If You Build It, They Will Come ~ My Six Year Journey To Attract Pollinators

In the movie Field of Dreams, Ray Kinsella, played by Kevin Costner, hears a voice coming from the corn fields whispering “If you build it, he will come.” Many people think it is “they will come” but it is just misquoted. Anyhow— I have always been fascinated by the movie and how it drives the man to build this baseball field. What makes a person pour such energy into a project built on faith?

Well, I think the answer is that faith becomes bigger than the “what ifs.” And that applies to my mentality when I created my little garden. When I moved to Minnesota six years ago, I was baffled by something— I did not see any pollinators. None. And to me that was strange because we live in farm country and there are farm fields everywhere. At the time I did not know much about agriculture and what goes into growing the land non-organically. But once I learned, it all started to make sense. And I was a woman on a mission.

I started doing research and planting pollinator-friendly plants to try to attract them. It has taken 4 years but alas— it is working. I have seen not just an increase in pollinators, but also in the diversity. The first year there was not much activity, but I remained strong and continued to push forward. As time went on, more insects came— bees, butterflies, black wasps, cricket and even lady bugs… A couple of years ago, we had so many march butterflies that I think I started crying. You can see a short video here.

This year we have had some butterflies, but this is the year of the bees. Thank goodness that I am not allergic to bees, because I have never seen so many different kinds of bee in one place. So much that I had to check a bee identification chart. We have had bumble bees, long-horned bees, and squash bees to name a few. We even had a few honey bees.

Yesterday, as I stood in the little garden in the evening, I closed my eyes and listened. The sound of the soft breeze, the buzzing of the bees, the jumping of the little crickets. Then I opened my eyes and we had fireflies too. There are moments that can overwhelm the soul with emotion— this was one of them for me. It took a few years, but the sweat and effort that I put into it is paying off. It is not a big garden and I am not having a giant impact in the world. But I am proud to be doing what I can to offset the farming-methods happening around me. If, in some small way, I that can protect the biodiversity that I am seeing, I will consider that a win. And to me, this little place build on faith is a success story born from a whisper in a movie and a love for nature. I built it, and they came. Happy gardening!

You may find me joining some of these fun link-ups: Heart & Soul, Inspire Me Monday In a Vase on Monday, Mosaic Monday, Pink Saturday, Nature Notes, Grace at Home, Encouraging Hearts & Home, Wonderful Wednesday Blog-Hop, Farmhouse Friday, Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, Garden Affair, Saturdays Sparks Link Party, Love Your Creativity Link-Party, Farmhouse Friday, Fridays at the Firehouse

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day ~ July 2021

---

Hello, friends! It is time again, for one of my favorite garden parties in blog land— Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day, a link-up hosted by May Dream Gardens on the 15th of every month. I love to find new blogs, but also see what is blooming in other people’s gardens. And trust me, there is never a shortage of beautiful gardens. So, if gardens are your thing, head on over there to be amazed, Now, let’s get on with what is blooming in my garden in Zone 4B in Southeast Minnesota.

My garden is divided truly into three area— the small backyard garden, the container garden in the front of the house, and everything else growing around the house :) This month, I am focusing on the backyard garden because it is finally blooming. This year, June was just a brutal month for gardening with temperatures between 90-100 degrees Fahrenheit, no rain for almost 4 weeks and VERY windy conditions, which literally stripped away any moisture from whatever was growing. It was so terrible that I had to replace many plants that I grew from seeds. Thankfully the perennials I planted last year were strong and managed to survive the mini-drought. But as soon as July arrived, the weather turned gorgeous— what June weather should be— and we even had temps in the 60s. And the little garden that could is loving it.

My garden is little but I love everything about it. This year I focused on flowers only because it has been a hectic year and I did not want to have to think about harvesting veggies. I have 4 garden beds on the left (see photo below) and two big ones on the right. The right beds have the dahlias. They are not blooming yet, but they aren’t dying either. This is huge because I have failed the past two years in growing them for various reasons. So fingers crossed. Let’s talk about the left beds.

