Big thanks to all who worked at making Glenelm a welcoming place for pollinators this summer! Enjoy these photos and write-ups shared with GeNA following our webinar on bee-friendly gardening.
Above: “We’ve been planting yellow flowers to attract bees and it worked immediately!!!” — Sandy B.
Above: “Just a few pictures of our pollinators here on Talbot Ave. We moved here 4 years ago and transformed our front into a historical front garden full of flowers and so many beneficial bugs. We also have water available for all during dry spells and for fun I raise black swallowtail caterpillars and release the butterflies after they emerge.” –Deanna S.
Above: “In order to make my garden pollinator friendly, I have chosen plants that bloom from early spring to late fall thus providing food on a continuum for pollinators.
The first plants to come up are several types of blooming ground cover that attract pollinators (like vinca major and lamium varities) then the peonies and poppies start, followed by the milkweed, bachelor buttons, other poppy varieties, day lilies, hosta blooms, false sunflowers, coneflowers, bee balm, balsam impatiens, gooseneck loosestrife, sunflowers and then the asters arrive in late August well until hard frost.
Besides planting flowers that provide food from spring to fall, I have planted red clover on my boulevard, have a bird and pollinator watering dish, and a bee/butterfly combination house for loner bees and butterflies.
I also cultivate swallow tail butterflies from when their eggs are laid on my dill until they emerge from their cocoons … increasing their population and protecting them from predators.” — Sherryl K
Above: “My family was given a milkweed plant to add to our garden. Lucky for us, there was a monarch butterfly chrysalis attached to it. We kept the plant safe on our porch while on ‘chrysalis watch’ for several days, and marveled at how the chrysalis looked like a magical gem. And even better, we were there at the moment as the butterfly emerged, watched it stretch and dry its wings, and then said goodbye as we released it. It was truly miraculous thing to witness! We can’t wait to see if we get more next year.” — Emma DW
These two videos below were created by Rodj D and his family, who had a “monarch nursery” and welcomed many butterflies into the world this summer!