Pollinator garden plant list and design
All the garden plants were chosen from Dr. Robert Gegear’s plant list based on his research on the preferred plants of at-risk bumblebees and butterflies. The 33 species will provide nectar and pollen from early spring to late fall. Unlike honey bees, our native bees do not make or store honey to be able to ride through periods of low floral resources. Only queens survive the winter, hibernating underground or in plant stems or tree hollows.
The bottom half-circle of the garden is planted primarily with low-growing plants that will tolerate the spreading canopy of the existing redbud tree saplings. Taller plants and those preferring sunnier conditions were planted higher on the knoll. Most of the plants selected prefer medium to dry conditions. A few plants that prefer more moisture were included because of the exceptional resources they provide. Plants were generally planted in one or two clusters of nine square feet or more, based on Dr. Robert Gegear’s research.
Several shrubs and larger, spreading plants –prairie willow, beach plum, and purple flowering raspberry –were planted behind the fenced garden. The fence is to protect the garden from rabbits, at least until the plants mature and can withstand browsing.
Three types of native grasses are interspersed in the garden as host plants of butterflies and to provide additional habitat diversity and visual interest.
Plants included in the Cold Spring Park Pollinator Garden
Volunteer plants are most likely from extra seeds inadvertently in a pot with another plant from a vendor.
Leonardo DaSilva (annual sale)
Cavichio’s Greenhouses (wholesale only)
GrowNative Massachusetts (annual sale)