Gardening by Osmosis

I have a question for you. When you take your morning walk would you rather be entertained by a strip of neatly mowed grass, a patch of pebbles or a corridor of butterflies?

If your choice is the butterflies you might start by replacing your narrow parking strip with hardy perennials.

Spring blooming bulbs such as Squill (Scilla Siberica), crocus and hyacinth, varieties of daffodils, paper white (Narcissi ) are welcome surprises. Hardy (Wild geranium), kinnickinnick (Arctostaphylos), lupine and some grasses such as Idaho fescue, Squirrel-tail grass (Elymus multisetus ) and Indian rice grass (Achnatherum hymenoides) will add pizazz to your walkway. Columbine (Aquilegia) and iris will bridge the flowering gap between spring and summer.

Summer blooming blanket flower (Gaillardia), California poppy, alyssum, purple coneflower, (Echinacea), varieties of hyssop (Agastache), catmint (Nepeta ), lavender, ornamental onions (Allium) and varieties of annuals such as cosmos and zinnias along with the flowering grasses will delight walkers and flyers.

Fall blooming asters, Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia), Autumn Joy (Sedum), penstemons and many of the summer bloomers will continue their show if you deadhead them periodically.

It is fun to incorporate native plants as well, as they may bring winged beauties you haven’t seen before.

If some of your neighbor and others send you ‘letters’ about your ‘Weeds’ you can respond with, “They are not weeds, they are food for the birds and dwellings for pollinators.” Maybe that will encourage them to rethink their water thirsty traditions.

It isn’t difficult to manage a Pollinator Corridor as the plants don’t require nearly as much water or maintenance as a green strip beside the sidewalk. Your flowering roadside garden also offers a refueling station for pollinators on their way to visit neighboring fields of food crops.

Though mulch is helpful in repelling weeds, many pollinators make their nests in the ground and appreciate bare patches of soil in the garden. The only drawback to exchanging flowers for lawn for me is that I am already scoping out sites in my yard for more pollinator friendly habitats. This of course, will mean less time for house cleaning. Oh, Darn!

There are many pollinator friendly plants to choose from, but it is important to incorporate height appropriate varieties to conform to city codes.

Please contact the WSU Spokane County Master Gardeners

@https://spokane-county.wsu.edu/spokane/

or call 509-477-2181 for more information

Master Gardeners will be at the Cheney Library 1st and 3rd Fridays from April to October