Planting New Seeds for Spring: Restorative Landscaping Recap

The greenhouse had some work done this Fall, which is particularly helpful for us right now! In order to have seedling to plant in the Spring, the group had to start our seeds now. It took some some tidying up of the space to clean up from past classes and having items "stored" there. But the students made quick work of the process and cleared a big space on the tables to set up. They were able to find many of the seed trays we needed, which made the students glad that we made use of materials we already had. The seeds we planted are all native species- mainly bee balm, cardinal flower, purple aster and butterfly weed. These will go into our pollinator garden in Hoyt parking lot and other places around campus.

One interesting fact is that species like this need to experience the cold before they can successfully germinate. Starting the seeds in the greenhouse is beneficial, because we can keep the temperature in there around 45 degrees F. We wet the seeds to mimic early Spring rains and will keep the temperature from getting too cold, but also too warm. Then we will be able to raise the temperature a little bit to get the seedlings growing a little ahead of schedule. We are hoping for lots of sprouts in the Spring!