u/koreanforrabbit

It bums me out every time I read a comment that says something like, "Pfft, it's just chert".

Yeah, maybe it is just chert. But that doesn't mean it's not cool, or interesting, or just plain pretty. Something about that rock inspired someone to pick it up, and even if it is just chert, it's still the product of an extremely badass geological process. Have some respect.

Anyone got any cool chert they want to show off?

I won a native garden courtesy of our amazing local native plant nonprofit (I'm desperate to shout them out, but I don't think they've made the public announcement yet), which we'll be picking up tomorrow. The kit is a 48 plant rain garden, selected after a visit and consultation with a member of the group.

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I made it very clear in my contest submission essay and during the site visit that I'm not what one would call a *skilled* or *knowledgeable* gardener. And that's part of the point. I'm a teacher, and intend to use the garden for various activities and investigations as well as make it available to other teachers - we live in a particularly wild and beautiful part of the country, and I want these children to love this place. The other goal of the garden is to demonstrate that native plants and pollinators will flourish because these are the conditions they're adapted to. Like, even Mrs. K can get them to grow. They must *really* like it here.

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All that to say:

Does anyone have any general - or spiritual - advice? Things you wish you'd known starting out? Things you wish you'd considered early on that would have made things easier later? Words of encouragement? Words of great encouragement? Also, can someone please explain what kind of mulch I'm supposed to be using?

Edit: One more question - would it be taboo to put one of my peony bushes in a corner of the garden with a sign that says something like "non-native, but not invasive"? Because I love those damned things and their big, stupid flowers.

Edit 2: OMG you guys are amazing. I have my binder out and am writing this down because I'm old as hell.

Edit 3: For those wondering about soil quality, the person who conducted the site visit described it as "loamy", which I've since learned is good. We're within walking distance of Lake Superior, so there was some concern that it would be mostly clay, but I'm also near the bottom of an incline, so their guess is that my neighbors' good soil has been washing down the hill and collecting in my yard for years.