Table of Contents
Shannon’s Note
I’ve also really enjoyed watching and listening to the birds this spring. We’ve had at least one set of phoebes, Carolina wrens, and red-shouldered hawks fledge off our property already this spring. We know there are more nests scattered around the property too.
Nursery Update
We have good news and bad news to report with the nursery. Let’s get the bad news out of the way first.
We lost most of our overwintering plants from last year, including most of our trees and shrubs. Everything was looking really good until the last cold snap and snow fall in March. I know we were starting to get new growth on some of the plants shortly before then, probably because they were in pots and the soil had warmed up faster than the ground had. I think that last snowstorm and cold spell just came when the plants were in a really vulnerable phase and many of them couldn’t handle it.
All through April I kept telling myself to just give the plants time and don’t panic yet. But at this point, I have to accept that if they aren’t coming back yet, then they aren’t going to. That’s really frustrating because not only have I lost everything that I put into growing those plants last year, but I was counting on those plants being available for this year which means that our inventory is going to be a little lower and not as diverse as it has been.
Now for some good news. The plants that did survive the winter look amazing! Many of them are ready to be moved out of quart containers and into gallon containers, but I just haven’t had time. That means you’re going to get phenomenal deals on the plants. The bluestem goldenrod and slender mountain mint are two species that are looking incredible right now and have really filled out the entire pot.
Continuing with the good news, the seedlings that I started this year are doing really well. Most of them aren’t ready to sell yet. It’ll be at least another month before most of them are big enough. That includes all of our milkweeds, because milkweed seedlings just start off slow. It has to warm up a bit more before they’ll really take off. (That’s why I was hoping to have overwintered plants available, but it didn’t work out that way.)
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Learn More About Native Plants, Pollinators and Wildlife
As you may know, we also do a lot of educational work to help others learn about native plants, pollinators and wildlife, and how to create thriving backyard ecosystems. In addition to the Backyard Ecology™ videos that Anthony publishes every week on YouTube, I’ve also relaunched the Backyard Ecology™ blog and podcast. Below are a few Backyard Ecology™ resources that I think you might find helpful.
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Busy Bee Nursery and Consulting
Helping you create the pollinator and wildlife habitat of your dreams, so you can enjoy your land and care for the plants and animals that also call your property home.