Pollinators are vital to creating and maintaining the ecosystems and habitats that many animals rely on for food and shelter. Many of the world’s crops depend, at least in part, on pollination, and pollinators are responsible for pollinating the majority of flowering plants.
But pollinators are often taken for granted and need more space to thrive. Providing spaces for pollinators, such as bees, butterflies, and other insects and birds, to thrive allows for the continuing growth of other flowers and plants.
At Greenview, we create this space for the pollinators in the Pollinator Garden located east of the Project Grow site.
In 2022, the Pollinator Garden was extended to cover an area of 8000 square feet. The garden will showcase many native flowering plants, grasses, and shrubs. The project will take many years to develop.
In 2022, FOG hired an environmental consultant to prepare a new ¼-acre site using environmentally-friendly methods. The area was tilled, solarized, and covered with wood chips to control non-native plants. In January, the crew planted forb plugs and seeded the area with an annual pollinator mix and cover crop.
The work on the expanded garden area continued in 2023. Friends of Greenview volunteers developed planting strategies, added new mulch paths, and kept weeds in check. In addition to dividing and transplanting existing plants, they introduced several new varieties of forbs and grasses. Over 200 plugs of native flowers and grasses were planted. FOG planted pollinator favorites such as broadleaf mountain mint, prairie dock, and white wild indigo, among others. FOG also purchased and planted several shrubs, including aronia and viburnum.