The left-side garden beds have a profusion of cottage garden flowers that I will eventually have to tackle and rearrange. There is A LOT going on in the first bed. I love that relaxed feel not just aesthetically, but also because the same profusion that is driving my OCD self crazy, is attractive to pollinators and they have just been loving all the flowers.

This year I decided to add some garden structures to the bed for interest, and this particular bed has a wrought iron ‘GARDEN’ sign that is beautiful and was love at first sight. Yet, now that it is installed, it reminds me of a tombstone. LOL. I can’t help myself. I am going to leave it in and see if it grows on me. :P

I really love little piece of our property with the garden and the native grasses and wildflowers separating the soybean fields.

In this bed we have the most stunning Achillea millefolium 'Red Velvet' Yarrow. This is a new addition to this bed and I love the deep rich color it has when it is blooming, and the stunning, almost russet color, as they start to fade lightly. But for the most part it is fade resistant and really tolerates heat well.

The Monarda Fistulosa ~ Bee Balm (Wild Bergamot) was the first plant to come out of dormancy after the winter and it came back with gusto. Very healthy, strong and rapidly growing. The flowers just started blooming last week, and I am enjoying the interesting shape of the flowers. So pretty.

Speedwell (Veronica) ‘Pink Potion’ was planted last year, and this year is growing insanely fast. This is one of the plants I will need to relocate next year because it will grow… BIGGER. You can’t see it very well, but right next to this bed is an empty one, and my plan is to create a mirror image of the first one. Anyhow, I love this Veronica with the fuchsia spikey flowers. Just adds such interest to this bed.

In front of the garden sign, is the Matricaria Chamomila German chamomile. This was a mistake. I needed to make space for the dahlias, and transplanted the chamomile here because there was empty space. Well, she is very vigorous this year, and it will take over everything if I do not get it under control. Still, I love it very much.

Next is the bed with the obelisk— another new addition from a thrift store that is just darling. In here I am all about the purple color, my new obsession this year. Here I have a combination of Lavandula Angustifolia ‘Mustead’ (Lavender), Lavandula Stoechas ‘Purple Ribbon’ Spanish Lavender. I am specifically growing Mustead because people have had luck overwintering it in this area so I am keeping my fingers crossed. The spanish lavender buds need a trim, I know :) As a background of the lavender, I planted Veronica ‘Royal Candles’ Speedwell. I am in love with the ombre effect of this Venorica. I may add another variety next year because I really love it. On the other side (phot above), you can see the bed that has a lot of cosmos growing— yes, I should have thin it out BUT I love a big bright bed of cosmos. :)

Veronica ‘Royal Candles’ Speedwell

One of my favorite flowers is purple coneflower, or Echinacea purpurea. To me, it embodies summer more than any other flower. This is an area of the garden that is very healthy. And to be honest, I went overboard when I planted it four years ago. That firs the summer, I planted it late in the summer and did not produce any flowers. Well, next year, I planted on top of the previous and there was an explosion! Because I did not know at the time that usually they do not flower until the second year. So, every year I thin it, but it just keeps producing more.

Around the house, we have various plants blooming including daylilies which have been blooming here since my husband bought the house, as well as an assorted number of wildflowers. And one of those “wildflowers” is Queen Anne’s Lace. Another favorite of mine, every year it comes back en masse putting quite a show. Of course, whenever we pick them, we make sure that we are not picking Poisonous Hemlock which loos fairly similar. I love the lacy look of the flowers accentuated by the dot floret in the center.

Another bush that is blooming profusely is the Japanese Spirea (Japanese Meadowsweet), which reminds me me of snow. We love this bush because not only is it beautiful, but it also attracts lots of bees and butterflies. Plus it has a beautiful light scent that is most notable at night.

Alright friends, this is all that is blooming in my garden right now. I cannot wait to go check out all the other gardens and see what is blooming in different parts of the world! Happy gardening!

Also sharing with Pink Saturday