Big Ideas in Small Spaces: Garden Walk 2015

In June, our local Master Gardeners group held their annual Garden Walk.  This is the only fundraiser held each year to support the the group, and planning begins a year in advance to make sure it continues to be the popular and successful event it always is.  This year's theme was "Scents and Sensibility," with a focus on gardens that use sustainable practices.  But what I also noticed this year was that the committee had chosen more smaller gardens than usual, and that turned out to be a wise decision based on all the positive comments I heard from those attending.

The Garden Walk requires hundreds of volunteers in order to be successful, and I volunteered for my usual morning shift--to avoid standing during the heat of the day.  The garden I was assigned to was in an older neighborhood with standard 1/4 acre lots.  But this relatively small space was a showcase for using found objects as garden art.

The owner half-jokingly told me that when her neighbors want to throw something out, they just toss it over her fence, and she paints or re-purposes it in some other way and finds a place for it in her garden.  When her neighbors see how she cleverly uses their "junk," they sometimes ask for it back--but she said she has refused to return anything so far:)

Now this is a real "window" box!

Probably the piece that attracted the most attention in her garden was this new potting shed she built.  Located at the back of her house, it is built completely out of old doors with a piece of corrugated tin she salvaged as extra protection on the roof.

Not far away, in an even older neighborhood with modest homes, was the next stop on the Walk, a delight for any no-lawn enthusiasts.  I wish I had taken a better photo, but the front "yard" was completely devoid of grass and filled with hostas and other shade-loving plants.  Gravel paths meandering through the beds invited visitors to slow down and explore.

The back yard was another oasis of greenery with nary a blade of grass to be found. More gravel paths allowed visitors to roam and see every part of the garden.

A small pond surrounded by a variety of plants provided the soothing sound of water.

Fairy gardens are the ultimate in small gardens.  I loved the use of the two old wagons here to create a virtual fairy paradise.

This garden was such a shady retreat, I could see myself sitting in these red chairs every evening.  Who needs acres of woodland when this small backyard provided such a peaceful and beautiful place to relax and enjoy nature?

Our next stop was in the heart of town, not exactly a place where you would expect to hear the sound of chickens. In fact, only recently has the town of Champaign allowed residents to keep chickens, so I imagine this was an educational experience for many visitors on the Walk.

This little lady seemed quite eager to pose for the camera, or maybe she was just curious about all the strangers passing through her garden.

Besides the chickens, the big draw of this home was its vegetable garden.  Normally, I am prefer touring flower gardens, but the carefully maintained raised beds and trellises provided so many great ideas about how to improve my own tiny vegetable garden.  This garden fit the Walk's theme of sustainability so well as the owners incorporate environmentally-friendly practices and enjoy feeding their family what they have grown.  I think many "city-dwellers" went away inspired, seeing what can be done on an ordinary city lot.

The most interesting part of this garden for me was the hugelkultur bed by the street corner.  I wasn't familiar with this term, but very simply, a hugelkultur bed is one that is built using rotting wood as its base.

It is situated at the street corner for a reason, as you can see by this sign.  The owners are not only educating visitors, but they are sharing their bounty with their neighbors as well.

And in case a curious passerby isn't quite sure if that tomato or pepper is quite ready for picking, they provide instructions as well.  I just loved this idea!

Not all of the homes on the Garden Walk were in older neighborhoods with smaller homes, however.  In one wooded subdivision, the owners learned how to work with nature to develop their garden when they purchased the house.  The front yard, where grass struggled to survive under dense shade, has been gradually replaced by groundcovers and woodland plants.  Here, by the front walk, a small shade garden demonstrates a great example of mixing colors, textures, and shapes.

A large sunny border in the back yard is filled with hardy perennials that can withstand harsh Midwest winters and the strong winds that often sweep across the open fields nearby.  "No tender babies allowed!" says the homeowner.

Another home in one of the "ritziest" subdivisions in C-U featured an absolutely beautiful garden!  Why I didn't take more photos of this garden, I don't know.  Partly it was because it was the last one we visited and it was getting late.  As much as I enjoyed the diverse plantings, the dry streams, and all the different water features, I couldn't help turning to my friend and smugly whispering, "They don't maintain this garden themselves."  Indeed, they do have a regular landscaping maintenance service, but I later met the homeowners and discovered that they are in fact knowledgeable gardeners and do work in the gardens themselves.  My apologies for being so quick to judge, but still...I'd like to have a crew of strong backs to come in and help me, too:)

A garden in another upscale subdivision was a different story, however.  The front garden was lovely, with pots and striking art pieces echoing the colors of this contemporary home.

A repurposed cart in my favorite shade of turquoise added a pop of color in another front area, but still well within any homeowners' association guidelines.

In back, a small pond and more shady plantings created a pleasant backyard retreat.

But beyond these conventional garden areas, we found quite a surprise--a large butterfly garden filled with pollinator-friendly plants.

Nearby was another area filled with even more natives and areas created to attract all kinds of bees.  Notice the sign which explains the significant role of native solitary bees and the importance of creating habitats for them.

A nesting house illustrated one way of providing for these important pollinators.

On the other side of the house (no photos) I was also surprised to find a large vegetable garden contained within several raised beds with some of the biggest tomato plants I'd ever seen in June.

This had to be one of my favorite gardens on the walk just because I wasn't expecting to find this in such a setting.  I thought it was ironic to look across the lake and see golfers at the country club putting away on their carefully manicured and heavily fertilized grass, totally unaware of the beautiful, natural setting just beyond.

