As we near the end of August, rivers are high, the ground is very moist and the landscape is unusually lush as excess water makes its long journey through the watershed to the Gulf of Mexico. After two years of seasonal drought, the rains have replenished the earth. Climate change and its little sibling “weather” are busy rearranging the landscape, creating winners and losers.
I waited a year to write this blog post about the sunflower plot at the Crop Walk at the Farm at the Arb after observing the many bees and pollinators it attracts. When I visited this year, I could see that it was about three weeks behind last year's crop, only a few lucky sunflowers had bloomed and developed seeds. Luckily for pollinators, like these three different brown-belted bumblebees, the gardens at the Farm are full of alternatives.
Brown-belted bumblebees use flowers to gather pollen, snooze and drink nectar.
Native forbs and other decorative sunflowers are in full bloom. Bumblebees need nectar for carbohydrates and pollen for protein. Pollen is also used to feed the emerging bumblebee brood in the nest.
Cellophane bee, longhorn bee and calligrapher fly gathering pollen.
The Prairie Garden, located opposite the Bennett-Johnson Prairie, showcases a wide range of plants found in the neighboring Prairie in a condensed space that illustrates how home gardeners can incorporate pairings of native prairie plants in their own gardens. Here, visitors can find plants and pollinators conveniently gathered in one sweet spot.
Bottle gentian, pale Indian plantain leaf and Gaura lindheimeri ‘whirling butterflies’
Prairie plants that require more moisture are on display at the entrance to the garden, and the sound of running water has a cooling effect on an early fall morning. Bottle gentian is in bloom now, waiting for a bumblebee who can pollinate it.
Great golden digger wasp, spotted horsemint, black digger wasp
Wasps are also important pollinators in the prairie, and the great golden digger wasp is busy on the small flowers of spotted horsemint. The true flowers are tucked under the showy, pink bracts of this monarda species.
Thankfully, Mother Nature is adaptable to the ebb and flow of water in the landscape. Every year the prairie looks different; some plants struggle while others shine. Stop by the Prairie and Prairie Garden on your next visit to view these wonders up close and at the Tashjian Bee and Pollinator Discovery Center to learn more about pollinators.
Zan Tomko is an artist, horticulturist and a Minnesota Master Naturalist. More information about the program is available at www.minnesotamasternaturalist.org.
Cover photo by Aldo Abelleiro