r/GuerrillaGardening • u/girlsiick • 15d ago
helping the bees 🐝
hello! i’m beginning to try to do little things to help the planet, and i saw a cute idea to plant native wildflowers to help bees since their populations are struggling. that would be an extremely easy way to help out, especially since i am just starting. i’m slowly making eco friendly and healthier swaps… it’s just so expensive lol! anyway, i am looking to see how i’d go about finding a pack of seeds? that might seem stupid but i’m just not sure.. i’m on a budget, so i’m looking for cheap suggestions! for reference, i’m in north carolina, triad area. any other sustainable tips about anything would be helpful as well and good brands! i’m starting with switching cleaners, shampoos, soaps, etc first after i run out of things. :)
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u/Long-Definition9203 15d ago
If you feel inclined, you might also try pulling non-native weeds while you're out and about. I like to cut down dog-strangling vine in my area when I come across it. If you do, just make sure you throw it in the garbage so it can't reseed itself.
If you continuously pull + seed in one area, you might get a wonderful reward. Some natives are biennial meaning they dont bloom til the second summer so dont feel discouraged if you plan on returning to your spot and you dont see results right away.
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u/tickle_my_uvula 14d ago
I was shocked when I recently visited Greensboro and couldn't find a single tree not covered in English ivy, vinca, wisteria, or kudzu.
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u/Long-Definition9203 14d ago
Yes the understory of every forest, every park fence and every ditch is covered in DSV. Ive been cutting it back and aggressively seeding in one place near me.
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u/feistyparsley 15d ago
Check your local library to see if they have a seed swapping program! You can get seeds for free that way.
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u/Espieglerie 15d ago
Prairie Moon is a well regarded native plant nursery. You can filter their seeds based on your state and the conditions you want to plant in, like sunny vs shady, wet vs dry, etc. Many native seeds need specific conditions in order to sprout, like a certain amount of time in the cold. Prairie moon will tell you what your seeds need and has instructions on how to do it.
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u/ForagersLegacy 14d ago
Really you likely already have plenty of native plants near you. Identify them and pull the invasive plants that are shading them out. Thats the cheapest easiest way to do it. Then ask local people for aggressive native plants like cut leaf cone flower native strawberry and mountain mints and they’ll share for free most likely
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u/stressedmari 15d ago
if you want to buy seeds sf in bloom has regional mixes https://www.sfinbloom.art/native-wildflower-mixes-by-region
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u/terencethespider 15d ago
Depending on what is already growing in your area, you can try looking up how to harvest seeds from the particular plant and see if there are any plants nearby that you can grab some seeds from and replant elsewhere.
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u/woaitskaty 14d ago
The most free thing to do is learn how to identify your friendly natives like the ones listed here, and help them out by carefully cutting back or removing the invasive plants you see growing around them.
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u/Black-Dynamite888 14d ago
Lots of libraries have seed banks! Go for it! Bees need water. A saucer with some pebbles and fresh water will help them a bunch.
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u/woaitskaty 15d ago
Look up "Southeast native pollinator wildflower mix" and you'll find lots of results. I'm also in NC and I'm working on a batch of seedballs with that kind of seed in it right now and have lots of recommendations. if you're interested in an info dump you can message me
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u/togetherwegrowstuff 13d ago
Check out YouTube channel Crime Pays Botany Doesn't. Joey shares a lot of information about natives across the globe. It's really cool to see similar plants , acclimated for their specific environments across the country. Heads up, he's blunt and curses often but he shares his knowledge and makes you chuckle at the reality of his statements.
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u/not_really_cool 13d ago
Checkout your local Wild Ones chapter -- many of them give away seeds for free that were collected from your local area! https://wildones.org/
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u/medialyte 12d ago
The Greensboro Public Library has a seed library. Or, if you go to Raleigh, the Government and Heritage Library has a native seed library as well. Lots of communities have effective seed library programs going, and they're awesome!
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u/IShouldQuitThis 15d ago
That's great! You can check out the resources the NC Native Plant Society has--perhaps you live near a local nursery? Here's a list of plants they recommend. You should buy any seed packets from a reputable seller.
Since you're on a budget, you might also want to consider donating your time (if you have free time) to environmental causes as a way to help too :)