Yarrow, Buddleia, and Other Pollinators

Let's face it. It's a good thing that tomatoes are self-pollinating because tomato flowers aren't sexy. Just a little dance in the breeze and like peppers, they are good to go.  But if you are growing cucurbits like squash, melons or cucumbers or mallows like cotton or okra you need a little help in the pollinating department. That's where our friend the bees and wasps are our friends in the garden.

The Lure of Color

Okra flowers are not flashy. They are beautifully formed and delicately colored but they aren't something that can be seen at a distance.

Squash, melon and cucumber flowers are usually a nice shade of yellow. But yellow isn't always an attractive color to lure in pollinators. Bees and our other flying friends are attracted by pinks, reds, and purples. There's a reason most hummingbird feeders are red.

Red can be seen at a distance. That makes it a great lure for pollinators.

Last summer I had great success getting pollinators in the garden with a few plants that flashed the colors the bees and wasps wanted.

Pink yarrow, purple buddleija and lavender were like magnets to the yard. Once lured in, the bees then moved along to visit the veggies that needed their attention.

The lure of sweet alyssum could not be ignored.  The yarrow, buddleija and lavender will be back next year. I won't need to plant those again. Alyssum isn't expensive, so I'll be planting it again as well.

A Time to Plan

My vegetable and flower gardens are asleep right now. Buried under a blanket of snow. But while the soil rests, I continue to toil.
I'm planning the garden. I'm selecting cultivars to try and longing for the return of tried and true friends. In just another few weeks, it will be time to start seeds.

During this time off, while you flip through the seed catalogs, don't give short shrift to the flowers. Not only will they delight your eyes and nose, they will make your garden more productive.

I'll start with pansies in pots. Hungry bees will be happy to see the blooms come late February and my yard will be a regular part of their food hunting regime. That's going to be important come June and July when I have vegetables to be pollinated.

But until then, the soils rests. And I plan for pollinators.

New Gardens New Beginnings

No, I didn't die. The tilapia in the aquaponic fish tanks didn't eat me. God called me to do something that many of my friends thought was crazy. I up and moved to Central Ohio. I am now living close to Dear Son and Bestest Grandaughter.  July 4th I said to hubby, why don't we think about moving up to Ohio to be close to Dear Son and his family. August 8th my home of 23 years had been sold for cash, many of my plants given away, and the moving truck loaded for Central Ohio.

snow angel in Ohio yard

New Zones to Learn

So, I've been growing all my life in the southern zones. Gimme a zone 9 or 10 question or problem and I probably had a solution or experience with the situation. My house in South Florida didn't have heat. I didn't need a heater. It only got really cold every few years. Then it was only for a day or so. No, my money was in AC!

My North Carolina gardens are zone 5. But because I am not here full time, I rely heavily on spring blooming bulbs and summer blooming shrubs. Lots of low maintenance plants. Things that can survive if I am not here to water or fertilize. Tough plants.

My Central Ohio gardens are Zone 5, I am here full time, and they grow things I've only ever heard of and many things I have never seen. It's been a challenge. But if I can learn to grow in a new zone, you can learn to grow too. Because it's almost like I was starting from scratch. So I started with stuff I knew should work.

Start Easy

So, I moved into a house built in 1901 and the gardens had been ignored for about 10 years. I moved in the fall and I started with what I knew.....bulbs. My first plantings were daffodils, tulips, and crocus.

I had grown them in the mountains, so I knew how and when to plant them. Now what kind to plant was another story. Thus begins the trial and error of learning what varieties are hardier than others.

Learn the Soil

So, in South Florida, we had no soil unless you built it yourself. Before that, in Houston we had a clay soil, and before that in Corpus Christi we had sand and clay. 

In Ohio we have clay. First things first. We brought in a truckload of a combination of compost from the Columbus Zoo and topsoil.  We used this mixture to work into each planting area to break up the clay. Compost is great but it takes time to build yourself. That's why I imported composted material from the zoo.  If you have a zoo in your area, check and find out if they sell compost or give away manure.

Make a Friend or Two

The most important thing I did was connect with a person that was successfully gardening in my neighborhood. If you want to know what will grow in your area, ask the people that are growing. Plant people love to talk plants.
But you know that if you've spent any time on a plant forum.

I was lucky enough to find a woman in my neighborhood that runs a concierge lawn service. She doesn't do lawns, but she plants and cares for garden beds. I met another person that had been vegetable gardening for years in Central Ohio.

These two became invaluable resources.

Early Summer Blooms in new bed - Daylilly, verbena, Zinnia, petunia, Salvia

And the adventure continues.

January in the South Florida Garden

It's finally the growing season here in South Florida.  While you are perusing seed catalogs and planning your summer gardens I am busy in the garden.  You knew that the seasons were changing because the temperatures dropped: I knew the seasons were changing because the humidity dropped. 

Naked Plumeria

Your trees became a quilt of colors.  Maples become glorious red and oranges, oaks become beautifully burnished with russet, and the poplars explode in all shades of yellow.  Winds come and then the leaves fall to the ground, crunching underfoot. 

Bolivian Sunset Gloxinia

In South Florida, the leaves of my plumerias turned brown and fall off.  The jacarandas and poincianas do likewise.  No stunning displays of color as the leaves slowly turn off for the winter.  The plants know the seasons are changing because the days become shorter and the nights are longer.  They need more sunlight than is available, so they just close up shop, turn brown, fall off.  Thank goodness these trees have interesting branching patterns.  Because they look like sticks.

So, while the plumerias aren't fans of the short days, many common garden plants love the shorter days, longer nights, and lower humidity.  As soon as the days get shorter, the hardy Bolivian Gloxinias (gloxinia sylvatica) awake from their slumber and poke their heads through the soil.  By Christmas, they are always in glorious bloom.  The tubers in the photo above have returned every year for at least the last ten years.  The biggest challenge is keeping them in the bed and not in the path.  Every fall, I find new pups that insist on growing in the pathway.  They are always tucked firmly back in the bed.

Cooler nights brings on the blooms in many orchids.  Kalanchoes are also reliable winter bloomers in the South Florida garden.  

While the phalaenopsis will start to set buds to bloom in spring, the dendrobiums and cymbidiums like nighttime temperatures in the 60s and 70s.