Progress on my bee garden
My new garden that is designed to be bee, butterfly, bird, and small-mammal friendly, is coming along slowly. I had hoped for a big change when Cathy and I got home from 14 days away, but it was disappointing.
Facebook Memories was a big help to me this morning, though, showing what the garden – which was then a septic tank project – looked like on this day just one year ago.
When the new septic field was completed, the barren field that remained made me very unhappy, and I soon had a garden concept in my mind. On July 20th the folks at Decora got me started, with advice and foundation plants.
In October I uploaded a lengthy post with 53 photos, showing what had transpired over the summer, which saw me extremely busy (Cathy uses the term “manic”).
When we were in Sechelt 2 weeks ago, Cathy spotted a ceramic sign that needed to be in my garden, and it’s been right up front since we got home 🙂
I’m unable to plan much of anything anymore – I have to just get an idea, do whatever it takes to get that one thing accomplished, and see what happens. My next idea, right after we got home two weeks ago, was a seating platform so we could sit and enjoy the garden. I looked around to see what lumber I had around the property, and designed the platform to use some of that. The platform is dug into the ground so a truck can be driven over it when needed.
This ground is much better suited to be a road than a garden. Gravel, clay, and lots of rocks.
Getting everything level…
Yes, that’s exactly what I had in my head 🙂 The ceramic poppy in the foreground (from the Royal Canadian Legion) is one of 5 around the garden – they’re intended to be drinking cups for thirsty bees.
The garden was still much too sparse, so a week ago I was back at Decora for a load of perennials. Everything I do is logged in various ways, as I have little memory of what I’ve done.
Digging the holes to plant is damned hard work. Look at the size of that rock! 🙁
The size and shape of that rock, though, were absolutely perfect to use as a feature beside the insect house I found online.
Planting the perennials was a 2-day job. I’ve bought many bags of soil and mulch (watching for good sales at Canadian Tire), and also bought 8 yards of topsoil/manure from the neighbour who did my septic system. It’s hard to imagine how many wheelbarrow loads and how many miles I’ve put on carting the soil in and gravel/rocks out.
I’ve built one small raised planter, and am thinking about one or two others. This one got perennials as a background and foreground.
Still not happy – some annuals for quick colour might be the answer.
The first place I went for annuals was sold out, but Yukon Gardens still had what I wanted. Adding annuals to the raised planter was easy…
…in the ground, not so much.
The number of blossoms is increasing fairly rapidly now, and there are hundreds – thousands probably – of buds growing all around the garden. A watched pot never boils, though, right? Patience, grasshopper… 🙂
The final photo shows the garden yesterday. Cathy and I now enjoy sitting out there watching butterflies and dragonflies mostly, but other species are starting to appear as well, including a chipmunk who comes out occasionally for a drink from one of two bowls set out for that purpose.
I would like to be finished and just sit back and enjoy it now, but it’s hard to say how that will play out 🙂
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I went to a garden party to reminisce with old friends, butterflies , 🐝 and chipmunk, nice work Murrster 💪🏻🍻
Thanks, Paul. It’s all right now – learned my lesson well 😀