Sally's GF3 thread

[cavemanrich]

My focus is mainly flowers that Look Beautiful.. Then my answer is,,, "hey guys,,,, if you like it,, its there for you"
I have perennials that I take indoors for winter, as well as different ones, annuals, that I plant from seed for the season.

 

[Iluveggers]

When I plant flowers, I look for varieties that honeybees will like. Other pollinators are welcome too. Except yellow jackets. I had planted some bee balm, and the honeybees ignored it. Bumble bees liked it, and so did yellow jackets. I ripped it all out.

I asked someone at the bee club why the honeybees ignored it. The throat of the flower is too long. Or their tongues are too short.

We do a staggers height row of flowers along the outside of the west side of the garden. 8-10 ft sunflowers in the back row, 3-4 ft zinnias/cosmos in front of them, nasturtiums and petunias in the very front. Then I put two runner bean plants with pink/red flowers on the sides (hummingbirds love these too), and a few hanging baskets of clearance flowers on the corners. African Marigolds on the outside of the fence (they get to be about 3 ft and sprawl everywhere…deter the bunnies).

I let my lettuce and kale go to seed to add bee attraction and help keep pollination of zucchini & cucumber high.

When we first started it was purely herbs and veggies…now I love having a flower oasis to look at! With bee habitats declining, it makes me feel a bit better than they have a place to come with no chemicals.

 

[Sally PB]

Ditto here, no chemicals on the garden. Bug pest reduction in the garden is by hand.

Ok, if you want to be technical... water is a chemical.

 

[Sally PB]

Today we're going to the Sparta Celtic Festival. We'll see/hear our favorite group, Crossbow.

Here they are at Fredrick Meijer Gardens a couple years ago. Yes, the bassist and male violinist are wearing kilts.

Going with us is our neighbor, Charlie. His wife is the lady who passed away in June from heart failure. Both of them went with us to Sparta a couple years ago, and they were impress with Crossbow. I told them, "These kids are good." They agreed.

RIP, Jamie. I sure do miss you.