BORING LAWN To DIVERSE POLLINATOR GARDEN - Ep. 121

It's hard to believe that around 10 months ago, this was nothing more than a lawn, but now this pollinator garden is planted up with close to 260 different varieties of plants-many of them native and that provide pollen sources for specialist pollinators, like solitary bees, for example. We'll take you through a meditative tour of this lawn-turned-pollinator haven.
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[@jeanneamato8278]

This was heart warming. I adore pollinator plants and herbs as I am a herbalist. Too many people mow too many areas thinking that they want to neaten up the gardens. We need more wild. Some high grasses are what fireflies need to breed and find mates. The more pollinator plants the better. You’ve done a heroic job. This isn’t even a year old but you couldn’t tell. More please. Love these videos.

[@gardenforbirds]

I've noticed the fireflies love our shade gardens too - trying to expand them more to give them some more living space! (and so I can squeeze in more ferns :D)

[@emlenomnoms9008]

This is my dream. We have just under an acre, lots of lawn and I'm slowly converting as much as I can into native gardens. So inspiring to see this!

[@gardenforbirds]

Same with us - fun and a bit daunting all at once!

[@Lil_Deery]

You pollinator garden is looking so beautiful and whimsical even! I have been following this channel since you first announced it, and I know you say that it will take a long time to get the land to where you want it and there is much more to do, but it is absolutely amazing the amount that you all have accomplished in just a couple of years with this property. It really is becoming something special and I am so excited to continue to follow your journey as you continue to shape the land into a nature wonderland!

[@naturecare6072]

Nice dress. It’s for perfect for the occasion. Lovely garden! Excellent job. Thanks for showing us the nice scenery.

[@SpacyMidnight]

Filming this before real sunup was magical:)

[@deener15]

This is by far one of the best pollinator garden tours I've seen on you tube! So much in bloom! So many native plant gardens look like a hot mess, but this looks like an actual intentional garden that just so happens to embrace natives. Very inspiring. I wrote down some names of plants I intend to try. Thank you

[@FlockFingerLakes]

you're most welcome.

[@jeanneamato8278]

Is there a list where we can find what are specialist pollinator plants for different states? I’m in Rhode Island.

[@butterflymuse2707]

Check your local agricultural extension! I took a class through mine (Penn State) about supporting native pollinators and they showed us how to identify the different insects/butterflies and the kinds of plants to plant for them in your region!

[@katherineb6102]

Lovely! It makes me smile...be a red Dahlia in a sea of pastel 😊

[@allonesame6467]

I don't mow and plant with abandon, hand weed only a few noxious interlopers and have been rewarded with clouds of butterflies, moths, skippers, bees of all kinds, wasps of several kinds, beetles, mantids, spiders--Yay! the argiope garden spiders are splendid!--hummingbird moths, sphinx moth, hummingbirds and song birds!--all on 1/8th acre in suburbia! Thank you for getting the word out! It can be done!

[@carolsantos4167]

Thank you for this episode, the garden is stunning! The things you all have done, are amazing! I always look forward to the next video, both here and on your other channel.

[@mathildakd1]

I have been secretly mourning You (contewise) leaving your apartment in Brooklyn since many of your old followers are in apartments ourselves and can't relate to your new beautiful place in the same way.. but six months ago I moved apartments and now have a large beautiful balcony facing one of Stockholms biggest nature reserves Nackareservatet. All of a sudden my passion for pot gardening for our native pollinators have led me to Flock finger lakes and your pollinator garden, meadow and more. Im not practicing any religion as a grownup, but when you wished us a blessed day I immediately burst out in tears 🥹♥️ Much love from Sweden 🍀🪻🐝🍀

[@rayacat1]

I love your meadow gardens. So beautiful and natural. Thank you for including the perfect music to fully appreciate it. 💕 🌼

[@michaelballog]

What a beautiful garden. My wife and I were blown away you forgot a name! Just kidding we know you are human too. BTW someone had to say something about that dress, WOW!! So pretty. Like a Klimt painiting. GREAT job guys. Thanks for the inspiration

[@kreagle]

Such a beautiful garden. Always special when giving back to nature

[@joannecraft-lane8660]

I've been following you since starting this garden, and am happy to see your success! If you want more specialist bees, you might consider Summer Poinsettia plant, aka Fireplant Euphorbia. Mine is covered in LOTS of different bee species. I got the seeds from my grandmother before she passed.

[@ariainman6691]

Beautiful. I am just going to start a Wildflower Garden. Slowly, since I broke my hip. Time heals all. Thank you for sharing.

