Critters. Guests this season, including some biologists, have repeatedly told us they've never seen so much pollinator and butterfly activity as in our garden. Some of these plants are just alive with swirling fluttering critters. I visited a couple native gardens around town at peak activity time over the last few days and even on the very same plants, there was only around 10% of the activity. I'd guess there are a few reasons. one, integrated fruits and vegetables provide a lot of edible biomass. Two, inclusion of exotics means we have earlier and more consistent peak pollinator plants in our garden. Right now, all the busiest plants are exotics, mints, skirret, carrot and fennel doing the most business. Inclusion of water. High internal plant biodiversity with many plant roots sharing the same soil means high soil microdiversity, which builds up from that rich basic trophic layer. And of course, never any spraying, and no proximity to nasty agricultural spraying. And finally, lots of showy flowers all season long. All of this creates a pollinator paradise. #pollinatorgardens #permacultureforpollinators #BEES https://www.instagram.com/p/B1gXvRODg4s/?igshid=1qrxzua10fwvf
