Make Way for Pollinators, February 2025
Being effective in increasing biodiversity around this densely populated state will take action from all of us. As we deal with the increased drought and flood events, warming temperatures, invasive pathogens and changing growing zones caused by climate change, the stresses and strains on our native biota are great. The protected spaces of our parklands, whether county, state or other conserved lands will not be enough to sustain the species that are facing increased strains on their populations through loss of habitat. As Doug Tallamy advocates though his Homegrown National Park™ movement, we need to creatively use the spaces where we work, play, and live to be effective in conserving biodiversity.
The goal of the Plant for Pollinators program and especially the plant sale, is to inspire and motivate you to make change to your yards to better support native species of all types. Through the program, run in conjunction with our many regional partners, we share concrete steps you can take, with information shared through our webinars, plant for pollinators resources page, and the native plants themselves we have included each year in the sale. From13,650 plants the first year to 25,700 in 2024 and almost 30,000 plugs in this, our fifth year, this sale makes a difference! Each native plug planted can help your yard begin to better meet the needs of our various pollinators, from native bees to butterflies and moths to hummingbirds, these native plants support the foundation of our backyard biodiversity.
In 2024 514 different homeowners and community organizations purchased plants, and they lived in 126 different municipalities. If you think of each native plant garden as offering another feeding stop in the neighborhood, what if all of your neighbors were also planting native pollinator gardens and meadows how much more we could support declining native insects…We would be creating stepping stones of resources, or pollinator pathways, all around the region. So, share this newsletter with a friend, have a watch party to learn more from one of our webinars, consider gifting native plants to neighbors, and spread the word on the value of native plants to all who will listen!
What’s New within the Plant Sale for 2025
We are excited to bring you many added resources, webinars, and especially plants new and old during our fifth annual Plant for Pollinators Program. This year, we will offer thirty-seven native perennial species, with 15 species new to the program in 2025. Old favorites from 2024 that sold out in record time will be making a reappearance, including rattlesnake master, fire pink, spotted beebalm and more.
Feedback after last year’s sale, especially after John Courtneys “Plug into Native Groundcovers” webinar, [contact us to request recording] was increased groundcover offerings. Native groundcovers are ideal lower-growing species that can be used as a “green mulch” or weed suppressing turf alternative. Of our total plants, nine species work particularly well as groundcovers, thriving across a range of garden conditions. New species include plantain leaf pussytoes for example, which thrives in dry, sunny gardens perfect for hell strips or container gardens. Broadleaf sedge is great for dry shade gardens, and the state flower of NJ- the common violet, which grows well in moist soils with almost any light conditions. One groundcover we are especially excited for is wild strawberries, which produce small, edible fruits, and grow well in dry sunny conditions.
These groundcovers are great as a “green mulch” in gardens, suppressing weeds and weed seed germination and shading soils to retain moisture. When it comes to replacing turf, our typical 5-plug unit is not enough to cover a large area, we are piloting new “bulk units” of a select few groundcovers, coming in a 15-plug cost saving unit ideal for larger areas. The species available in bulk units will be common violet, foamflower, Pennsylvania sedge and wild strawberry.
As always, the core of the sale are our garden kits for those who are planting a brand-new garden, expanding existing gardens or just want a well-chosen group of plants selected for a particular garden condition and range of bloom times.
Our kits span a broad range of garden conditions, with plants that thrive from sun to shade, and dry to wet soil. This year we also have a specialty kit, the Powerhouse Kit, filled with workhorse species that provide food for both pollinators and their larvae and have huge impact with little fuss. This kit contains golden ragwort, narrowleaf mountain mint, New England aster, zigzag goldenrod, and spotted beebalm all of which are deer resistant (although hungry deer may still browse). The Powerhouse Kit, along with the rest of the garden kits, comes with a garden manual filled with gardening tips, planting instructions, information about the species, and a newly designed sample garden design.
As with the 2024 program, there will be an online catalog available as a webpage and PDF, full of information about the plants and kits, a planning sheet to help you choose what you want to purchase, and a separate shopping link to purchase the plants. While the shopping link will open at noon on April 1st, the catalog, and many other resources will be available prior to April. Our planning sheet, which includes the full list of species, kits available, and a species list based on garden conditions, is available now!
Webinars to Build your Native Plant Knowhow Ahead of The Sale
Our annual series of webinars to build knowledge and understanding about pollinators, native plants, and gardening with biodiversity in mind has already kicked off. Over 180 registered to hear Basil Camu, author of ‘from Wasteland to Wonder’ speak back on January 29th [to request the recording] Basil’s message of hope for biodiversity conservation encourages homeowners to increase biodiversity in their own backyards with pocket forests and native prairie plantings which store carbon and cleanse water. This idea of changing the focus of the garden ties in well with the message we share during the Plant for Pollinators program- that while switching over from a conventional garden reliant on annuals and ornamentals to natives can initially seem daunting, native perennials once installed take way less maintenance and far fewer inputs to succeed, and have the benefit of helping countless pollinator and other native species!
Our second webinar will take place on Thursday, February 27 at 7pm. Bianca Wright, a member of the Friends of Brightwood park- one of our plant sale partners, a Westfield resident, and a native landscape designer [@habitatsandgardens] will talk about the native plant gardens she has lovingly created in her own backyard. She will share the process, the successes and failures, and the steps taken to install multiple rain gardens and native beds around her suburban home. We encourage you to register for this program, HERE.
March’s webinar will focus on the secret lives of native bees, with enthusiastic entomologist Nick Dorian. There are many great resources to help you learn more about the species you can expect to visit the native plants in your yard. Our native plant catalog information will tell you some of the more common insect species you can expect once your plants bloom, but there are lots of great resources to help you identify the species visiting. Author Heather Holm has several great field guides ‘Common Bees of the Eastern United States’ or ‘Pollinators of Native Plants’. These guides delve deeper into the specialist and generalist species you can expect to visit your native perennials. Here is another great resource to help you to know the native bees of the east. Jarrod Fowler’s list: https://jarrodfowler.com/specialist_bees.html is crammed with helpful information.
Register for ‘All at Once’ today!
This streamlined process guarantees timely reminder emails with the Zoom link for each of the four talks, and ensures you receive all the replay links.
Broadcast Your Love for Pollinators with Pollinator Pathway Signs!
Each year during the Plant for Pollinators sale we offer Pollinator Pathway signs for sale. These are colorful, circular metal signs either 6” or 12” diameter that let you share with your neighbors and the world that you are creating native plant-filled yards to benefit pollinators. The signs show that you are doing your part to support biodiversity locally, but they can also function as friendly conversation starters with your neighbors to share what you are doing in your yard to provide nutrition and habitat and be effective supporting pollinators. You can display the sign, using the predrilled holes to attach to a post or fence with screws or zip ties.
Pollinator Pathway is a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring homeowners all across the United States to create public and privately owned, pesticide-free corridors of native plants to provide nutrition and habitat for pollinators of all types from insects to birds, (and even mammalian pollinators in the west!) The signs are only one way that you can sign your yard, and there are printable signs from Home Grown National Park and signs available from the National Wildlife Federation that homeowners can apply for. More information about other pollinator signs will be available on the resources page of our website, and the signs will be available for $11 and $22 during the sale.
Even the smallest green spaces, like flower boxes and curb strips, can be part of a pollinator pathway, and signs can educate others about why your garden looks the way it does, and share how you are focusing on plants with pollinator benefits such as nectar, pollen and larval food sources. Many of the communities that partner with GSWA to enable the sale to occur participate in the pollinator pathway program. Check and see if your town does here! CLICK HERE.
