Please Help by Sharing What You Do to Help Our Pollinators

I meant to include this with the first post. Here is caterpillar as I found it on lovage.

Mk Neal wrote:I meant to include this with the first post. Here is caterpillar as I found it on lovage.

That's very interesting! I have raised a number of the black swallowtails. I usually find them on parsley or dill. I had no idea they might choose lovage. I've never found caterpillars on my lovage, but now I'll have to look more closely!

When I pulled weeds from the veggie garden beds in fall, I scattered the black-eyed susan and other flower seeds round the edges of the garden. Then, of course I let them grow in spring. Also, I don't pull weeds, except grass, in the garden beds, until they flower and start to fade.

Takes like no time. My garden looks like a mess, but it always does. The neighbors would be more startled if I didn't have weeds growing in the raised beds along with the veggies.

I do a number of the things mentioned here.  I raise bees. I feel the single most important thing I have done is to have a nearby farmer, who has his crops dusted, to notify me in advance when the dusting is to be done.  

I planted a large pollinator Hugel and consentrated on companion planting with veg and flowers this year. I noticed a 1000% increase in the varied amount of insects, we had mostly mosquitoes & wasps before and now for the first time have hummingbirds. This is my third summer in this location and second with planted garden beds.

Heidi Schmidt wrote:

Mk Neal wrote:I meant to include this with the first post. Here is caterpillar as I found it on lovage.

That's very interesting! I have raised a number of the black swallowtails. I usually find them on parsley or dill. I had no idea they might choose lovage. I've never found caterpillars on my lovage, but now I'll have to look more closely!

So glad to hear of another black swallowtail fan!  Dill and parsley never grow well for me. I think the black swallowtail is happy with any host in the parsley family.

John F Dean wrote:I do a number of the things mentioned here.  I raise bees. I feel the single most important thing I have done is to have a nearby farmer, who has his crops dusted, to notify me in advance when the dusting is to be done.  

Yes, that is a good precaution. The question is, dusted with what (herbicide vs. insecticide)? Do you lock down your hives for a day or two? And building a rapport with the farmer is pretty important I think -- how have you approached that? Please share this good info, there is nothing like hands-on experience.

A small touch, but delayed mowing of lawn followed by only mowing at a higher height have been positive contributors to diversity on my plot.

I'm attempting to consistently add both perennial and easily reseeded annuals into my landscape to provide a variety of nectar options throughout the seasons. A recent discovery is that flowers of the viola family seem to be able to grow rather well in rock mulch. I have several plants alongside my foundation border that have popped up through the gravel. This prior underutilized strip now can be productive!