Seeds in Winter (Unity Art for Pollinators, Part 3)

I've been seeking unity with pollinators, and this week I finally planted seeds.

The darkness of winter is important for seeds. They need dormancy before they can germinate. Dormancy is a protective mechanism that prevents seeds from sprouting too early. Some seeds stay dormant for years waiting for the right survival conditions, and only a complete set of favorable environmental conditions will cause them to begin growing. The seeds of some plants germinate only when triggered by very specific light levels.

Agenda:

1. Read a novena

2. Read "Nature's Best Hope"

3. Light a candle for Unity with nature

4. Plant some seeds

5. Bee art

6. Donate to bees

1. Read a novena:

I've been reading this Creation Novena from the Indian Catholic Matters site:

Day 8: A Prayer for Vulnerable People

Creator God, we give thanks for means to care for the poor. We give thanks for their resilience, for their strength, and for their example. We give thanks for the opportunity to know them, to serve them, and to love them. 

As climate change troubles those who live and work so closely with nature, help us grow in solidarity. Help us follow the words of Proverbs, to “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.”

Help us speak truth in the presence of corruption, selfishness, and short-sightedness. Help us speak prophetically to our brothers and sisters, and to reflect on Your truths in our own lives, that we may change our habits to truly care for all Your beloved children. 

We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen

1. Read Nature's Best Hope:

I've been reading Nature's Best Hope by Douglas Tallamy, with others in my Interfaith Earthkeepers group.

This book's theme is that we can no longer assume that nature "out there" somewhere is taking care of the wildlife. We need to turn our urban and suburban areas into habitat, starting with native pollinator gardens. Imagine a pollinator-friendly neighborhood, with native plants in bloom through as much of the growing season as possible, from one yard, patio, front porch to another! Imagine birds, bees, and butterflies welcomed back to our cities!

We are reading Chapter 4: Shrinking the Lawn. This chapter goes into why exotic plants and big lawns have become the norm in our gardens; historically they were a status symbol, and now they are how we fit in with our neighbors. (Maybe it even goes back to Africa, when we felt safest in an open savannah-like environment.)

But we can change the cultural norm with peer-pressure, no matter how deeply entrenched it is. "Many of us will do nearly anything if our peers are doing it, especially if it saves us a little money. ... As the essential relationship between native vegetation and sustainable ecosystems becomes common knowledge in our dawning age of environmental stewardship, and as more and more high-end properties demonstrate how effectively and beautifully natives can be used in attractive designs, landscapes dominated by natives will become the norm instead the exception."

3. Light a candle for Unity with Nature:

For the first part of Soyal I am meditating and writing about each of my core values, and making plans for the coming year based on guidance from the Spirits. Today I am giving attention to Unity with Nature: Remembering that the Earth and every part of Creation is a living, spiritual being, and living in accordance.

Today I light a green candle for Unity with Nature, and ask the Spirits to bring the rain of loving care down upon the whole world.

4. Plant some seeds:

Native pollinators need appropriate native plants, those that are indigenous to our specific geographic area. I prepared a couple of pollinator beds back in October, and now it's time to plant them. Late fall is the best time to plant native wildflower seeds.

The Institute for Applied Ecology has a great download that explains why native seeds can be harder to start than vegetable seeds:

"The first challenge to growing native plants is overcoming seed dormancy. While the seeds of most garden vegetables require light, moisture, and warm soils to germinate, those conditions are not sufficient to grow native plants. Seeds from native plants need to be exposed to a cold, wet winter in order to germinate. This cold wet period is called “stratification”. Many of Oregon’s native plants have evolved to germinate in the spring, and the passing of four, cold, wet months is one cue used to tell them that spring has arrived."

Planting tips:

I clumped each flower by species and color, rather than spreading them around the yard, because this makes the colors easier for butterflies to see, and they will be more likely to utilize them. I hand scattered the seed directly onto the soil surface (not buried).  

And I also sowed seed into 6-packs, covered them with newspaper, and left them outside on my duck coop, where I can keep an eye on them - I'm hoping this will help me identify the plants in the garden when they come up, and also give me some plants to fill in or gift to others.

