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Gardening for Pollinators and Wildlife – May 24, 2022

Table of Contents

Shannon’s Note

Later this week I will be attending the combined spring meeting of the Kentucky Pollinator Stakeholders Working Group and the Kentucky Monarch Working Group. I have been a member of these two groups for several years and am honored to be part of the conversation on pollinator conservation in Kentucky.

I am also excited because I will be doing another presentation and native plant sale at Lost River Cave on June 25. This will be at the end of National Pollinator Week and my presentation will be on Attracting Butterflies to Your Yard. However, I have one more set of pre-ordered deliveries coming up before the Lost River Cave event. Details about that set of deliveries can be found below.

Don’t forget to like and follow our Facebook page to see the native plant spotlights I have been posting. Also, please let your friends know about Busy Bee Nursery and Consulting.

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One of the many lance-leaf coreopsis that are currently in bloom in the nursery.

Nursery Update

The summer plants are starting to come on strong. Many of the coreopsis are blooming. Some of the black-eyed Susans and purple coneflowers are also about to pop open. I love the cheery, bright yellow blossoms of coreopsis and black-eyed Susans. I also think purple and yellow flowers look really nice together, so planting something like purple coneflowers and black-eyed Susans together can make an interesting combination that makes both flowers pop when they bloom at the same time.

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Many of the larger purple coneflowers will bloom before too much longer.

Upcoming Deliveries

On June 3 and 4, I will be doing pre-ordered deliveries in Glasgow and Bowling Green respectively. Meeting details for each location are below.

  • Glasgow
    • Friday, June 3, 2022 at 5:30 p.m.
    • Beaver Trail Park parking lot
  • Bowling Green
    • Saturday, June 4, 2022 at 10:00 a.m.
    • Parking lot of the WKU Small Business Development Center (a.k.a. old mall)

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Available Items:

Books, Gift Certificates, and Honey

Attracting Pollinators and Wildlife to Your Yard: 15 Free and Easy Ways ($11)
Planting for Honey Bees in the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys ($32)
Honey from my bees in Barren County ($15)
Gift Certificates – good for any of my products or services
(you choose the amount)

Native Wildflowers for Pollinators and Wildlife (Click on a thumbnail for detailed information about that plant.)

Aster, Short’s
Size(s): 1 qt ($7)
Foxglove Beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis)
Beardtongue, Foxglove
Size(s): 1 qt ($7)
Blazing Star (Liatris squarrosa)
Blazing Star
Size(s): 1 qt ($7)
Royal Catchfly (Silene regia)
Catchfly, Royal
Size(s): 1 qt ($7)
Grey-headed Coneflower (Ratibida pinnata)
Coneflower, Grey-headed
Size(s): 1 qt ($7)
Pale-purple Coneflower (Echinacea pallida)
Coneflower, Pale-purple
Size(s): 1 qt ($7)
Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
Coneflower, Purple
Size(s): 1 qt ($7), 1 gal ($13)
Lance-leaf Coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata)
Coreopsis, Lance-leaf
Size(s): 1 qt ($7), 1 gal ($13)
Culver's Root (Veronicastrum virginicum)
Culver’s Root
Size(s): 1 gal ($13)
Cup Plant (Silphium perfoliatum)
Cup Plant
Size(s): 1 qt $7, 1 gal ($13)
Sweet / Anise-scented Goldenrod (Solidago odora)
Goldenrod, Sweet
Size(s): 1 qt ($7)
Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum)
Hyssop, Anise
Size(s): 1 qt ($7), 1 gal ($13)
Yellow Giant Hyssop (Agastache nepetoides)
Hyssop, Giant Yellow
Size(s): 1 qt ($7), 3 qt ($11)
Wild Blue Indigo (Baptisia australis)
Indigo, Wild Blue
Size(s): 1 qt ($7), 3 qt ($11)
Orange jewelweed / Orange touch-me-not (Impatiens capensis)
Jewelweed, Orange
Size(s): 1 qt ($7)
Hollow Joe-pye weed (Eutrochium fistulosum)
Joe-pye Weed, Hollow
Size(s): 1 gal ($13)
Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)
Milkweed, Butterfly
Size(s): 1 qt ($7)
Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)
Milkweed, Common
Size(s): 1 qt ($7)
Hairy Mountain Mint (Pycanthemum pilosum)
Mountain mint, Hairy
Size(s): 1 qt ($7)
Slender Mountain Mint (Pycanthemum tenuifolium)
Mountain mint, Slender
Size(s): 1 qt ($7)
Obedient plant (Physostegia virginiana)
Obedient plant
Size(s): 1 qt ($7)
White Prairie Clover (Dalea candida)
Prairie clover, White
Size(s): 3 qt ($11)
Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis)
Primrose, Evening
Size(s): 1 qt ($7)
Rattlesnake Master (Eryngium yuccifolium)
Rattlesnake master
Size(s): 1 gal ($13)
Rosemallow (Hibiscus moscheutos)
Rosemallow
Size(s): 1 qt ($7)
Purple-headed Sneezeweed (Helenium fexuosum)
Sneezeweed, Purple-headed
Size(s): 1 qt ($7), 3 qt ($11)
Maximilian Sunflower (Helianthus maximiliani)
Sunflower, Maximillian
Size(s): 1 qt ($7)
Rough Sunflower (Helianthus hirsutus)
Sunflower, Rough
Size(s): 1 qt ($7)
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
Susan, Black-eyed
Size(s): 1 qt ($7)
Brown-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia triloba)
Susan, Brown-eyed
Size(s): 1 qt ($7)

