2024 May 1 Being Deliberate in the Garden

The plan is garden time this weekend. We have some plants like Clovers shooting way up tall, while the native Spiderwort is struggling for sunlight. It will be nice to cut some stuff back, transplant things to better spots and maybe rake a little. It’s also time to change out the old “Leave the Leaves” garden flag now that most of the leaves have decomposed.

Get it? BEE!

This is a mock-up of my design.

 I’ll update how it really looks when it comes in.

I created this one on Procreate. I drew three different native bees on New York Asters and Short Goldenrods. I want to be very clear that our native insects are welcome here, and that means we don’t ever spray pesticides. In fact, we’re elated when we find native insects eating the leaves and pollinating the flowers.

It’s that time of year before everything really fills in and flowers that I worry the neighborhood judges the look as “messy”. We only have Golden Ragwort and some random Alliums flowering at the moment. To me, the wildness is my preferred aesthetic. However, as a front yard in the city we do have to do things to look deliberate. The sign will help, I hope.

We decided we are going to mow this May. Luckily, we really only mow a path through the front and around the edges. It’s “Barely Mow May” around here. It will take about ten minutes each, front and back with the electric mower.

I have a thousand more ideas for garden flags. Maybe I’ll sell a line of them one day. I have about 8 designs ready to go. I’m looking for an American eco-friendly print shop. I have no idea about Zazzle’s printing practices. When they don’t advertise as eco-friendly, they usually aren’t.