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5 Fantastic Flowers to Attract Pollinators Posted on 4 Jan 16:56 , 6 comments

Welcome to our Plant for Pollinators 2022 series!

During this series we will share about the importance of encouraging pollinators in your garden, ways to grow WITH nature and discuss different types of pollinators.

 

Today we are sharing a few flower & herb varieties that you can plant to attract pollinators to your garden.

 

BORAGE

BORAGE is my absolute favorite. I've spent hours in the garden listening to the buzzzzing of bees around our Borage plants. I even made a video!

 

The flavor of Borage is similar to a cucumber.  Borage has bright blue, star-shaped flowers that explode in a blue profusion all summer attracting honey bees.  The flowers and young leaves may be used to garnish salads, dips and cucumber soups.

Borage is a Companion plant for Tomatoes, Peppers, Squash, Strawberries and more.

CALENDULA

Calendula or Calendula officinalis, is a hardy annual, and member of the Asteraceae or Compositae family, which share a central disc surrounded by spoon-shaped petals.
I have shared several videos and articles about growing and harvesting Calendula. I even make my own Calendula Infused Oil

Also called Pot Marigold, Calendula grows quickly from wild flower seed, blooms heavily, and then dies with the first heavy frost. It will grow in all regions of North America.

SUNFLOWERS

Each sunflower is actually thousands of teeny flowers. The blossom of the sunflower is called a head. SUNFLOWERS ARE AMAZING!

I took this photo (above) of a beautiful sunflower in my garden!

Sunflowers are not only great additions to a flower and vegetable garden for their food and beauty, they are essential habitat plants for pollinators as well.

Their genus name is Helianthus (which comes from the Greek words for "sun" and "flower").

 

CONEFLOWER

Coneflowers, also known as Echinacea, are tough little native flowers that draw butterflies, bees, and birds to the garden!

Their genus name Echinacea comes from the Latin name for hedgehog, echinus, referring to the often prickly lower stem of the plant. Coneflowers have raised cone-like centers (hence, their name) which contain seeds that attract butterflies. Leave the seed heads after bloom and you’ll also attract songbirds such as goldfinches! 

 

MARIGOLD

Marigolds are one of the most popular flowers for gardeners. They are fantastic for companion planting and easy to grow from seed.

In Nepal, marigolds are highly celebrated and called “hundred-leafed flower", referring to its many petals per blossom head. It is the main flower used in garlands and decorations at weddings, festivals and religious events.

Marigold has nematocidal qualities when dug into the soil. Has been used medicinally for centuries.  Great Companion Plant!  Attracts bees and butterflies
 
If you have additional questions, please feel free to ask!
Email: mary@marysheirloomseeds.com
HAPPY PLANTING!


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Plant for Pollinators 2022 Posted on 1 Jan 06:17 , 0 comments

Welcome to our Plant for Pollinators 2022 series!

During this series we will share about the importance of encouraging pollinators in your garden, ways to grow WITH nature and discuss different types of pollinators.

 

 You can provide beautiful habitats for pollinators by adding pollinator-friendly plants to your yard and landscape. Enjoy colorful blooms all season long that bring many beautiful butterflies and other pollinators to your yard.

From nrcs.usda.gov

Pollinators are needed for the reproduction of 90% of flowering plants and one third of human food crops. Pollinators include bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, flies, birds, and bats. Each of us depends on pollinators in a practical way to provide us with the wide range of foods we eat. In addition, pollinators are part of the intricate web that supports the biological diversity in natural ecosystems that helps sustain our quality of life. Abundant and healthy populations of pollinators can improve fruit set and quality, and increase fruit size. In farming situations this increases production per acre. In the wild, biodiversity increases and wildlife food sources increase.

 

During the month of January 2022, will be including 2 FREE SEED PACKS with all orders of $40 or more -1 for pollinators and 1 for food-

 

East to grow flowers to encourage pollinators to your garden include Sunflowers, Borage, Zinnias, Nasturtiums, our Butterfly Garden Mix flowers pack and more. Stay tuned for more info!


  • If you have additional questions, please feel free to ask!
    Email: mary@marysheirloomseeds.com
    HAPPY PLANTING!


    http://www.facebook.com/pages/Marys-Heirloom-Seeds/229833070442449


     


    Pollinator Fact of the Day #2 Posted on 2 Jan 07:03 , 0 comments

    Welcome to Day 2 of our Plant for Pollinators series.

    Each day we'll have a new "pollinator fact of the day" as well as planting tips.

    How Animal Pollination Works

    Pollinators visit flowers in their search for food (nectar and pollen). During a flower visit, a pollinator may accidentally brush against the flower’s reproductive parts, unknowingly depositing pollen from a different flower. The plant then uses the pollen to produce a fruit or seed. Many plants cannot reproduce without pollen carried to them by foraging pollinators.

     

    If you are looking to incorporate more plant varieties that will attract beneficial pollinators you might consider Companion Planting.

    Companion planting is based around the idea that certain plants can benefit others when planted next to, or close to one another. 

    Companion planting exists to benefit certain plants by giving them pest control, naturally without the need to use chemicals, and in some cases came mean a higher crop yield

    Generally, companion planting is thought of as a small-scale gardening practice, but it can be applied on larger-scale operations. It has been proven that by having a beneficial crop in a nearby field that attracts certain insects away from a neighboring field that has the main crop can prove very beneficial. This action is called trap cropping.

     

    PLANT FOR POLLINATORS DAY 1

    Let's plant more to pollinators!

    If you have specific garden or seed related questions, please contact us via email at MARY@MARYSHEIRLOOMSEEDS.COM
    Happy Planting!


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    PLANT FOR POLLINATORS Posted on 31 Dec 17:20 , 2 comments

    In case you missed it, we just posted
     GROW A GREAT GARDEN on our blog.

    Part of growing a great garden is attracting pollinators to your garden to not only grow a healthier garden but also a more productive garden.

     

    POLLINATORS aren't just bees

    Birds, bats, butterflies, moths, flies, beetles, wasps, small mammals, and most importantly, bees are pollinators. They visit flowers to drink nectar or feed off of pollen and transport pollen grains as they move from spot to spot.

    During the entire month of January 2021, we will post a daily "pollinator fact" here on our blog as well as our social media pages

     

    Part of this awesome educational series is the FREE SEEDS!  From January1 thru January 31, 2021 we are including a FREE pack of "free-bee-seeds" with every single purchase.

    ABOUT Borage

    "The flavor of Borage is similar to a cucumber.  Borage has bright blue, star-shaped flowers that explode in a blue profusion all summer attracting honey bees.  The flowers and young leaves may be used to garnish salads, dips and cucumber soups."

     

     

     

    Increased yields and higher quality crops are benefits that growers and consumers realize from a healthy pollinator population, native or managed.

    Somewhere between 75% and 95% [1] of all flowering plants on the earth need help with pollination – they need pollinators. Pollinators provide pollination services to over 180,000 different plant species and more than 1200 crops.

    Let's plant more to pollinators!

    If you have specific garden or seed related questions, please contact us via email at MARY@MARYSHEIRLOOMSEEDS.COM
    Happy Planting!


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