Pollinator and Butterfly Gardens
Idle Hour: A Pollinator Garden Neighborhood
In spring of 2013, the Idle Hour Neighbors Alliance planted the traffic median at St. Ann Drive with native flowers and ornamental grasses. In the spring of 2014, we added the median at St. Margaret Drive to our beautification project. Both gardens are designed to provide habitat for pollinating insects and are also Monarch butterfly way stations. Our board has received many compliments for these efforts, as well as two awards. It seems that neighborhood residents really appreciate beautiful plantings.
So, we thought, why stop with the medians? There is so much open space on our properties, and quite possibly home owners would like to continue what our Neighborhood Association has begun. Perhaps people who live in Idle Hour would like to make beautiful and environmentally friendly plantings of trees, shrubs and flowers in their front yards where everybody can enjoy them. And these flower gardens would support bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects just like our medians do.
With this idea in mind, the landscape committee of the Idle Hour Neighbors Alliance has begun a project that will launch us on the path toward becoming a pollinator garden neighborhood.
If you want to participate in the Pollinator Garden Project, here is how we will help you get started:
> We will discuss with you where in your front yard you can reasonably create a planting bed and we will help you lay it out. If there is enough direct sun light on your bed, it can be a Monarch way station
> We will provide a list of suitable plants for your project
> We will donate 5 free perennial plants to your project
Here is what we are asking you to do:
> You will buy additional plants and do the planting, watering and maintenance. If you need more help than we provide, we will suggest professional landscapers who are familiar with the landscape concepts we are promoting.
> Most importantly, you and your neighbors will enjoy your new garden.
If you are interested in participating, or want more information, please contact
Beate Popkin, chair of the IHNA Landscape Committee
Email: beatepopkin@gmail.com