[@rottenrafflesia]

I’ve been following this since this channel started. Time passed so quickly. This is absolutely beautiful and inspiring. Can’t wait to see how it would look like in the future

[@BearVibes]

I've been watching and following you for quite a while, absolutely love the content. I'm about to do something similar as you did with my lawn. I was wondering if there's is a map, or list, describing your different gardens and what plants are in each ?

[@mechasmccrary1734]

Wonderful video. I like seeing the names of the plants. Thank you!❤️❤️❤️

[@SiSwitzer]

What a beautiful idea to try and get to 100% specialist pollinators! I will have to look into doing the same in my own garden 🤩🥰 very inspiring, thank you for sharing

[@aaabeverages7152]

Good luck. Beautiful cultivars. Ours is zone 8/9 finally after 8 years of struggling we have majority indegienous species.

[@ElisaValkyria]

So beautiful. Thank you for sharing. I love how your videos are filmed and edited

[@CariMachet]

Have you considered making merchandise? T-shirts made in an ethical way would be amazing 🤩

[@lilynoir3939]

I'm not sure if it's the plants themselves, your wealth of information, or the videographer that makes these videos so captivating but I love them!

[@gardenforbirds]

I think it's "yes" "yes" and "yes" 😄

[@sashastarshanti3599]

I'm so inspired by this tour, thank you... I live in a relatively unique environment being a Maritime Forest on the coast, that was very sadly once a wetlands that was drained for development in the early 70's. So, it's very sandy soil here, and buggy, and horribly the town I live in blanket sprays for mosquitoes. But I still try to provide sustenance for all the pollinators and wildlife that I can. I'm slowly building the soil and adding more plants that I see get a lot of interest from the birds, bees, bugs, and butterflies. I love the wild, peaceful, wabi sabi, yet orchestrated, look of your gardens. Thank you for the inspiration and knowledge that you share.

[@bretfurgason7615]

Mountain mint is a wasp magnet. So many amazing wasp, all so chill. (O;

[@SeaTurtle515]

New subscriber. I’m enjoying all your Flock Finger Lakes videos. This pollinator garden is amazing! Thank you for all your zen like inspiration and for you love of the Natural World. 🌿

[@sodiumlight]

just breathtaking! thank you, this is such great inspiration for my future gardens. I love getting the names of each plant, as I often don't know what to look for or what a plant may look like at it's full size (vs a bedding plant baby - or a seed). Also love that dress, amazing colour!

[@suburbanhomestead]

The unexpected sunflowers really worked well with your masterful purplish scheme

[@ThePursuitofJoy]

You guys have put such hard work into this, it's so heart warming to see it all start to pay off. 👁️ am so glad you're spreading the message about our beloved pollinators. Keep up the amazing work! 💚

[@RiafromtheNetherlands]

I love the way you are gardening. Very good job, May you be an inspiration for many people.And I like it that you mention the plants by their Latin names so that People in other countries know where you are talking about.

[@jwhite5396]

Love your garden! I’ve watched a squirrel eat the heads off of volunteer sunflowers.

[@Jessica-kk1cz]

Every time I plant some flowers, the deer eat it - except for the mints, like catmint of course. All my sunflowers got really tall (planted by the squirrels and birds, from the bird feeder) and got decapitated also - right before they bloomed. I blamed the deer. On the plus side, I do appreciate that the deer chomp down my blackberry bed when it gets out of control and I open the fence for them. I get Japanese beetles, so it’s not like I eat the blackberries anyway. Unfortunately we also have a lot of builder fill dirt. At least I have a good container garden on the deck. I need to learn more. I wish I had more time. But I love this channel so I can live vicariously 😊

[@sheilaboomershine2752]

Would you please provide some info about the bird bath and solar fountain? I need to buy one, but can't decide on material type. Thanks!

[@bigsprucefarm]

We are loving how quickly the three of you are transforming your property. I think we'll be asking for plant advice as we move forward with our own farm transformation just down the road. :)

[@lasseel3724]

It's here!❤ I watched the planting videos and just now got a notification for this! It's beautiful.

[@rebekahdempsey3966]

This is so inspiring. Are there resources you recommend for figuring out what species are good in someone else's climate? I would love to find an easy go-to guide for Illinois.

[@shephusted2714]

to really help you want and need to double down and almost think like a farmer - plant a bunch of sunflowers but just like 100 yard swath would be nice and have bigger impacts - intersperse the native strips and pollinator strips - think more out of the box and try to add more diversity on a bigger scale to have more aesthetic and environmental impacts

[@jwhite5396]

Have you seen Piet Oudolf and Roy Diblik’s gardens?