Native Grasses for Pollinators and Wildlife (Click on a thumbnail for detailed information about that plant.)

Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)
Bluestem, Little
Size(s): 1 qt ($7)

Native Shrubs and Trees for Pollinators and Wildlife (Click on a thumbnail for detailed information about that plant.)

Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)
Buttonbush
Size(s): 3 gal ($35)
Allegheny Chinquapin / Dwarf Chestnut (Castanea pumila)
Chinquapin, Allegheny
Size(s): 1 gal ($13)
American Hazelnut (Corylus americana)
Hazelnut, American
Size(s): 3 gal ($35)
Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius)
Ninebark
Size(s): 3 gal ($35)

Spicebush (Lindera benzoin)
Spicebush
Size(s): 3 gal ($35)

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Ordering Logistics and What to Expect

  • E-mail the following information to shannon@busybeenurseryandconsulting.com
    • List of items, sizes, and quantities that you want to order.
  • Ordering deadline: noon on Thursday, June 2.
    • Orders are filled in the order that I receive them.
    • I will make sure I have everything you want and send you the total for the order.
  • On the day of the delivery:
    • I will have your order ready to go when you arrive.
    • You can pay by cash, check, or card.
    • If you are not satisfied with any of the plants that I picked for you, please let me know before you leave with them and I will be happy to keep those plants. I am not responsible for plants after you take possession of them.

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In My Pollinator and Wildlife Gardens

This is the second installment of this section of the newsletter. In the first installment, April 30, 2022, I said I was going to “let you see first-hand how I do things – the good, the bad, and the ugly” when it came to my gardening activities and some of the landscaping plans I have for this year. Well, here goes…

In that installment, I showed you the outline of a new garden bed that I’m planning to create. My plan was to use an herbicide to kill the weeds and grass before putting in the hardscape features and starting to plant. However, life has been a little chaotic over the past month and Mother Nature hasn’t exactly cooperated either. It has either been too windy or too wet during the few times when we’ve had time to spray. So unfortunately, I haven’t made any visible progress on putting in that new garden bed. I hate it and wish I could show more progress, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.

The good news is that the delay has given me more time to think about what I want to plant there. I’m still fine tuning those plans, but I think I now have a much better idea of what I want to plant than I did a month ago. I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that I’ll have had a chance to put some of those plans into action by this time next month.

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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.

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