This week, the weather has been on and off. However, I did get the measurement of the yard that I intend to do the transformation. I have also started working on the data I have collected so far.
First thing first, I drew based on the observation. This will be the starting blueprint moving forward. I also did some background research based on the data that I have in hand right now.
Important data:
Under the USDA planting hardiness zone, my town is located at 6b. Every gardener should know our growing zone because success highly depends on it. USDA zones help us understand the best types of plants to grow in our locations. It also helps to determine when to start the seeds!
Based on the previous data from weather.gov, the last frost of 2021 was April 5 and the first frost of 2021 was Nov 4, and for 2020, the last frost was May 9, and the first frost was Oct 18. I will be taking the middle ground of these two years for this project. Assuming the last frost of this year will be around the week of April 15. Keep in mind this is an assumption based on these previous two years’ temperatures. This date will help to plan out the rest of the growing season. If I can start indoor seedings a month early, I will have enough time to grow.
I have also found out that one of the shrubs is Viburnum. Why is this a great discovery? Viburnum is a host for Spring Azure!
https://www.naba.org/chapters/nabanj/butterflies/spring_azure.html
And Spring Azure is native to New Jersey! YEAH~, ~~~~~ I remember I saw this butterfly before. I was wondering what type of butterfly was it.
I am so excited about this discovery. I did not know that my backyard already has great shrubs for these beautiful butterflies.
I also collected the sunrise and sunset data. While I can be specific with the data, my personal observation is that the Sun rises around 7 am and is set around 5 pm. As we are approaching Spring (hopefully soon), the daylight is getting longer.
I am researching the plants that will do best in our climate and sunlight exposure. I did some basic research on 6b: Tickseed sunflowers are good ideas. Bees and butterflies love them. Yellow Marsh Marigold is great too. For vegetables, Arugula is an excellent choice for our region.
Just in case, our location is filled with dandelions in early Spring. So some “wild food” for wild creatures are taken care of 🙂 Many see dandelions as “pests,” but I think that they are great tiny flowers. Also, it is incredibility delicious (at least my bunny believes so.) Maybe I should work on a small information about dandelions.