The Pollinator Garden
Even though we started talking about adding a pollinator garden behind our house last fall, I suppose it can realistically be called a pandemic garden. I have no doubt it would not have been completed so quickly without the extra time provided by curtailed travel and cancelled events.
California poppies among the alyssum.
We ordered several packages of seeds from a reputable garden supply company that specializes in providing varieties of flowers that will thrive in a particular region. So far the results have been amazing, especially given the hot, dry summer we have had.
We installed a gravity drip system with two large rain barrels at the top of the hill that we fill with water from the hose. On most mornings, we stand and water the plants before the sun comes up but the main source of moisture is the slow, steady drip that leaks out from the perforated hose buried just below the surface.
Robber Fly
Besides a place to sit and admire the scenery, the main purpose of the garden is, of course, to attract pollinators. The variety of bees, wasps, flies and butterflies that visit each day is astonishing.
Ruddy Copper, feeding
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