The Patch

We have 2 pollinator gardens equaling about 100 square feet. Plants consist of Green Antelopehorn (Asclepias viridis), Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), Tropical Milkweed (Asclepias curassavica), Whorled Milkweed (Asclepias verticillata), Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa), Salvia, Lantana, Blue Mist, Fennel, Desert Flame, Echinacea, Fire Cracker, Lavendar, and Bee Balm. We also have 4 raised beds (8’x4′) with peppers, tomatoes, herbs, cucumbers, etc. A large fence surrounds the 4 raised beds with nectar plants around it (Gaillardia, Echinacea, Coreopsis, Marigolds, Phlox, Mexican Feather, Zinnias, etc.

Friends of Nature

Students at Simply Imagine Early Childhood Learning Center in Pryor, OK are growing and maintaining their own butterfly, herb and vegetable gardens to learn more about nature and healthy living.

Phillips Pollinator Habitat

Flowers are my happy place but I’ve found that they’re even more enjoyable when pollinators and other wildlife are using them. We have beds in front and behind our house that offer a variety of native and horticultural versions of flowering plants. I’ve tried to include species that flower throughout the growing season and am working to limit chemicals that I unknowingly bring into the garden with new plants. We’ve been rewarded with a variety of pollinators ranging from, bees and wasps, butterflies, moths, hummingbirds and even bats (although most of those are likely insectivorous). Its always a work in progress, but also always a labor of love.

Waller Wildlife Garden & Happy Place

In spring of this year my hubby and I moved into a new (old) craftsman bungalow in midtown Tulsa, OK that had zero pollinator plants. Since moving day, we have added two water features, 20 planted containers, 5 hummingbird feeders, added fence and shade/shelter, and planted dozens upon dozens of native perennials for nectar sources, including more than 20 milkweed plants of at least 3 varieties. We made sure to do most of our buying from local mom-n-pop plant stores as well as at local festivals. I will also apply for NWF habitate and Monarch Waystation…but that has not happened yet. (You can count on me to do that next month (so count me in your numbers is you wish.)

Tulsa Zoo Conservation Garden

We have 3 certified Waystations at the Tulsa Zoo with the largest being the Conservation Garden. This is a large pollinator garden and certfied Waystation with over 100 native Oklahoma plants, including multiple species of milkweed. The Garden showcases not only the native pollinator plants but also explains how to get started with planting a garden and it also shows the importance of native grasses in our state and there is a large rain garden which helps teach about water conservation and how native plants play a role against erosion with slowing down water and sinking it to help replenish the ground water.