[@Shaden0040]

Pitttttt wire mesh cages around your sunflowers to keep out the froundhogs.

[@missprettyplants7217]

Loved watching this tour and the garden is just beautiful.. I aspire to convert my backyard into this slowly! such a great inspiration ❤

[@MrOj53]

Do you have records with maps, so you can go back and follow the progress? You would have a couple of hives

[@Shaden0040]

Not an early winter, just an early fall due tto the drought, ehich hsd been mosttly world wide in scope.

[@James-ol2fr]

You're probably the person to ask: how do you choose newer cultivars in confidence that they will be beneficial for some bugs? I'm not talking about specialists necessarily, I've just heard from some entomologists that a lot of new plants offer nothing to bugs, even many that are advertised as pollinator plants. People can't just assume because it is a cultivar that comes from a good pollinators plant that it will also be good, but of course there are so many plants out there beyond the original species. Is there something you're looking for, or do you simply research every cultivar you are considering? And do you have a complete list of all your plants here and in your meadow? This is absolutely beautiful. Gorgeous garden and light. -kat

[@georgengan8533]

Thank you for presenting such a DELIGHTFUL video, btw you picked the perfect dress for the settings.

[@wingingitsemiretiredlife2981]

It's just beautiful. I have a sloped side yard that I started planting wildflowers. I loved the look, unfortunately my neighbor did not feel the same I came home one day he ripped everything out and left the mound in a pile for me to take care care of. I guess the wild meadow look is not for everyone. I'm sad because among the weeds was golden rod, rubeckia and shasta daisy's. Yeah so there's that. He was trying to help me I guess. I didn't mind the weeds.He has just lawn and has been removing all his trees so his yard is very boring and well kept, so my yard I'm sure is not his cup of tea. Still not sure how I feel a little intrusive even if he was trying to help me and it did look weedy. I have a bag of wild flower seed I'm afraid to scatter them now.

[@bingbongalong]

I'm sorry your neighbor did that, he totally crossed a line! I'd have a conversation and tell him politely that you don't want him coming into your space and pulling out plants. Maybe let him know about the benefits of a more natural, wild yard so he can better understand your wishes. Best of luck!

[@oliviatomlinson1721]

scatter. the. seeds. even if he meant well (lowkey doubt that), it was indeed super intrusive of him to come into your lot and rip up everything without so much as asking you first. he can cope, plant your wildflowers. i can't wait for your side yard to be a lil pollinator haven!

[@jwhite5396]

Your neighbor really over stepped. He should’ve asked before he stepped onto your property and pulled plants. I let my backyard go, to see what would happen. A lot of goldenrod, asters and burdock came up. The bees love the burdock. I cut it before it goes to seed. My neighbor also told me exactly what he would fix with my yard and asked if my house was paid off.. Boundaries people boundaries! I told him I had different plans and I don’t talk about money unless you’re paying my bills. Some people are so entitled..

[@wingingitsemiretiredlife2981]

He's been mowing my front yard this year for me he has a rider mower so I appreciate his help. I do give him small gifts so I feel like I can't complain now.

[@oliviatomlinson1721]

@@wingingitsemiretiredlife2981 hmm, i do see the predicament, it seems like you feel indebted to him, and understandably so given the context. this is a hard spot to be in :/ however, he also needs to remember that just because he helps you doesn't mean he has a say in how your garden looks. it is very kind of him to help you with his ride on mower but doing so does not give him any say in or right to change how your private property is laid out

[@SMElder-iy6fl]

I cant believe that i started out gardening trying to establish an English garden. As i've gotten older and less able to dig, i've become infatuated with native plants!

[@bazzmond]

Nice garden, its great fun to watch your adventure unfold. Thanks for posting.

[@teresarubel2182]

Very beautiful. I'm planning to move house (possibly country) by end of next year. My garden is terraced of which one strip is dedicated to pollinating space. Nothing as exotic and encompassing as what you have here though. Love your content.

[@sandylee1717]

Absolutely glorious‼️

[@volvosafe4662]

Really like the new calm intro ❤ What do you fertilize with please 🙏?

[@georgekurywczak6766]

Looks awesome! Love what you did. Enjoy.

[@isabelferreiraalves6732]

Beautiful!!!!

[@DarkAngelEU]

We've been noticing the same with the Canadian geese in Belgium, and Fall hit us with tons of rain since last week! Funny how these creatures seem to know better than us what is up ahead.

