written by Gina Bartleson
My pollinator garden, located in Iowa City, began 8 years ago this year. It’s a continual work in progress. Each year, we have converted more of our yard to pollinator habitat. Each year, more native plants are added and the ones we already planted creep and expand. Each year, we see more insects, birds, and other animals benefiting from the mini-ecosystem we’ve tried to create.
April 1st: My favorite flower, Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica), is the first blooming flower of the year. It’s a reminder that spring is coming, even when it’s still cold and snow will likely still occur at least a couple more times. Two of these beauties were planted a few years ago, I only saw one this year. It probably bloomed in March before this picture was taken: it’s a very small flower and can be hard to spot.
April 2nd: Wild Strawberry (Fragaria virginiana), the second blooming plant in my yard this year. This plant has been a wonderful ground cover, especially along the stone foundation and steps of our house where nothing else wants to grow. The small white flowers and beautiful leaves create a blanket of beauty, especially when not many other plants are growing or in bloom.
April 4th: Blooming third is Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica), a well-known flower for obvious reasons. A beautiful blue flower with bright green leaves that shows especially brilliant early in the spring when other plants are still asleep. This plant spreads easily, a welcome trait in such a gorgeous plant.
April 7th: The fourth bloomer: Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis). Bloodroot’s pure white of the petals against the bright yellow anthers is startling coming up through the dead leaves of the last year. The leaf is also beautiful: at first hugging the beautiful flower and then unfurling into one of the most unique-shaped leaves I’ve seen in a flower. These flowers are slowly spreading in my yard, to my absolute delight.
April 15th: My next blooming plant of the spring is the Yellow Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum). Technically, it never bloomed because something snipped both blooms after this picture was taken. At least they left the marbled leaves which resemble a trout, the namesake of this plant. Another plant that is slowly spreading in my yard.
April 15th: Peeking up through the wild strawberries are two wild ginger leaves (Asarum canadense reflexum). A very unassuming plant, wild ginger is another wonderful ground cover plant. The red flower is harder to find on this plant, laying low to the ground for beetles and flies to pollinate. The colonies have been slow to establish since planting three years ago: we lost the tree it was planted under so I think it may be too dry and sunny for this plant.
Bumblebee queens are out: I believe this is a Two-spotted Bumble Bee nectaring on a fading Virginia Bluebell.
A reminder to all: leave the leaves and stems from last year’s garden. Small bees have been swarming in my garden, emerging from their hibernation and starting nests of their own.
Thank you so much for your contribution, Gina!
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