Turning the Page for Pollinators: Bed 3

About Bed 3
This is the most visible part of Southeastern's property that people see for 5-10 seconds as they drive back and forth on Elting Road and as they leave the Lowe's driveway. Southeastern staff and visitors see Bed 3 for 1-2 minutes as they walk towards the front door of Southeastern. The wall of junipers lining the sidewalk has always made this piece of lawn inaccessible; its primary function is as a shortcut to the mailbox on the road. For these reasons - visibility, not actively in use - this seemed like an ideal location to convert the lawn to wildflowers.

The original plan was to install a mix of shrubs and grasses to replace the junipers bordering the sidewalk entrance and to install a free-standing wildflower meadow. However, the design plan has shifted slightly. Once the junipers along the sidewalk were removed, staff enjoyed the open feeling of the approach to the building. They were hesitant to exchange one wall of plants for another, and they also liked the idea of walking through a meadow to get to the office. So, the revised design plan is to install a low ground cover at the edges of the sidewalk to maintain the openness and shift the wildflower meadow closer to the sidewalk. We will also leave a path in the meadow to preserve the shortcut to the mailbox.
Left: Bed 3 in October 2024

Practical Notes: This bed gets full sun. The watering hose will reach as far as the barberry in the foreground. The leaves from the large shade tree do not affect this area. Ground cover must be salt tolerant. Lawn crew confirmed they can maintenance-mow the meadow area.