[@SM-ik8lu]

The outfit is much better🔥

[@MsMrVlog]

I have a very large balcony since this spring and I try to achieve a meadow vibe with lots of pots and native species. I was just trying and I was already overwhelmed with the amount of pollinators that came in. Very soon I will go for bulb and seed shopping. Next year will be even better

[@SequoiaElisabeth]

An inspiring garden. Thanks for sharing.

[@Shaden0040]

Where are your milkweed plants for tthe monarchs?

[@djrichylaurence8991]

Just tore out my back yard as it was five foot high in goose grass, brambles and creepers. Used a tiller to turn it all over one I had removed the top layer. Had many roots to pull out but seems I got most of them. I'm doing pretty much the same and planted it with meadow flowers to promote the ecology of where I live.

[@m.k.9405]

Your pollinator garden is so beautiful. I really like it. I agree, l see a lot of gardens, small plots, side yards etc that are just sort of abandoned, with only some dried up grass growing or just gravel. It's a wasted land and it's looking so sad. ☹️ My sister has a garden planted in the Chicagoland area and this year she barely saw any pollinators. It was a very quiet spring and summer, very concerning 😟

[@sarahhajarbalqis]

👍🎶🌺🇲🇾❤ Love that you refer to all the plants using their botanical names.

[@Raarray]

Loving these. Beautiful job!!

[@Sahiko]

Your garden looks so good! This is so interesting and important to listen to. I really enjoy the way you present facts, flora and fauna. I really need to do my own research and read up on my own local pollinators. As an aside, you see a lot of the perennials you call native being sold commercially here and are sometimes really popular. Of course, "here" being Sweden, that also comes with its own issues regarding invasiveness so while I can objectively really, really like your garden, part of me is too used to seeing some of them take over in these parts. For instance, Lupines recently became (finally) blacklisted for their astounding talent to just spread, and spread, and spread until you have entire fields filled with them.

[@BeaudeMello]

Such a beautiful and inspiring pollinator garden!

[@cefcat5733]

The meadow is how I imagined it would be, as you mentioned your plans and planted billions of bulbs. It must be many times more moving in person, with real morning haze, the smell of Nature, the morning sounds and arising sunlight. It's own kaleidoscope of colors is stiff competition for the upcoming, colorful, shiny feathers of a warm, clucking chicken. Some flowering plants which grow here, on the edges of small grass yards, or along fences, have appeared on your tour. It is cool to know what they are called and what insects they attract. Here, no one has the freedom to create such a huge canvas of color and texture, as you have in the meadow, not even in open areas of Parks. (No wonder that the wild boar rip up what they can find. 🐗🐗🐗🐗) It's not in the contract. That has to change. Poor birds and insects. Yes, tranquility is soothing, but you being there, wherever you guys go, is also calming. Congratulations to Team Flock, for everything and for providing the new Friends of Pollinators and Monarch Teenagers Summer Camp. 🦋🐛🌞

[@PamsPrettyPlants]

It’s beautiful!!! Screenshot a few for the wishlist 😍

[@amyfloyd8211]

Great channel. I've been gardening for quite awhile and found out about a few wonderful varieties here. I'll look for agastache in the future. I live in zone 4a and love Joe Pye Weed in addition to milkweed. Lungwort is nice for the early spring and cedum flowers are supplying nectar this fall.

[@cuero4chic]

Loved it!

[@tg_ny]

In Connecticut, Mountain Laurel grows natively in the woods. It likes to be under trees. It seems to like dappled light or bright shade and soil covered with mulch.

[@gardengatesopen]

It's turning out sooooo nice!!

[@Leavesandwool]

This was SO fun to watch

[@gardenfunwithpaulie]

Love love love your kindness, gentleness and love for gardening and teaching us along the way. 🌷🙏🏻🌷

[@annierampersad3982]

Your meadow is so beautiful.

[@cefcat5733]

You could almost expect to soon see herds of Bison grazing out there. 🐂🐂🐂🐂🐂🐂🐂🐂🐂🐂🐂🐂🐂🐂🐂🐂

[@vintagelady1]

I love your pollinator garden & meadow---after I get my dream rose garden done, I have a perfect area on my property for exactly something like this, & I'm hoping I can get it done before I get too "vintage!" A tip to chase away the gophers/voles/chipmunks from areas where you don't want them---put a couple of dog turds down the hole. It seems to send the message that this is not a good place. There are areas of my property where almost all things are welcome to exist b/c they were here first---and those holes do aerate & loosen our nice (!) clay soil---but NOT under my roses!

[@mariellehabraken3692]

LOVE IT!

