I was in the woods, dumping a wheelbarrow load of grass and roots that I had raked up from the part of the lawn that the raccoons, skunks and I have been preparing for a wildflower patch. It was hard work for me but those creatures have put in the most work up to now, so I shouldn’t complain really. For those who don’t know, raccoons in their search for grubs will scrape up huge areas of grass, rolling the turfs neatly back to expose the earth below. Every year we have spent hours when we find these sections (like wide spread shallow bomb craters) trying to push back the grass. (See the photo below for an idea of the extent of the damage.) It never recovered very successfully, but at least was a bit smoother than they had left it. This year I had a brainwave and decided to work with them, rather than against them, preparing these areas for me to sow eco friendly wildflowers, specially for the insects, birds and butterflies. Entirely for free these obliging animals are digging me up nice big patches and all I need to do is cart away the turfs and roots, rake it smooth and sow the packets of local wildflowers I have bought. I was rewarded in my endeavors the other day by finding clumps of honesty growing in the woods where I was dumping the barrow loads. Such a beautiful name for a flower, and trait in a person. Hugs to all my friends today. A Flower a Day #238
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A gallery of flowers shared on a daily basis to cheer myself and hopefully you, the viewer too, during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic period. Posts from May 2021
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In addition to honesty, this plant also is called the money plant because it’s flat seed pods, when ripe and silvery, resemble coins. It seeds easily, as I can attest from seeing them strewn across lawns and even of the forest floor. So it’s a natural ground cover and a frequenter of wild gardens. So it is the perfect candidate to include in your wildflower patch. Let’s hope you have only help in the early preparation stages and not in the harvesting stage. That should be left to you. Thank you, Ellie.
I can see why it’s called the money plant. But I won’t be putting it in my wildflower patches as it is not native and also invasive, so I will leave it where it is, nicely in the woods, away from my wildflower plots and hope it doesn’t creep in. I do love the look of it, though.
In raking over the pre prepared areas, I came across lots of grubs that I helped on their way (kinder than being crunched by raccoons I hope) so I am hoping this has removed most of the temptation. Also, I am leaving the patches for a week or 2 for other unwanted plants to appear so I hope by then any additional assistance will be over and done with. As they are June bug grubs, they haven’t long before they hatch, I suppose. Thanks again, Janet.
Those raccoons and their friends certainly do a wonderful job of aerating your lawn!
Making it a wildflower garden sounds like a good plan, and besides, less grass to look after.
Your yard, despite the turmoil caused by your friends, certainly looks nice.
They certainly work hard, Jim. That photograph was a field behind our barn, which we used to take care of. It is owned by The Village and when the devastation hit there, I suggested to the village that they might like to help me do the same thing that I propose doing for our own lawn. I thought it would be an interesting project for the schools to get involved in as they walk by the field frequently on their nature walks. It borders a walking trail and they do nature hikes on it with their teachers. They turned down the idea. I certainly couldn’t do it myself, as it is heavier physical work than I realized it was going to be. As I have already raked our patches over they look too smooth to be impressive, and no longer like devastation. So I got Steven to take a photograph of the field behind the barn where it’s still looks terrible. We won’t be mowing that field this year, though as it is way too rough and would risk damaging the blades on the mower deck.
Thanks Ellie lovely colour sweet little flower. I hope your new flowerbeds work out fine. You have a large area for sowing in. I hope you have a nice day and hugs sent your way.
Thanks Linda. I’m glad you like the flower. We’re not sowing that area as the village weren’t interested in getting involved. (It’s the field belonging to them.) I wouldn’t have been able to do it all myself with those huge areas in that field. It’s heavier physical work than I thought it would be. As I have raked over our own patches, I got Steve to take a picture of the way it all looked before. Nonetheless, I still have a few good size areas to sow.