Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Do not go where the path may lead. Instead, go where there is no path and leave a trail"
GARDENING WITH ANN
My journey of starting a vegetable and pollenator garden in my backyard
THE GOURD AND PUMPKIN PATCH
At the Cabin
This year my family and I decided to add a gourd and pumpkin patch to the yard at the cabin. We planted seeds in early June and now that it is August I am seeing blooms and gourds starting to grow. For this garden I put down filter fabric to keep it low maintenance and weed free. I also put up a netting to keep the deer and local wild life out, and it is working really well. I planted a variety of gourds, two types of pumpkins, cucumbers and summer squash. Soon I will make a sign to welcome people to the new gourd and pumpkin patch at the cabin.
POLLINATOR GARDENING
Summer 2021
This year I have decided to till up part of my backyard and start a pollinator garden. Pollinator gardens are gardens that have native flowers and plant species that attract insects like bees and butterflies. Oftentimes pollinator flowers are very colorful. I am looking forward to learning more about how this type of garden can help the environment and ecology around me. Check back later for more posts and updates!
POLLINATOR GARDEN FENCE IS IN!
Prepping the pollinator garden for seeding and planting
The new fence for the pollinator garden has been installed by me! The pollinator garden now has protection from the neighborhood rabbits who love to snack on my coneflower leaves! Yesterday, I spent all morning and most of the afternoon installing 8 foot lattice and stakes for the pollinator garden fence. You will see me pictured here with a maul and some stakes. Let me tell you mauls are heavy and pounding in stakes takes a lot of work. I was wiped out at the end of the afternoon, but all my effort was well worth it. My pollinator garden is now ready for more planting and seeding. In the next few days before the rain is expected, I plan to seed the pollinator garden with a variety of seeds. I purchased several seed packs called, "Flower Mix: Save the Bees" and another called, "Flower Mix: Pollinator Garden." I also, have an experiment going on in my fridge for seeds. There is a beautiful type of magenta prairie flower and I purchased the seeds for this flower from Prairie Moon Nursery for the pollinator garden. These seeds and the other seeds I purchased (Rose Milkweed) need a frost/freeze cycle before they can germinate. Since I want to speed up the process and see if I can trigger their germination I put these two types of seeds in a container in my fridge with wet paper towels. I am trying to see if they will come up and bloom this year by imitating a freeze/frost cycle. I will keep you posted on what happens. For now, the fence is in so let the seeding and planting begin!