[@giardinodialberi8751]

It's great to see the huge transformation in your property; you have put in an impressive amount of time and devotion into your projects. Thanks to Summer for your perennial vigor and perpetual smile. Thanks to Sander for the skillful videography; for example the early morning backlit plants make for a surprising showcase I'd never expect in a pollinator garden. Thanks to overseas Joey for making films that matter. Wishes for continued success to all . . . .

[@twistnshout3031]

Love your garden. It is perfect. My favorite style. Looks absolutely amazing.

[@brigittahoffmann9283]

It looks absolutely stunning... What a gorgeous place it became...is woow...like a wonder garden 😍😘🤗

[@xianzhou4755]

4:52 Pretty sure that's a Half-black Bumble Bee, cool to see one on video, I don't get to see them where I live. So cool that you have chipmunks planting seeds too! I'm going to be planting that Purpletop Vervain at 15:20 too, I saw it at my local botanical gardens attracting Monarchs like CRAZY and can't resist, even though it's not native to my region either. Might I suggest collecting seeds from the existing plants you have if you're going to plant more gardens? It's extremely easy and soothing I find, plus will save you lots. If you sow in the fall, you won't need to water in the spring :). Also, if you're looking to ensure that the pollinators with have food all season long, planting some columbine + golden alexanders + native flowering shrubs for the spring and asters + goldenrods in the fall would do the trick.

[@rons3236]

Sweet!! 💌

[@ddllat]

I love what you are all doing at Flock. But, maybe 'Basic' lawn? 'Boring' sounds disrespectful to the stewards before you.

[@matthewfulk4124]

Beautiful, beautiful pollinator garden!!! I love how attentive you are to the plant, insect, and mammalian world right in front of you. Would you have a list of the 260+ varieties you have there?

[@marleneamaya8588]

Awesome 🌸🌱

[@kylelewis9377]

If you’re looking for more yellow blooms would suggest whichever Oenothera (Evening Primrose) species are native to your region. Many are biennial and would love to fill in those gaps!

[@philjones6728]

Wow! Just beautiful again, this is so uplifting and inspirational. Keep it up it looks great! Love and peace from Cornwall xxx

[@bobmarley6161]

You should try foxgloves... You'll like them plus the bee's love them like crazy...

[@thedude4718]

I've only just started transforming my lawn to a native pollinator friendly environment. It's starting with removing all of the invasive non-native plants like Burning Bush. That's a brutal plant to get rid of.

[@bobmarley6161]

Fantastic... I love planting wildflower seeds.... Yours looks stunning...

[@Murf1802]

Awesome Thank you, I paused video to write down the names of some of the pollinators lol love this concept of bringing pollinators into the landscape!!

[@_JanetLouise]

Beautiful! just beautiful! well done! mahalo for this Inspiration .... just when I need it .... I may soon have the opportunity to assist with the healing of the aina / land' .... ... plant. just plant.

[@rbrown9907]

So lovely. Please excuse me if you have already mentioned this: How do you feed your pollinator garden? Top dress? How please? I am trying to plant for the pollinators in my area too.

[@lechateaudenikki]

How do you plan watering? We have such hot summers but I think I over water. And when I don’t theyrevwiltinh from heat

[@Fabdanc]

I think plant suppliers need to play a bigger part in labeling what specialist pollinators are benefited by certain plants or are host plants. The average person just thinks pollinators = European honeybees and a few butterflies or that nectar is the only important thing. I've even been reading that attracting too many honeybees is actually detrimental to pollinator gardens because they aggressively take nectar, pollen, and can spread parasites... Which is why it's so important to use a variety of plants, in different colors, and different bloom times.

[@harreetteB477]

I want so much to do this, but do not know how to begin. I want to kill all the crabgrass and undesirable weeds in my yard first. Far too many weeds to dig up by hand. I can till the space first, and remove by hand, but how to ensure the majority of weeds are removed before planting flowers.

[@Goodtimes523]

Very nice! Just a tip about your camera shots; facing the sun in the shots may be a cool effect but it is hard on the eyes and reduces detail of the plant. Cheers!

[@SMElder-iy6fl]

Are you growing tall natives like Joe Pye weed, New York ironweed and sunflowers?

[@venpeddapalli7189]

Next owner : You see how nice it looks!! The previous owner neglected the lawn and let the weeds grow all over the place, and I cleaned up the entire lawn, and now you can see the difference.

[@eleanorbarsic8065]

You could bury a length if pipe under your garden to accommodate the electric wires that need to move through r be trenches in. Then you can put in the electric without disturbing the garden.

[@MonoiLuv]

What a stunning garden

[@PlaytendoSwitchGaming]

Omg I love liatris and I need that small head one!! Would you happen to know if it multiplies?