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Helping Pollinators in an Urban Environment

3/1/2021

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Why urban gardens are crucial for conserving bees and butterflies – and how you can help them

Maljalen/Shutterstock
Nicholas Tew, University of Bristol; Jane Memmott, University of Bristol, and Katherine Baldock, Northumbria University, Newcastle

As humans have industrialised farming to feed a growing global population, pollinators – animals vital for plant reproduction – have seen their food supply decline. In the UK, intensive agriculture has eroded biological diversity in large portions of the countryside, with vast swathes of cereal crops and ryegrass pastures now replacing flower-rich habitats.

For pollinators such as bees, hoverflies and butterflies, a loss of flowers means a loss of the nectar and pollen that makes up their food. A reduction in the diversity and quantity of this food is an important factor in the widespread decline of their population numbers.

However, pollinators may have an unlikely saviour: cities. Although traditionally regarded as ecological wastelands, urban landscapes can support diverse pollinator populations. Our new research, conducted with colleagues at the universities of Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Northumbria, Reading and the Royal Horticultural Society, investigated the nectar production in different urban areas to see how they compared with one another and with rural habitats.

We found that urban areas are not so bleak after all. They offer comparable resources to rural habitats, with gardens providing nectar-rich oases to support our pollinating insects.

Urban potential

In the UK, 83% of the population now live in an urban area. These landscapes are complex patchworks of different land uses, from green spaces like parks and gardens to pavements and car parks.

For our study, we measured how much nectar flower species make, by sampling in a range of urban environments including private and botanical gardens, allotments and road verges. We also made use of other published studies on nectar production in order to compare our findings with the nectar quantity and diversity of rural areas.

Tortoiseshell butterfly feeding on clustered purple buddleia flowers
Buddleia is a valuable source of nectar for butterflies. Linda Bestwick/Shutterstock

Measuring nectar is fiddly work, but it is fascinating to see how flowers have evolved different strategies for supplying insects with their reward. Using a thin glass capillary tube, roughly mimicking a bee’s tongue, we extracted nectar and measured its volume – sometimes less than a hundredth of a raindrop.

Next, we needed to work out the sugar concentration, which we achieved using a refractometer. This clever piece of equipment, commonly used by brewers, measures the amount light bends when passing through a solution and tells you how much sugar is dissolved. Nectar can be 60% sugar by weight – the equivalent of putting 100 spoonfuls in your cup of tea. After repeating this process on more than three thousand flowers, we were able to scale our nectar calculations up to look at entire sampled habitats.

Our findings suggest that urban landscapes are hotspots of nectar diversity. This means that there are more kinds of flowering plant producing nectar in towns and cities than in the farmland and nature reserve sites we measured. Just like in humans, a balanced diet is important for keeping pollinators healthy, helping them to fight off diseases.

On top of that, flowers have different colours, smells, shapes and sizes, and pollinators vary in their preferences. For example, butterflies like to feed from thin, tubular flowers with a sweet fragrance, like buddleia, but hoverflies need easily-accessible nectar, like that found in carrot flowers. Knowing that urban landscapes provide an especially diverse array of flowering plants is important as it means they have the potential to support a wide range of pollinator species.

The importance of gardens

Spaces within towns and cities differ greatly in the amount of energy-rich nectar they produce. For a given area, residential gardens make a similar quantity to allotments, but four times as much as public parks. Overall, because gardens are both nectar-rich and extremely widespread – covering around 30% of urban land – they produced an average of 85% of all the nectar in the four towns and cities we surveyed (Bristol, Edinburgh, Leeds and Reading).

Pots filled with flowers and plants against garden brick wall.
Urban gardens are oases for pollinators. L. Feddes/Shutterstock

This means that eight or nine out of every ten grams of urban nectar comes from someone’s garden. It is no exaggeration to say that gardens are critical for the food supply of pollinators in our towns and cities. The decisions every gardener makes about their garden matter for the conservation of bees, butterflies and other pollinators.

Here’s how to maximise the benefit of your garden space in a few simple steps:

  1. Choose pollinator-friendly species, such as thistles, lavender and oregano, for your garden. The RHS Plants for Pollinators lists are a great help.

