A Pollinator Paradise
Rhonda Fleming Hayes is the author of Pollinator Friendly Gardening, and we were able to visit her Minneapolis garden on the first morning of the fling.
As if to provide testimony in support of her expertise, the garden was full of buzzing and fluttering creatures. Here’s a Red Admiral Butterfly on some Liatris.
Like any conscientious author, Rhonda had copies of her books for sale. And of course I had to buy one.
Her front garden is cleverly designed. Just enough lawn to suggest conventionality, accompanied by borders packed with plants.
Lush but not out of control. Sorry we were too late to see the poppies in bloom. The sun and shadow made photography out front a bit challenging.
Anyway, the most wonderful part of the garden was on the side of the house. Here were raised beds and containers overflowing with herbs and vegetables accompanied by annual and perennial flowers. The raised beds were constructed rust-colored steel.
Abundant cherry tomatoes in a container with white petunias.
Cucumbers and cabbage and cosmos, oh my!
How fortunate that so many herbs, like the dill above, have beautiful flowers that are pollinator favorites.
Or this blue Borage, which looks so good with the pink Yarrow.
And room was made for this wonderful water feature.
We visited one other garden on that first morning of the fling (we saw a lot of gardens, didn’t we?). This was the garden of Donna Hamilton, who until very recently was a designer and producer of handmade Christmas ornaments.
There was an unmistakable warmth and softness to this tiny garden. Paths of wood chips divided rectangular gardens overflowing with flowers and foliage.
A place to sit and take it all in, while surrounded by flowers.
So much more from the Minneapolis fling still to come.
gardeninacity 
Suggest a more scholarly book on pollinators, Heather Holm’s POLLINATORS OF NATIVE PLANTS.
I will definitely check out the Heather Holm book. Still, there’s a place for books that cater to us less scholarly types.
Disappointing recommendation. Suggest Heather Holm’s book, POLLINATORS OF NATIVE PLANTS.
Sent from my iPad Kathy Jones
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Oh dear, I’m always disappointing someone. Heather’s book sounds good, though.
I am so happy you saved some of these gardens for this time of year when we have more time to sit back and enjoy the show. I love the controlled chaos of these gardens.
I prefer the term “mellow anarchy”.
Another lovely Minneapolis garden…I especially loved all the vegetables and flowers growing together in abundance..
I admired that as well.
What lovely gardens, so different but both charming. It’s good to look at flowers, especially now that winter has arrived here with a vengeance!xx
I intend to spend a lot of time looking at photographs of flowers over the next few months.
They’re saying we might see snow on Sunday so the flowers and veggies were nice to see. I can’t wait until I can see them all in person again.
Only in books and catalogs for the next six months or so.
I loved those two gardens as they each encompassed the style of gardening I love the most – casual, abundant but at the same time orderly.
They certainly did combine those two qualities.
Lovely pictures. I really like the mix of veggies and flowers. Maybe I’ll try some of it in my raised bed next year?
Why not give it a try?
So nice to see summer flowers in the darker days of November, you certainly saw some beautiful gardens.
Yes, we did!
Are you planning on attending the Fling next year?
Yes! Any chance you will be there?
Susie asked me and I would like to come.
These gardens are just lovely. With snow on the way today, I am already dreaming of next spring.
So nice to see all these colorful blooms on this blustery November day.
Yes, isn’t it?
Both of these gardens have a lot of character. Nice to see some of the Fling gardens.
An interesting trip you went on. Enjoyed the photos!
Thanks.