Next Seed Talk March 12th!

Hello Gardeners!

I was inspired after attending the Wild Ones, Design With Nature Conference on Feb 16th, http://www.designwithnatureconference.org/. I just love this conference and look forward to it all year!  Not only because its during the cold month of February, but it always has great speakers and lots of informative booths on plants and growing. Many wonderful books for sale and a great silent auction as well as a tasty lunch and snacks to entertain me all day.

I want to share some information from one of the speakers, Larry Weaner, a landscape designer.

Instead of designing your gardens with a layer of wood mulch between the plants, select short lived plants or ground covers to fill in the spaces. Not only will it suppress weeds, similar to what mulch does, but it can attract pollinators and it certainly will add beauty to your landscape. And you know my views on cypress mulch--don't! Many of Minnesota's solitary native bees require bare soil to make their nests. When all available soil is covered with mulch or sod, there is no place for the bees to make their home. (Note: I am not talking about wasps which make ground hives. These are solitary bees, not social bees or wasps that live in large groups.) These native bees leave people alone and are probably more scared of you then you are of them!

For example, lets say you start some native shrubs in a border or grouping. Also plant some Rudbeckia plants between the small shrubs. The Rudbeckia will bloom right away while the shrubs are starting out. By the time the shrubs grow larger and bloom the Rudbeckia will have died out and your shrub border will look terrific.

Larry is the co-author of Garden Revolution: How Our Landscapes Can Be a Source of Environmental Change with Tom Christopher (Timber Press, 2016). Their book received a 2017 Book Award from the American Horticultural Society

I'll share other information from the conference in future emails.

The next Seed Talk is Tuesday, March 12th at 6:30pm at the White Bear Lake library. The topics are 'Container Gardening' and 'How and When to Start Seeds'. These are sharing discussion events so bring your tips, techniques and questions to share!

Note: As we experienced the last couple weeks, the weather may be unsuitable for driving. If so, I will cancel the Seed Talk. If you have any doubts, please call the library before coming.