Yesterday was an exquisite weather day in Seattle–sunny and not hot, it lent itself to getting a lot done outside. I took advantage of that weather and planted out some of my native plant seedlings into a new part of the garden in the front yard. First, some Puget Sound gumweed plants (Grindelia integrifolia) went in, then a few Oregon sunshine (Eriophyllum lanatum), some western columbine (Aquilegia formosa), bigleaf lupine (Lupinus polyphyllus), and a few Douglas aster (Symphytotrichum subspicatum). My prized stinging nettles (Urtica dioica) got planted out, as well. The baby Garry oak trees I started in tennis ball cans were planted out, too. This new sub-garden is at the northwest corner of the native plant garden near the street. My hope is that it will bring a lot of pollinators to the front yard where we can enjoy them more, as can passersby.
My own Garry oak grove started here close to the lawn. I want multiple oaks because they are wind-pollinated and it takes several trees to make acorns. I may not see acorns in my lifetime, but I know the trees will be part of the food web right from the start.
The rains have started finally after about three full months of no precipitation. All of the native plants appear to have survived, although the annual seeds I planted early in the spring didn’t prosper. I’ve started Gilia capitata seedlings late in the summer to winter over and hopefully fill the front of the garden with some vivid color.
Below are a few insect visitors that visited in the last few weeks. Even the moths that are duplicates never look exactly the same–so much variation in the same species.
Below are some photos of the native plants in the front yard.