  2. Ensure there is always something in flower, from early spring to late autumn and onwards into winter. Hellebores and grape hyacinths are wonderful for the early spring, while ivy and mahonia keep the nectar flowing as the cold weather draws in.

  3. Mow the lawn less often, even just in a small patch, as this allows dandelions, clovers and other plants to flower.

  4. Avoid pesticides. Pollinators can ingest these poisons when they feed from flowers.

  5. Cover as much of your garden as possible in flowery borders and natural lawns, rather than paving and decking. Pots, hanging baskets and window boxes can further supplement the food supply.

Nicholas Tew, PhD Candidate in Community Ecology, University of Bristol; Jane Memmott, Professor of Ecology, University of Bristol, and Katherine Baldock, Senior Lecturer in Ecology, Northumbria University, Newcastle

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Spring Blooming Clematis

3/1/2021

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To add some vertical interest to your garden, clematis is my favorite choice. Growing up a trellis, covering a fence, twisting up some tree trunks, or even as a ground cover, clematis offer vigorous growth with the addition of colorful flowers. There are actually 3 types of clematis based upon their growth characteristics:
type A - blooms on old wood in the spring
type B - can bloom on both old and new wood
type C - blooms on new wood later in the summer

Since our winters are so long, I do appreciate plants that can provide flowers in the spring. There are two type A species of clematis, C. alpina and C. macropetala that are suitable choices for Calgary gardens. In addition, these clematis are more shade tolerant than type B and C clematis. Since they bloom on old wood, they should not be pruned like most perennials. Instead, only remove any dead branches as required. A very low maintenance plant!

Here is a plant trials bulletin from The Royal Horticultural Society that provides details on the various cultivars of C. alpina and C. macropetala. 

RHS Plant Trials Bulletin - C. alpina and C. macropetala
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Shade Garden Design Ideas

5/9/2018

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Many gardens have areas of shade. Don't consider these areas to be wasted parts of the yard to be filled with gravel. There are many lovely ideas to brighten up these darker areas of the landscape. Here is an inspiring article from Better Homes and Gardens complete with gorgeous pictures! Contact me to help you implement these exciting plans.

https://www.bhg.com/gardening/landscaping-projects/solving-shade/shade-garden-design-ideas/


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Landscaping Costs

6/5/2017

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Homeowners often want to know how much should they be spending to landscape their property. A tough question to give a one word answer. I usually find that people that don't garden have unrealistic expectations of cost. For example, people with 2500 s.f. homes can't realistically landscape their property for $500 (and yes I've had people call me up with this expectation). 

Think of your yard as a room of your house. It's probably going to be the largest room you have. How much are you willing to spend to renovate a room in your house? Not everyone gets invited into your home, but everyone has the opportunity to see your front yard without invitation. First impressions are important and lasting. 

According to Better Homes and Gardens, real estate studies show that property values can increase by 5-15% with improved landscaping. Therefore a budget of 5-10% of your homes value on landscaping could be recouped immediately. As trees and shrubs grow larger they increase in value over time; so will the value of your landscape. 
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Prolong Your Season With Dahlias

3/17/2017

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Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

Last September we were in Ireland celebrating our wedding anniversary. Even though it was getting late in the season for flowers, dahlias were still in bloom and looking lovely. I've never planted dahlias before as they need to be lifted from the ground in the fall here and stored over winter to be replanted in the spring. It seemed like too much work for me but now I think it may be worth it. Fall gardens in Calgary can start to look lackluster, and who doesn't want colorful blooms all the way up to frost?

This morning I went shopping and bought a couple of dahlias - Thomas Edison and Lavender Perfection. I'm going to grow them in large pots as I've run out of room in the garden and it will make it easier to lift in the fall. I'll start them off in the house near a sunny window and will move the pots outside when there are no more frosts. If we have any surprise snow storms in August or nasty hail storms throughout the summer, I can always bring them inside and protect them until fair weather returns. 

Here's a photo I took of dahlias at the National Botanic Gardens in Dublin. 

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dahlias
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Dreaming of Spring

2/13/2017

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Now that we've enjoyed a few warm days, one starts dreaming of spring and gardening of course. I always look forward to perusing plant catalogs to see if there are any new and exciting varieties available as well as heirloom favorites. This is eye candy for me! 

