SEEDS TO CREATE A POLLINATOR PARADISE
May has flown by here at Steep Hill and one of the big tasks we tackled this month was our driveway reintegration project.
There used to be a very steep driveway that ran from the top of the hill straight down to the cottage. We used it (cautiously) for a year but ultimately decided to delete it and create a new, winding pathway to use instead.
Since then, we’ve been in the process of working to reintegrate the space into the woods and natural setting. Watch the full process in our latest video (spoiler alert: it didn’t go smoothly!).
Last year we had great success with a similar slope that we converted into a pollinator paradise and we’re using that same approach on the driveway reintegration.
Below we’re sharing the three layer seed mix we’ve used in case you’ve got a patch of dirt that you’d like to bring back to life too.
Here’s how the project started this spring:
Here’s how it was mid way:
& here’s how it’s looking now:
THESE ARE THE SEEDS WE’VE USED TO CREATE A POLLINATOR PARADISE IN TWO LOCATIONS AT STEEP HILL
We start with a base of white clover. This helps to enrich the earth, provide an elegant cover and serves as a retention layer to help hold the soil in place.
We then add a layer of wildflower suitable for the zone we live in (4b), the sun profile of the area (in this case part shade) and with resistance to any wildlife that might be interested (in our case deer).
We’ve also had success with this mix, in full sun.
We top that mix with an extra layer of lupin seeds because they seem to really thrive in relatively arid soil. The blooms are gorgeous and the deer don’t destroy them!
We hope that’s helpful if you’re working on returning a developed section of your property into a wild space again. It takes some effort to get it started and patiences to let it get established but in just a couple of summers it’ll be as if it was always there.