Life of Semper Pi

It’s good to be ambitious but you also have to be realistic. The original goal was to have all 6 quarter round parkways developed as part of the Semper Pi project this summer. Don’t think that will happen. For a relatively small space, it’s surprising what the resource requirements are in terms of time, labor, and costs. And it takes quite a lot of plants! Our most recent SP, SP Lawler SW, contains 50 plants. Some of the plants were started from seed indoors in early spring, some were transplanted from existing neighbor gardens, some were purchased, and some were direct sown from seed.

Acquiring sufficient plants is really the biggest challenge for Semper Pi. One “from scratch” SP install per year is probably the most reasonable. Live and learn!

In any case, based on the various previous states of the quarter rounds, we now have 4 out of 6 Semper Pi’ed. Here is a summary of these 4:

SP Lawler SE

  • Previously fully developed but few plants were pollinator friendly
  • Existing single common milkweed stalk in 2020 spread to 4 stalks in 2021
  • Added additional hosts plants – common milkweed and rue
  • Added nectar plants
  • Added native plants

SP Lawler SW

  • Previously undeveloped
  • Prepped site for planting: grass removed, soil rototilled, dug, and turned, compost added
  • Site layout created
  • Pollinator friendly plants installed with a focus on natives
  • Turned misfortune into opportunity by using fallen tree limbs as landscape edging
  • Educational resources and art projects accommodated

SP Leclaire NE

  • Previously developed, plants died out with time, one volunteer milkweed plant
  • Added various host plants
  • Added various nectar plants
  • Added native plants

SP Leclaire SW

  • Undeveloped site fully realized as a pollinator friendly, native plant environment by the Sladeks in early 2020
  • Plants continue to fill in, multiply, and successfully attract pollinators

If you build it they will come. Let’s hope so. The drought seems to have affected the butterfly populations this summer. At least we can support the ones that do flutter through our neighborhood.

Semper Pi Gallery

One Reply to “Life of Semper Pi”

  1. Fellow Berteau Ave neighbor across from portage park. We’d love to plant a garden this spring and would love a list of plants to use. How do we get involved?

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