During my morning shift as a garden guide, several visitors remarked to me how much they enjoyed this year's gardens, especially the smaller ones because they seemed more "do-able."  Like them, I enjoy visiting public gardens and large private gardens.  But such big gardens can seem a bit intimidating, and often any ideas I come away with are plants I'd like to have or small vignettes that I might be able to copy.  Small gardens like those on this year's garden walk, however, inspire anyone that no matter how small the space or how limited the time or energy one has, anyone can have a beautiful garden!

Wildflower Wednesday: Pollinators Need Our Help

Today I am going to "preach to the choir. " I know that you know that many pollinators, especially honeybees and our native bumblebees, are in sharp decline.  I know you are concerned because so many of you post information on your own blogs on this subject. And if you have stopped by after visiting Gail's Wildflower Wednesday post, you already are concerned about helping the pollinators.  So I'm not going to bore you today with things you might already know, but I might have some encouraging news.

Several weeks ago I attended a panel discussion on  helping the pollinators sponsored by three area organizations and held in the County Extension auditorium.  I signed up to attend as soon as I found out about this forum, not only because of the topic, but because I really wanted to hear two of the speakers.

Echinacea Purpurea is a favorite attraction for all kinds of pollinators in my garden.

This was the first time I've had the chance to attend any kind of talk given by Dr. May Berenbaum, the head of the Entomology Department here at the University of Illinois.  Dr. Berenbaum is somewhat of a local celebrity, having started the Insect Fear Film Festival at the U of I over 30 years ago.  The film festival has received national publicity, and I just noticed the 2015 festival will be held this weekend, so stop in for some fun if you're in the area!  Dr. Berenbaum has also received a host of other more dignified academic awards, including the National Medal of Science, which she received in a White House ceremony in November.

If you read Dr. Berenbaum's history of the Insect Fear Film Festival (and it's worth reading), you can tell she is not some stuffy academician.  She is passionate about insects and sharing that passion with the public.  In the 20 minutes or so allotted to her, she gave the audience a wealth of information about the importance of pollinators, including the fact that they are worth about $20 billion to U.S. agriculture.  I learned that while the majority of pollinators are insects, 1 in 100 are vertebrates like birds, bats, and even a few lizards.

Tiny Syrphid flies, also called hoverflies, are important pollinators, too.

While the numbers of some pollinators like honeybees has declined dramatically all over the world in recent years, the interest in this topic is at an all-time high.  So the good news is that more and more people want to help!  Dr. Berenbaum ended her talk by offering some suggestions for all of us such as diversifying our landscapes, avoiding pesticides, and becoming a Bee Spotter.

Native Beebalm, also know as Monarda or Wild Bergamot

The next speaker was someone I was particularly interested in hearing, too, not because he is any kind of a celebrity, but because he is a friend of my family.  A local beekeeper continuing his family's tradition, Rev. Emil discussed the problems in managing beehives and reported that on his last inspection of his hives, there was only a 17% survival rate.  That is a pretty depressing outlook, and I was a little disappointed that he never explained the cause of losses in the hives in recent years.  Perhaps he doesn't know himself, and perhaps it is due to a combination of factors.  However, he did remark that “I haven’t learned yet how to herd bees—bees go where they want to go.”  That drew some chuckles from the audience, but it also highlighted a serious problem for managed bees as well as bees in the wild--nearby fields and lawns sprayed with pesticides.

A familiar sign to Portland Flingers--from Chickadee Gardens--an important reminder to helping the bees!

A representative from Pheasants Forever was also on the panel.  I have to be honest--I knew nothing about this organization beforehand and always assumed from the name that it was some kind of hunting group.  But quite the opposite is true--it's a group dedicated to conserving pheasants and other wildlife through habitat improvement.

A swath of yellow natives--and a wildflower corridor for bees--at a local prairie restoration area.

The speaker also happened to be a Farm Bill Biologist working in several area counties, and in that role he presented what I thought was one of the most encouraging bits of news of the afternoon.  The 2008 Farm Bill calls for more pollinator habitats and specifically is encouraging farmers to turn land not in production or unproductive land into corridors where bees and other pollinating insects can thrive.  Farmers who sign up to participate can receive wildflower seed and even some financial compensation.  This seems like such a great idea, and I hope it is successful.

The final speaker of the afternoon was our own Extension Horticulture Educator Sandy, who offered suggestions for home gardeners on how to create a pollinator-friendly landscape, including plant recommendations and allowing so-called "weeds" in the lawn like violets and white clover to grow because they are important food sources for many pollinators.

Some non-native plants are food sources for pollinators, too.  They prefer single-petaled flowers, like this cosmos, to double-petaled flowers.

 Most of Sandy's recommendations are well-known to those who garden for wildlife and pollinators, so I won't repeat them all here.  But for anyone in the audience who might not know where to start on creating a garden, she recommended a brochure from the Extension, "Plant a Pollinator Pocket."  The pamphlet includes sample designs for a small garden and makes it easy for anyone to get started--you can even download it from the Extension website here, if you wish.

Don't forget late-blooming plants like asters and goldenrods to provide nourishment in the fall.

Although the plight of many pollinators is still in peril, what was so encouraging about this whole forum was that so many people were interested in the topic. There was a standing-room-only crowd in the Extension Auditorium--more than 150 people on a chilly January afternoon.  And these were not necessarily gardeners:  I spotted some familiar Master Gardener faces and some Master Naturalists, but there were just as many farmers and other interested community members as well.  If each one of these takes some action to create a more pollinator-friendly environment on their own property, and then by their own example encourages others to do the same, think of the impact!  

For more ideas on helping the pollinators and different native plants to grow, check out other Wildflower Wednesday posts at Clay and Limestone.  A big thank-you to Gail for being one of the first to inspire me to create a more pollinator-friendly garden and a very Happy 5th WW Anniversary!