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and support bees And all other pollinating species as well, there's way more than just bees :) But good adivce about native plants: around here there's a bit o
by stinos 7y ago
and support bees
And all other pollinating species as well, there's way more than just bees :) But good adivce about native plants: around here there's a bit of a hype in certain circles and people are all over what they call 'bee plants' but forget that non-native plants which happen to have pretty flowers usually do not provide anything but nectar for a couple of generalist species, so not all native ones, plus don't take part in the reproduction cycle because they aren't wanted food for the caterpillars.
To get native plants, which support the most biodiversity, essentially the best thing you can do in a lot of situations is: not too much. Leave your lawn grow, current herbs (if any) will develop and other will fly in as seeds. Then for instance mow once in spring and once at the end of the summer (hard to tell eaxctly, depends on what grows currently and soil type). Remove what you mow: otherwise the nutrients make it back into the soil so the fast-growing plants which thrive on nitrogen (grass, nettles) get a jumpstart while the slower growing ones (most flowering ones) don't get a chance and won't get enough space and light. Don't mow everything at once, you'd take away shelter and housing for may fauna. Likewise be sure to leave pathches uncut during winter in order to e.g. not get rid of the eggs of butterflies. After one or more years you should see transition into a native meadow i.e. also flowering herbs instead of just grass.
- _carl_jung 7y agoDo you have any further reading?
- stinos 7y agoNot in Egnlish unfortunately. But what I wrote is pretty much the generic way in which 'good' meadows etc are being preserved and developed and that's not going to be different from grassland management done by nature organizations your area, so your best bet is to contact them and ask recommendations. And/or join for volunteering; thing is: removing all cuttings is key, and quite some work, so in places where it cannot be done with machines (most of them, meadows don't like to be ran over with heavy machines because it compacts the soil on dry terrain or ruins it on wet terrain) people will be very happy with some extra hands and in return you'll learn all these things firsthand. At least that's how it worked for me.
- JulianMorrison 7y agoCuttings can be repurposed as compost for the food-forest part of your garden, which exists alongside the wildflower-meadow part. (Grow flowering perennials, and this will help with supporting pollinators.)
- jfk13 7y agoAh, memories of my youth: Create a Butterfly Garden, by L. Hugh Newman. Long out of print, but readily available used. For a more modern resource, try Butterfly Conservation's site: https://butterfly-conservation.org/how-you-can-help/get-involved/gardening https://butterfly-conservation.org/how-you-can-help/get-invo...