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| volunteer salt bushes prevent erosion during storm |
I often wonder what people see when they walk by our yard. Do they see the habitat we created for birds and other pollinators? Or do they wonder why we don't pull the "weeds?"
To me a weed is a misplaced plant or a nasty invasive one. You won't find any weeds in my yard.
Our rain basin hosts a variety of pollinator plants - some we planted, some planted by birds, some volunteers. All intentionally kept and loved. Each with its own purpose. Some provide food for us or the birds. Some help the water infiltrate in our basin, nourish the soil, and prevent erosion.
The common purslane I transplanted does all that. Plus it attracts butterflies!
To me a weed is a misplaced plant or a nasty invasive one. You won't find any weeds in my yard.
Our rain basin hosts a variety of pollinator plants - some we planted, some planted by birds, some volunteers. All intentionally kept and loved. Each with its own purpose. Some provide food for us or the birds. Some help the water infiltrate in our basin, nourish the soil, and prevent erosion.
The common purslane I transplanted does all that. Plus it attracts butterflies!
I was delighted when volunteer globe mallow strategically placed themselves throughout our basin. Needless to say, I left them there. I've found that they attract more butterflies and native bees than the flowering plants I bought at a garden sale. One globe mallow had native bees inside each of its orange flowers. Here is one I caught a picture of...
I try to strike a balance between "wilding" and appearing intentional. Last year I pulled some over-zealous volunteers. Some native grasses that had browned. And I thinned out some bushy plants that had taken over our jujube basin.
I try to strike a balance between "wilding" and appearing intentional. Last year I pulled some over-zealous volunteers. Some native grasses that had browned. And I thinned out some bushy plants that had taken over our jujube basin.
During the long dry spell, I regretted removing the grass seeds that the birds relied on for food. And I discovered that the bushy plant is our native salt bush that produces seeds that the birds love!
The volunteer salt bushes also created a barrier to slow the rushing stormwater in several basins.
Here it is protecting the other pollinator plants in our right of way basin.
It kept the organic matter that healed the soil in our jujube basin from washing out into the street!
But now it is turning brown. What will the neighbors think? Will they understand it is just dormant? That it still protects our basin?
I love being out with the birds and other wildlife. And watering the new pollinator plants in my basin gives me an excuse to do that. #lovemyrainbasin
I also enjoy playing citizen scientist, snapping pics, and observing how the plants fare in this unpredictable weather. We can't count on the usual seasonal weather - even monsoon storms often elude us. What rain we do get is the remnants of hurricanes. Long periods of drought are often followed by extreme storms and microbursts. It's important to have durable plants that can stand the erratic weather.
As always, I recommend keeping the volunteers where you want them and pulling the ones you don't want. Sometimes they're hard to recognize, so I'm resharing: Good Weeds vs. Bad Weeds.
Read more:
Our Yard the Bird Feeder
Prompting Purslane Season
