Why pollinator gardens? What’s the problem?
While we love our home in central NJ, it is better known for its highways and parking lots rather than its open spaces and wildflower meadows. Highly disturbed areas are great places for weedy plants to take over, and often these weeds are not great for our local critters like birds and butterflies. Parks, yards, and public land are often kept as landscaped lawns and turf grass and pesticides/herbicides are also not helping the pollinators.
Who cares about pollinators?
Short answer is… we all should!
Bees and bugs may not be everyone’s favorite animals, but they are important for so many things we rely on and unfortunately they are disappearing at an alarming rate. Much of the food we eat and flowers we love depend on pollinators (bees, butterflies, moths, birds, bats, hummingbirds, and more!) their habitats are being destroyed.
Can a small pollinator garden really help?
YES! That is the wonderful thing. While “saving pollinators to prevent agricultural and ecological collapse” may feel like a daunting task, everybody can be part of the solution (and you can get some pretty flowers and herbs out of it, too). In urban and suburban areas, yards and balcony gardens can be really important spaces for pollinators to find a home or make a pitstop for some nectar.
And this doesn’t have to mean turning your whole lawn into a meadow (unless you feel so inclined!). Planting a small pollinator garden in a raised bed or container and being careful about pesticides are used on your property is a great start. You can start seeing monarch butterflies (now considered endangered species) in your yard the FIRST YEAR you plant a few important pollinator plants, like milkweed, in your yard.
If you’re feeling inspired to get involved, click around this site for tips on how to start a pollinator garden of your own or reach out to volunteer at a public garden in Milltown!
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