Searching for a free Forum to Discuss Pollinator Garden Construction

This is my first post because I realized this is not the site to discuss Pollinator Garden Construction, but it’s the closest I’ve been able to find. So, with that, can anyone recommend a FREE forum where people can discuss Pollinator Garden construction, seed suppliers, frustrations, and other related topics. I’ve watched about every video on youtube and still have questions. Thanks.

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If in the category Nature Talk , why not?

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You might try Pollinator Friendly Yards on Facebook. They are a wealth of information and might be just what you are looking for.

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Welcome to the forum, Larry!

Where are you located?

You’re right that this forum is not a place to discuss seed suppliers, fertilizing techniques, etc., but you can definitely discuss native plant species and the pollinators they attract!

@egordon88 has documented almost 2,000 species around his home, by deliberately building a pollinator garden. He wrote about it here: https://pollinatorweb.com/one-year-in-my-pollinator-garden/

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Almost 2,300 including plants. I’m not the only gardener on iNat or the forum either.

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Just came upon this thread.

Most of my ID’s are from my garden as well and this is something I have wanted to do with my iNat observations, too!

So, just wanted to say thanks for sharing this :sweat_smile:

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Just based on the description in the forum guidelines.

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iNat gardeners are here

https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/home-projects-umbrella

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Xerces Society https://xerces.org/ has lots of information about planting for pollinators and region-specific guides for plant species. It can be hard to find suppliers for specific native plants but there are lots of small seed sellers with specialty items.

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https://www.prairiemoon.com/

Great one for the USA.

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It would help to know where you’re located. Pollinator gardens are best if they’re adapted to your specific locality and native plants. Does your area have a Native Plant Society? That might be one place to start. Our local chapter has regular plant sales and seed swaps, for example, and workshops/presentations related to gardening with native plants.

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Hi. I live in Virginia, USA. I’ve done tons of research and spoken to local organizations but I’m having trouble sourcing seeds for native plants in my area. I also want to speak to someone who has tried different methods of “deleting the lawn”. I have very specific questions which can’t likely be answered on this forum. Hence my search for a forum.

Oksanaetal mentioned prariemoon.com and I also want to add https://www.prairienursery.com/

You can filter by state and each plant has a native range map on the product page.

This forum is also great for planting advice in general, they haven’t turned me down yet. :+1:

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There’s a relatively active presence related to pollinator gardens on the social networking platform Mastodon. Follow #PollinatorGarden #PollinatorGardens

Need Virginia seed sources?

https://www.ernstseed.com/product-category/pollinator-favorites/?_product_type=individual-species

https://www.plantnovanatives.org/growing-from-seed

https://dwr.virginia.gov/wildlife/habitat/seed-packets/

And more: https://www.google.com/search?q=virginia+native+plants+seeds&sca_esv=3af941f69087be74&udm=14&ei=Br6baO6ZOcSmqtsPse_lGQ&start=10&sa=N&sstk=Ac65TH7b-wWz4QwkRwgRs3IWSHaC6RgwouOMsMx8t26DRBWsMuTmdoJvlmxm3QJKu753R2-c2yZVRBFkxBOqa2Lh2EzaZ-wHzHKX_g&ved=2ahUKEwjutNWCp4aPAxVEk2oFHbF3OQMQ8NMDegQIIxAW&biw=1424&bih=674&dpr=1.3

There’s an iNat adjacent discord server that has a channel called “growing things”. The discord server tends to be a little more freewheeling in terms of the conversations that happen there. You can also make observations of all the wild organisms visiting your cultivated plants thereby hi-lighting the value of the species in your garden rather than each individual plant itself. In that sense, iNat is very much about pollinator gardens.

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We’re practically neighbors so come on over to NC to check out our native plant nurseries! The Virginia Native Plant Society keeps a list of native plant nurseries as well. Sourcing from within your ecoregion might be more important than state. Looking at states around you, Ernst Seed has already been mentioned, another mail-order seed nursery to check out may be OPN Seed. Another one I’ve found that’s in the area (with growing locations in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and North Carolina) and offers seed mixes is Sylva Native.

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We rented a “sod kicker” for a few hundred square feet of lawn deletion. Didn’t enjoy it. Very physically demanding for us, though shovel wasn’t too much easier.

Next time will lay cardboard over lawn in spring, cover with mulch, and dig holes to plant plugs in fall. That is less work and then don’t have giant piles of displaced sod.

Took all the mulch bags, cut them and duct taped together to make a mostly translucent tarp for the sod pile to kill all the seeds. Hope to use the soil next spring.

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Also published books ?

Lawn gone

Texas based - I have read her garden blog for years

https://nationalguard.com/virginia

:wink:

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