, geraniums, phlox, and cosmos, as examples. Some sell pollinator wildflower packages.

A pollinator garden makes your home beautiful, inviting many bees and butterflies. If you require a greater variety of species to plant, my research is published on 20 Valley Harvest Farm’s website: 20valleyharvest.com. They are also implementing their pollinator garden in July; be sure to visit.