I planted two beds. One is a narrow bed right at the top of my front yard with great soil that gets full sun and not much water. This fall I cleared out the irises, bulbs, and peppermint, and transplanted three Showy Milkweed into the center. Last week I seeded it with these two other wild flowers: The Oregon Sunshine is shorter, so it went around the bottom edge, and the Globe Gilia went at the top, near our front porch:

Oregon Sunshine (Eriophyllum lanatum): I bought a packet of Oregon Sunshine from Northwest Meadowscapes; Oregon sunshine is a cheerful, drought-hardy plant for dry sites and hot summers! The long-lasting blooms attract bees, butterflies, and beneficial syrphid flies. The foliage is also a host plant for caterpillars of the painted lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui). It is unique for being native to both sides of the Cascades. This compact, summer-blooming plant has a clumping growth habit and typically only reaches about a foot in height. The plant produces incredibly cheerful masses of bright yellow flowers which makes this a great plant for both meadows and for formal flowerbeds. it is a long-lived plant, it’s deer-resistant, and it’s ready for the some of the harshest climate conditions any plant in our region might someday face. A perfect plant for an uncertain future. Plants can be established by seed or seedlings. It is slow to mature from seed. Sow seed outside in fall to late winter. (Note: Next spring, I'll thin plants 6 to 18 in. apart.)

Globe Gilia (Gilia capitata): One of the easiest, most reliable,  and fast-germinating showy annuals. By May it begins bursting upwards with multiple cheerful bright blue flower stems on each plant. In normal years, these blooms can continue into July. Globe gilia is very attractive to honey bees, and small ground-nesting sweat bees, especially on warm mornings; also the Propertius duskywing butterfly. Gilia tends to stay about knee-high, but can get taller in very rich soils. Note: This plant tends to disappear after the first or second year and can be introduced back into established meadows by periodically scratching open bare patches of soil in the fall and scattering seed into those openings.

 

My other native pollinator bed is a large raised garden bed in the front yard, with a block wall that faces the sidewalk and shields a small patio. This bed holds a lot of natives already, including a Snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus), which provides late season forage for native birds; a Douglas Spirea, which supports butterflies, bees, and the seeds are eaten by birds and small mammals; Western Columbine; and Western Sword Fern (Polysitchum munitum). It's kind of a woodland garden, because it's fairly dry and shaded by the Hawthorn trees for most of the day. Last week I add Collomia in a big swath:

Large-Flowered Collomia (Collomia grandiflora): With creamy orange-white blossoms that spring forth from a large round inflorescence at the top of a phlox-like stem, this plant definitely stands out. Look closer and you'll find bright blue pollen on the flower's anthers. Watching bees remove and carry off those bold blue packages is something you will never forget. Large-flowered collomia is native from British Columbia to Southern California, and typically grows to about 2-feet in height. It readily grows from seed with little care. A great annual wildflower for that tough combination of dry soils and partial shade, although large-flowered collomia will tolerate full sun and mesic soils as well. Would do well in mass plantings around house foundations, or under shade trees where other plants struggle.

5. Bee Art:

As I said earlier, my intention with Medicine Art is to use my creative fire to forge a stronger connection between me and the subject. All of the steps up until now have been helping me to form connections, and now I'm ready to honor the pollinators with my creativity.

Bees are my theme for Christmas gifts this year; I've got lots of projects started: I've made a rubber bee stamp to print tags and pins. I'm making small felted bees. And I've drawn a bee design that I could make into cards or decoupage onto boxes. (I'm also buying bee guide books and other bee-themed gifts.)

6. Donate to Bees:

In lieu of sending me gifts this year, I've asked my family to make donations to The Bee & Butterfly Habitat Fund, a nonprofit dedicated to establishing high quality pollinator habitat. They work with landowners, conservationists, scientists and beekeepers to build healthy and sustainable pollinator habitat with maximum benefits.

I've decided to make my own donation to a more local and personal project: my Friends Meeting's Trout Friendly Landscape project, which is deeply involved in native pollinator habitat. We are having a fund-raising event this Sunday at the Jazz Lounge.