I’ve decided to leave the goldenrod alone. I considered digging it up because it seemed too tall and too wild for our backyard. But I changed my mind because I hate throwing away plants, and also because today when I was moving around the lilies (again), I saw this:
I love bumblebees. They’re fat and fuzzy like tiny flying stuffed animals. And fascinating to watch (if you’re a nerd like me).
I like bees. Bumblebees, Mason bees, those little green bees. Unless you’re allergic to bee stings, which I’m not, and you like food, which I do, bees are good to have around. (Hornets and wasps are a different story, and I won’t tell you what we do their nests when we find them because I am kind of in denial of it.)
Bee numbers are declining. But the colony collapse disorder affects imported pollinators, and there are a ton of native pollinators. Only guess what? Many of them are ground-nesting.
Which brings me to my point: I hate mulch. The reasons why were brought home once again to me today as I re-planted my lilies.
1. Mulch gets mixed in with the dirt when you move plants, and then it looks messy and causes mushrooms.
2. Mulch must constantly be replaced, which costs money.
3. Mulch prevents ground-nesting bees from nesting in the ground.
Now, I get it. Mulch, when freshly applied, looks very attractive and tidy in a garden. It prevents weed growth without the use of chemicals. It says, “I am a responsible gardener.”
Dilemma.
My goal is to get my plants growing so close together that weeding is minimal and the garden has that bunchy organic look (which is anything but organic in that it is really hard to plan it out).
Why I don't get manicures