Follow this link to the 2017 Perennial Guide from Van Noort Bulb Company Ltd. for a comprehensive catalog of perennials, shrubs, vines, and summer flowering bulbs. Remember that Calgary is zone 3/4 as there are some plants listed in the catalog that are not winter hardy here. 

Ask me about designing and installing a garden customized for your landscape. Spring is just around the corner.
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Dutch White Clover Lawn

12/21/2016

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As my back yard has many trees, certain sections of lawn do not receive enough sunlight to thrive. Over time the lawn has become pale, grass blades have thinned, and the area has become overgrown with weeds. I didn't feel like turning the patch into a shade garden, but wanted to have some sort of "lawn". After some experimentation, I have succeeded in finding a ground cover that grows happily in this space - Dutch White Clover.
Picture
Dutch White Clover Lawn
My first attempt for this area was to add dense shade tolerant grass seed. The product is marketed as able to grow in areas of dense shade with as little as 3 hours of sunlight per day. As you can see in my photo, there is some dappled sunlight in the area so I thought this would be a suitable choice. Results were disappointing so I moved onto Plan B.

My second attempt involved planting sheep's fescue grass seed. Sheep's fescue grass is a fantastic choice for lawns for several reasons:
  • deeper root system that traditional kentucky bluegrass lawns therefore less watering required
  • does not spread by underground roots so does not invade nearby flower beds
  • grows to 6-8" high so does not require mowing if you don't mind a taller lawn
  • slow growing so can be mowed monthly instead of weekly
  • stays green all season long. Traditional lawns can turn brown later in the season with hot weather and lack of water.
  •  dense growth outcompetes weeds
  • apparently grows in sun or shade
I do recommend sheep's fescue lawns for clients but it did not work in my shady yard. Onto Plan C.

My third attempt was to add Dutch White Clover (Trifolium repens) seeds to the existing lawn. I sprinkled it all around the grass and watered daily for about two weeks. Look at the results! A deep green lawn with flowers that have overgrown the existing grass and is absolutely low maintenance. It can be mowed but I choose not to mow it. I leave the flowers for the pollinators to enjoy. I do provide water when required and that's really it.

Dutch White Clover is a legume which is a group of plants that have the ability to utilize atmospheric nitrogen and convert it into a usable form through a process called nitrogen fixation. Therefore, the addition of nitrogen fertilizer is not required as the plant produces it's own. It has a build in food factory. 

It's always interesting to experiment with your garden as some ideas don't always work out, and some are better than expected. I consider my white clover lawn a success and encourage others to consider this groundcover as a lawn alternative, especially in areas too shady to support the growth of other plants.

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Native Plants In Your Garden

7/7/2016

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Have you ever considered adding native plants to your garden?  They are excellent choices as they have naturally survived and thrived in our climate as well as providing a food source for native fauna.  

​Better Homes & Gardens have compiled 15 native plants for our region, and with the exception of Idaho Fescue (zone 5), they are great choices for Calgary gardens.
15_top_native_plants_of_the_mountain_west.pdf
File Size: 1782 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

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Sustainable Gardening

4/24/2016

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Gardens by Laura supports sustainable gardening practices.  In a nutshell, this means we follow practices that will allow future generations to meet their needs by attempting to protect, restore, and enhance landscapes to provide ecosystems that benefit humans and other organisms.

There are a number of practices that we can all do to protect our environment.  The Missouri Botanical Garden has an excellent article that outlines some of these activities.  Click below to read:

Sustainable Gardening Link

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Grow Up With Vertical Gardens

9/26/2015

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Why not add a vertical garden to your landscape?  Here's one we built this year -
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Laura's Vertical Garden
Vertical gardens are ideal for:
  • condominiums
  • growing herbs 
  • adding a focal point
  • low maintenance garden

In addition, tender plants can easily be moved inside if there is a risk of frost or hail damage.  Throughout the growing season, plants can be changed as desired.  For example, in the spring, bulbs are early bloomers and look lovely in pots.  Then as the summer approaches, they can be exchanged for summer bloomers.  Later on, chrysanthemums and asters will keep flowers going well into autumn.  

There's no need to get bored with vertical gardens.  You can easily experiment and get creative.  Ask me about adding one to your landscape!           
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