I moved from Michigan to St Paul, MN in January, and I now live in a small apartment without even a balcony to garden on. A few weeks ago, I found out that one of the hospitals I work at has raised garden beds in the "Serenity Garden," that staff can rent for the season. It is too late for wintersowing, and I don't know if I'm allowed to plant perennials, since different people might use a particular site from one year to the next. But, I can still plant annuals to support all the pollinators. So, I rented two 8'x8' beds and weeded and seeded them yesterday. I used seeds I had left over from seed-saving in my old garden back in MI. Plus, I purchased some individual annual plants from Mother Earth Gardens, which is an organic nursery in Minneapolis. Unfortunately, when I went to water all my hard work, I found out they only turn the water to the spigot on when you request it. It hadn't been turned on yet this season, and when they did turn it on, there was some sort of large leak near the central water source, so they had to turn it off. It probably won't even get looked at until Monday, at the earliest, so my plants and seeds are sitting unwatered in near 80 degree weather. The seeds will just be slowed down, but I bought three lantana and three salvia for the hummingbirds, and they are going to have some serious transplant shock.

But, if it gets fixed and I get germination, I will be growing:

Tall purple Zinnias

Verbena boniarensis

Monarda citriodora, punctata, and tinctoria

Larkspur

Italian White and Autumn Beauty Sunflowers

Bright Lights Cosmos

Yellow Snapdragons

Rudbeckia hirta

Calendula

and probably more that is escaping me. I will be looking for some tropical milkweed, but would only grow it from seed, or from an organic source to ensure there are no pesticides, systemic or otherwise.

Ohpefully, the water issue will be resolved soon.

Martha