Habitat assessment by laddybugg

laddybugg's picture
Assessment results
Answer givenOur advice
Are there areas with bare ground and very few plants?: 
No
Consider increasing the amount of bare ground. Ground nesting bees are more likely to nest where there is bare ground.
Are there areas with sandy loamy soil?: 
No
Consider increasing the amount of sandy loamy soil. Ground nesting bees often prefer sandy loamy soil as it is easier to dig and drains well. Sandy loam is made up of 10-50% silt or organic matter, 50-75% sand, and less than 20% clay. So if you have 15% sand in your existing soil, you will need to add enough sand to make it at least 50%. If you have 30% clay, you will need to add enough of the sand or compost to bring that percentage down to less than 20%.
Does your nest block have less than 20 holes?: 
No
Create a nest block with fewer holes. This will reduce parasitism and make it more likely bees will use it.
Did you clean or replace your nest block in the last two years?: 
No
Clean your nest block. You can just run a stick in each hole. This will reduce parasitism.
What is the main type of vegetation in the area you are evaluating (park, garden, yard, farm...)?: 
Mix of native and non-native plants
Increase the amount of native plants in your yard.
How much of the whole yard, park, farm or green space is garden space or wild/natural vegetation?: 
A lot. More than 40%.
You are doing a great job managing for pollinators!
How many different pollinator counts will your contribute this year?: 
Ten or more.
We'd love to see pollinator counts from any of the plants in your garden as many times as you can contribute. Thanks for contributing!

Score: 180 (out of a possible 210)

I have native trees, hazelnut, sweet gum, papaw, crabapple, oak, hawthorne, red bud, persimmon, dogwood, wild plum, june berry. I have native spring wildflowers: spring beauty, celendine poppy, bluebells, dutchmans britches, trillium, violet, may apple, bleeding heart, wild geranium, golden alexanders, blue-eyed grass. Shrubs: elderberry, osier dogwood, viburnum. Vines: native honeysuckle, trumpet creeper, passion flower. Summer flowers: mountain mint, prickley pear, echinacea, grey-headed coneflower, butterfly weed, common milkweed, ox-eye sunflower, ox-eye daisy, cup plant, beebalm, monarda, blazing star, spiderwort, woods sunflower, clover, larkspur, joe-pye weed, ironweed. yarrow, coreopsis, sun drops, wild senna, partridge pea, scarlet catchfly,. Fall flowers, New England aster, heather aster, blue aster, pink turtlehead, swamp milkweed, arrowhead, white snakeroot, mist flower, throughwort.

I have wood piles, three bird nest-boxes that I clean out at the end of summer.; a pond

Which garden or space are you describing?: 
livinggarden
How large is your yard?: 
600.00
square yards
Are there low traffic areas where the soil is not turned over, tilled or plowed?: 
Yes
Are there areas dead wood, brush piles or snags present?: 
Yes
Are there areas with pithy twigs (elderberry, cane fruit, sumac, etc…)?: 
Yes
Do you have native bunchgrasses?: 
Several areas or one large area.
Are there bee nesting blocks?: 
Yes
Is your nest block near a landmark like a rock?: 
Yes
How much of the garden is planted with flowering annual or perennial plants (including shrubs, vegetables and trees)?: 
Most (more than 75%)
Are the flowering plants that you have pollinator friendly?: 
Most (more than 75%)
How many flowers in your garden bloom in spring?: 
10 or more
How many flowers in your garden bloom in fall?: 
10 or more
How many flowers in your garden bloom in summer?: 
10 or more
Are flowers planted in clumps?: 
Yes.
How much mulch is on the ground?: 
Some.
Is there fresh, clean water always available with a perch that bees could stand on and drink?: 
Yes
Does the garden use herbicides?: 
No.
Are pesticides used in the garden?: 
No