Pollinator-Friendly Garden, Part 2 of 2

Pollinator Park is part of the EU’s campaign to raise attention to the alarming decline of pollinators. One solution that we can all implement, to help our vital pollinator-citizens, is to create pollinator-friendly spaces! For those living in an apartment or who have only a small yard, creating a do-it-yourself Pollinator Pot is a great idea!

Ecological horticulturist and designer Anna Fialkoff shares some tips. “My thriller is asclepias tuberosa, which is butterfly weed. This plant is a larval host to the monarch butterfly.” “So, you’ve shown us the thriller, the filler. Now let’s talk about the spiller.” “So, a great spiller that people don’t often think of is coral honeysuckle, which is a native honeysuckle vine, as opposed to a shrub.”

Lawns have kept too many of us out there spraying, mowing, re-seeding, and waiting for no good reason. First, stop spraying your backyard. Eventually, other plants will start to populate the area. Try researching the term “Xeriscapes,” and you’ll be amazed by the varieties that can fill a dry yard that doesn’t naturally support grass. Or, you know that shady area that always seems to end up sparse and patchy? Instead, a shade garden could be a much better fit.

Even more ways you can help your local pollinator-citizens are available. Maybe you saw an old birdbath that someone would be willing to discard? Simply upcycle it! Using some basic building and natural materials you may already have around the house, you can make a hotel for bees or other insects. By adhering to a fully vegan lifestyle, you’ll help to rewild massive areas of land currently used by the animal-people livestock industry, reduce greenhouse gas emissions that are creating global warming, decrease pollution, and protect soil and pollinator habitats.