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Tanya's avatar

Several years ago I threw out a packet of wildflower seeds in a space I really didn't know what to do with. An abundance of wildflowers bloomed and amongst them were many bee balm plants. The bees and butterflies came in abundance. The following years, the bee balm spread into other parts of my yard and I let them grow freely. There were that many more bees. In amongst the bee balm, I sowed zinnia seeds to vary the color - they require little water and add a plethora of varied color. I would go out every morning and photograph the bees and later in the day, butterflies who came to visit. Never once did I get stung. Then I found out a neighbor of mine had backyard beehives and was wondering where her bees went during the day and then came back and made delicious honey. It's time to meet the neighbor and tell her the good news. Be kind to bees........

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B Carpenter - Thinking Deeply's avatar

My wife and I make our home in the Texas Hill country. Since moving here some years ago we have worked diligently to surround our home with native plants and vegetation with a particular focus on wildflower meadows. Our springtimes and summers are brightened by a profusion of flowers and native biodiversity surrounding our home bringing beauty and joy to ourselves and all our local neighbors. We are members and patrons also of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas and encourage others to visit there to learn about and enjoy our native Texas biodiversity and how to cultivate and enjoy it. My own view is, at least in this area where we live, manicured turf lawns should be relegated to small areas and the rest turned to more ecologically and socially responsible native biodiversity with an emphasis on wildflower meadows.

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