Day 195
When we cleared our backyard a bit, we found a previously grown over culvert. Not wanting our kids to be exploring and playing and fall in, we used rip rap rock as a visual of where the culvert would disperse any water runoff. Now that we’ve had some time understanding and thinking about the layout of the backyard, we saw this area would be a nice spot to plant some flowers considering a little splash of color would help disguise the big compost pile just beyond it. With our recent delivery of pollinator-friendly plants and the fact that it was the month where I got a heavy discount at a local nursery because of my membership in a native plants organization, the stars were aligned.
A new project had begun.
First I cleared the land with my mower. Then I sprayed it to keep weeds down. Because this would be more manicured than the more wild prairie, I laid down some lawn fabric in three-foot wide, seventy-five foot long sections on either side of the culvert.It was time to plant. Making little holes in the fabric, I planted a variety of native flowers up and down the entire path. While most of the plants I received were common milkweed, I used my nursery discount to add a few favorites including butterflyweed, bergamot, and spiderwort.
Once planted, I covered the entire area with wood chips and placed tomato cages around as many of the plants as possible as I knew the neighborhood bunnies and deer would have a field day if the plants were not protected.
Then, to help these plants adjust to their transplantation, I watered them every day. Mother Nature decided to give us a drought at this time so she kind of forced my watering hand. Some of the plants became snacks for wildlife but many of them are still establishing themselves. It will take some time but this area should become a fun little collection of colorful natives to distract our eyes from the boring culvert they encompassed.
As I wrapped up this project, I received a call which led to another project that was on my backburner.
A playful one.
