Region
West-Central MN
City
Richmond
Project Type(s)
Pocket Planting, Pollinator Meadow
Template(s) Used
None
Site Conditions
Full Sun, Part Sun
Gardener Name
Ryan Rothstein
Gardener Comments
With installation occurring during severe drought in 2023, it was challenging to know just how much to water the planting. I tried to let the plants tell me what they needed, but there were definitely times I felt I let them go too long and times that I probably overwatered. It was interesting trying to find that balance. Overall, I’d say my plant survival into year two is still at least 85%, so I’m very happy with that, but I feel that I could have done better if I’d paid closer attention to watering needs. In a “normal” year, it probably doesn’t matter, but this is definitely something to pay attention to if your establishment year is during a drought. Another thing I’m glad I did was spend an hour or two a week keeping the areas free of weeds. Things look incredible this year now that we got rain again, but keeping weeds down definitely helped the plants become established last year.
It’s amazing how much I enjoy spending time in the yard just looking through the pollinator gardens. Just being out there and seeing everything grow and the insects using them brings a real sense of calm that I wasn’t expecting, but I try to spend some time outside every day in the growing season just observing what’s going on in these gardens. I’m planning to fill in areas that I lost plants to fill things out quicker, and I can’t wait to burn these areas in a couple years to see how they change.
Wildlife Observed
Monarch butterfly, red admiral butterfly, sweat bees, common bumblebees, painted lady butterfly, and the deer sure love to eat the wildflowers!
