2024 October Bee Better Naturally with Helen. Yoest
September was so busy for me preparing the Bee Better Naturally Garden for the Open Garden on October 5th that I wasn’t even able to get a September post out!
Mixed Border—North to South—Photo Credit: Mehgan MeDay Cooke.
The Bird Feeding station, with the pots, will be filled with succulents!
Monarch on Joe-Pye weed!
Back Foundation Area
Back porch table vignette
The Back 40 (ft) South to North—Most prep work to refurbish this area was done in spring after the four pine trees. We kept the stumps a good 3 feet in diameter on each. Even with the crew removing all the logs, there was still a lot of clean-up to do!
Back lawn
The area has sun now where there wasn’t any before. We also took down a chestnut tree there. It produces OK nuts, but the maintenance was too much for me. Having said that, it’s not why we took it down. David feared a hurricane would hit the house, so we took down the pines, too.
With sun, I added a few more pollinator plants.
Gazebo Corner—has two wonderful vines that bloom a month apart. After the Open Garden, I will tame these vines and clean up the debris. I may be sacrificing next year’s blooms; c'est la vie,
The Epimedium Patch—I’m still puzzled about why one of the epimediums is liked by rabbits? The other varieties are untouched!
The Wildflower Patch Extension—I haven’t done much with this; it isn’t very showy. Every few years, I coppice the ‘Zuni’ Crape Myrtle. I’ll do so again later in October. I also have a ‘Stella’ cherry there, but it has never fruited. Dr. Google says it should only take 3 to five years. I’ve had it for at least 12, so I may have to give up on it!
The Wildflower Patch—Another area that needs some love, but I should be kind to myself. Most of the plants in this area are spring ephemerals. What I like about this area are the cedar stumps I’ve collected and put in it. Now I need to style them!
Front Entrance: Honorine Jobert Windflower (Anemone)
The Southside— is where the giant Southern magnolia was removed—just 15 feet off the house, standing 80. The removal opened up a lot of sun, so I put in raised beds for veggies. I’ve always had the same amount of vegetables, but now they are all in one place. I love that! I often forget to care for them—out of sight, out of mind.
The Ostrich Fern Garden—It was a tough year for the ostrich ferns. At first, I thought they would be affected by the additional sun they would receive. But it wasn’t. That was my bad estimation! However, the July drought was brutal on them. Once the cooler weather returned, they bounced right back. In prep, I deadleaf all the plants. I’m kicking myself; I saw them at Lowe’s for $8.00 and didn’t buy any!
The Front Entrance--The Front Bed—This bed has been completely renovated. David and I took down a huge crape myrtle a few years ago. We left the stump, but I never really did anything there. There were shade plantings, but I could do better. I turned it into another pollinator bed.
The Front Fountain Garden—I groomed this area, but maybe not as well as I could have. It looks fine, so there!
The Food Forest—The ‘Fuya’ persimmon is doing great again this year with lots of fruit. They should be ripe soon., but always better after a frost.
The Food Forest Extension (Blueberries)—Another mistake I made this summer was not watering the blueberry bushes in the July drought. I lost one, and the others didn’t fare well. They are looking good now. I checked the pH and found it to be just right at 4.5.
Sign on the mailbox as you enter the garden.
The Pollinator Garden—I added a few more things here, including rue. And it’s first year, i got black swallowtail CATS?
The Blackberry Patch—Another patch I neglected in the draught. I got very little fruit. I plan to water more next year.
The Chimney Swift Tower
With in the Muscidine and Raspberry Patch, I added a chrysalis house, made by my friend, Mark Boone!
First monarch to energy from the new Chrysalis House.
The North Side—I opened up a new area here. I’ve made stutter starts over the years to improve it. It is going from a compost pile to now a sitting area. My neighbor’s ligustrum looks terrible on my side, so I nicked it in places so it could give me more green.
Rock Garden—Pulling weeds was all that was needed!
The Girl’s Garden--The girls are giving us an abundance of eggs!!!
Mixed Border, South to North—If you can believe it, I took down my beloved flowering apricot, ‘Bridal Veil.’ It bloomed beautifully in January, but it was just too much maintenance. I left the unusual shape and turned it into a bird-suet feeder sanctuary.
The Wildlife Pond—So many frogs! I’m loving it!.Leopard frog