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Gari Melchers Home and Studio

Gari Melchers Home and Studio

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Grow Great Spring Flowers and Pollinators Will Come!

October 26, 2015 by adolby

Spring blooming Scabiosa will attract bees from the get go of the season. Scabiosa Blue Cockade.
Spring blooming Scabiosa will attract bees from the get go of the season. Scabiosa Blue Cockade.

Spring blooming flowers are about so much more than just gorgeous flowers.  Those featured in my book Cool Flowers are spring bloomers, but they also offer a big hand-up to pollinators and other beneficial insects that are eager in spring for habitat and food. So, not only are these some of the most beloved spring bloomers to enjoy – but they roll out the welcome mat to the good guys that will impact your entire growing season for the good.

I didn’t set out to fill my farm with pollinators and other beneficial insects. You might say it has been a side effect of all-natural cut-flower farming.

As simple as it sounds, it’s true. Just plant flowers. Don’t use pesticides–organic or otherwise. Soon a wave of these guys will overrun your garden.

As my awareness of beneficial insects has grown, I find that it is getting easier to farm. It has become my second nature to consider and provide a place for them to live, eat, and raise a family year round. This practice is not only the right thing to do for the future of all, but it totally impacts my business bottom line for the good.

We have pollinators following our harvest trailer around the farm! Harvest buckets of zinnias with a swallowtail butterfly left and a hummingbird moth on right.
We have pollinators following our harvest trailer around the farm! Harvest buckets of zinnias with a swallowtail butterfly left and a hummingbird moth on right.

This little-known community of good bugs is as diverse a mix as the population of NYC. And don’t underestimate their entertainment value either. A fairly common comment directed at me on our farm:  “Are we harvesting flowers today or are we taking photos of bugs?” There is a reason they make movies about bugs — they are fascinating!

How to attract them? Provide flowers from the first crack of spring and throughout the season until frost. It’s those early spring blooms that really kick-start our insect population. Bachelor buttons and calendula are two of the heavy hitters in our gardens. They bloom in spring when the nights are still chilly but the days are warm. Their foliage secretes nectar even before the flowers bloom, making them a great favorite of hungry bugs.

Fall blooming flowers will keep the garden full of pollinators until winter arrives. Left Salvia Leucantha, right Salvia Mexicana.
Fall blooming flowers will keep the garden full of pollinators until winter arrives. Left Salvia Leucantha, right Salvia Mexicana.

Pleasing the pollinators requires providing a continuous supply of flowers throughout the growing season. This fits perfectly with my flower farming because my customers want the same thing! Monthly succession planting fits the bill for us.

To reap the benefit of these guys as pollinators and pest control, you must resist the urge to treat a possible problem that may pop up in your garden. Be patient and do not be afraid of some pest damage. To keep your community of good guys home and fed, they have to have some bad bugs to eat, right? Give them time to do their job.

Planting flowers in the garden with your vegetables with ensure pollination. Celosia plume with a bumblebee.
Planting flowers in the garden with your vegetables with ensure pollination. Celosia plume with a bumblebee.

It is my opinion that if you have a 10-row vegetable garden, you should also have 2 rows of flowers to support them. I won’t get on my wagon here about the vegetable gardens I visit. There are some that don’t have a flower in sight, while the gardener complains of a lack of bees for pollinating. It couldn’t be more simple: plant flowers and they will come.

To learn how to supply your garden with beauty and a vast population of pollinators and other beneficial insects, attend my program Growing Great Spring Flowers that will be held at Belmont Sunday, November 1 at 2pm.  I will share what to grow, starting it from seed, best planting times, how to set up your garden for low maintenance and how to keep the blooms coming!

Perhaps spring is the most anticipated season of the year– yours can be full of abundance and beauty as featured in my book Cool Flowers.

A Pop-up Shop will follow the program offering seeds, tools and supplies for sale.

Lisa Mason Ziegler is a commercial cut-flower farmer in Newport News, Virginia; she lectures and writes about organic and sustainable gardening. You can email Lisa at lisa@shoptgw.com , call her at 757-877-7159 or visit her website www.shoptgw.com.

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Category iconClasses,  Events,  Gardening,  insects,  Spring Tag iconbutterflys,  cut flowers,  fall,  flowers,  gardening,  insects,  Lisa Mason Ziegler,  pollinators,  Spring

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Gari Melchers Home and Studio
224 Washington Street
Falmouth, VA 22405
540-654-1015

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