by Lisa Boychuk
I am by no means a knowledgeable gardener, but the best thing I learned about gardening is that it is forgiving and a “try, try again” venture.
A couple of years ago, I decided on a “sweat equity” project for the spring and summer. I ended up removing my struggling lawn in my north-facing front yard and replacing it with a perennial/pollinator garden. I wanted a low maintenance, drought resistant garden, and plants that attracted bees, birds, and butterflies.
After bringing in soil and mulch (mulch is a friend of water), the choice of plants was amazingly fun. I planted various types of Thyme, Hardy Fuchsia (really spreads), Bee Balm, Day Lillies, Red-twigged Dogwood, and some other bushes. I coupled this with some spring bulbs (those that survived the squirrels) and a dappling of annuals for colour. The birds helped out by supplying a few errant sunflowers that the bees loved.
I had so much fun I am going to plant some Clover and Thyme in a section of yard (isolated due to spread). Clover is great for bees, is great ground cover, stays green, is drought resistant, and doesn’t need to be mowed (depends on variety planted).
My tips besides my general advice of try and enjoy:
• Watch your sun patterns when choosing plants – my front yard gets more sun than I thought.
• Watch where trees are so you can choose plants that can compete for water.
• When planting, remember to leave space – plants grow over the seasons and bare spots fill in.
• Plants can be moved – it doesn’t have to be perfect; it just has to be a start (that is coming this year).
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