​2018 Upper Midwest Regional Master Gardener State Conference note highlights from Donna Amidon, MGV

Session: Pollinator Friendly Gardening.  Rhonda Fleming Hayes (Author of Pollinator Friendly Gardening: Gardening for Bees, Butterflies and other Pollinators, writer for Star Tribune, Northern Gardener magazine and other publications).

There is a growing body of evidence that supports mixing native and non-native plants in designed landscapes benefits pollinators.  Bees do like non-native plants in addition to natives but some cultivars may have less pollen or other changes that are less desirable to pollinators.   Bees love flowers with multiple florets for foraging and then they do not have to fly around so much to collect pollen and nectar.   Herb gardens can be attractive to pollinators if you let some go to flowering stage. Other beneficial insects also love the flowers.  

Other suggestions:

• Leave some bare soil for ground nesting bees, and leave long stems on plants, grasses, yard trimmings, and deadfall over the winter for the pollinators.
• Avoid pesticides but if you MUST spray do it in the evening or very early morning when bees are least active.  

 

It seems the garden season has barely begun and already plants are crowding each other.  So out comes my pruning shears and by-pass pruner.  Pinch and prune can refer to a variety of techniques including pruning, deadheading, pinching stems or buds, or cutting back leggy plants to shape, form and trim.  It is usually species-specific and based on common sense.  Don’t worry about hurting your plants by experimenting. ​

​Now showing in the Teaching & Display Garden are the most perfect peonies.  The peonies were some of the few non-native plants retained when the Garden was converted to a Monarch Way Station.   In bloom now along with the peonies are Baptisia (False Indigo), Aquilegia canadensis (Columbine),  Prairie Pholx, Azaleas, and Nepeta Walker’s Low (Catmint).  The Baptisia, Aquilegia, and Pholx are all native plants.   Bees and several Monarch butterflies were busy at  the blooms.  It’s an excellent time to make a visit, check out the blooming plants and see the All American Selection displays as they are being planted (#AASWinners).  The common expression when people stop by is “Wow”.

​We are all guilty.  We buy our plants and immediately take them home and plant them.   This is harsh treatment for tender seedlings who have been coddled in the greenhouse.  Take an intermediate step and be rewarded with healthier plants.  

​Transplanting from indoors to outdoors can cause a plant to go into shock.  Consider the greenhouse:  steady temperatures, little to no wind, controlled watering, and filtered sunlight.  Our gardens offer none of this.  While the plant is dealing with the harsher outdoor conditions it can be a victim of environmental damage, diseases and pests.  And while dealing with these conditions, it will not be growing much.  Take the time to condition the plants for their new home by hardening them off.