Ta da!
Here is a draft of what my new 550 sq ft front habitat garden bed will look like. While the shape is settled, consider it effectively a blank slate. I encourage you to share your own thoughts about the design with me in the comments.
Primary goals?
Save the planet. Do my part to combat our biodiversity crisis.
Increase the amount of habitat on my property using native plants.
Reducing the least productive and least sustainable portion of my greenspace, the lawn.
Secondary goal?
Maintain the look of a curated perennial garden.
To broadly shift consumer behavior it will become increasingly important for people to be inspired by beautiful home gardens with primarily native plants. To that end:
- I've already arranged for my home to be on a garden tour this year, so gardeners can imagine making similar changes to increase biodiversity in their own yards. Yes, even with a newly planted bed.
- I will be doing a presentation for the Prairie Naturals Gardening Group in April on integrating native plants into your home garden.
This is where you come in. If you have experience working with native plants from Manitoba, or thoughts on overall design, feel free top speak up. I value feedback from the broader gardening community. Now is the time to make changes to the design - before I start buying any plants!
All feedback is welcomed, in particular:
- Which plants can easily and effectively begin with direct sowing this spring?
- Violets? Bloodroot?
- Will the Turtlehead be moist enough?
- Will the Obedient plant get enough sun?
- Where can I buy local native orchids?
- Are there endangered plants and animals I can create specific habitat for?
Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts.
Derek
