|
|
|
|
On my annual trip to Colorado to see my family, I decided to pack in as much prairie as I could on my way home. I took the photo above at the German Methodist Cemetery Prairie Preserve in Lake County, Indiana, described by the Nature Conservancy as the "finest black soil prairie remnant in not only the state but in all of the midwest." Its 2.7 acres with over 200 species of native plants is kept behind a chain link fence, with a cemetery on one side and corn fields on the other. From where I stood outside the fence, I could see goldenrod, bee balm, rattlesnake master, and above them all, the graceful compass plant (Silphium laciniatum).
|
As the climate warms, grasslands hold tremendous potential to sequester carbon because they store carbon in their deep root systems while forests lose the carbon they store in trees overtaken by wildfire. And yet, grasslands are the most endangered ecosystem in the country, plowed under for agriculture and development.
|
Many of the plant species that we include in pollinator gardens are grassland species. As scientists and land managers work hard across the country to preserve and restore grasslands, we have the power to provide that habitat for birds and insects in our own yards. Journeywork is here to help you make that as easy as possible. Let me know if you would like our help.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
top left: meeting author of Prairie Up, Benjamin Vogt, at HQ, his front yard, in Lincoln, Nebraska middle left: Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Sanctuary outside of Lincoln bottom left: tallgrass prairie restoration at Neal Smith NWR in Prairie City, Iowa right: echinacea and lead plant plus many other species in Benjamin Vogt's front yard bottom: another view of the German Methodist Cemetery Prairie Preserve
|
|
|
|
|
'Tis the season for not-a-lawn parties
|
|
|
A monarch appeared on cue for our July 20 not-a-lawn party in a Jamison front yard. Attendees enjoyed exploring the blooms in the front yard as well as the Pollinator Palooza bed in the side yard, both in their second season.
|
Flowers planted densely in the front yard include butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa), eastern bee balm (Monarda bradburiana), spotted bee balm (Monarda punctata), narrowleaf mountain mint (Pycnanthemum tenuifolium), black-eyed susans (Rudbeckia hirta), and dense blazing star (Liatris spicata).
|
|
Many thanks to our host, Cris, for welcoming us into her yard!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
We installed a pollinator garden in a Lansdale yard at the beginning of June. It is in a sunny spot and includes dense blazingstar (Liatris spicata), aromatic aster (Symphiotrichum oblongifolium), two species of goldenrod, butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa), and threadleaf bluestar (Amsonia hubrichtii). We are having a not-a-lawn party there on Saturday, August 16 from 4:00-6:00--come check out the garden! RSVP to paige@journeywork.org.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pics from Pollinator Palooza gardens
|
|
|
Thank you, Kathleen, Ruth, and Theresa, for sharing images of your Pollinator Palooza gardens in their second year!
|
We welcome photos from all Pollinator Palooza gardeners--each of your plots means a lot to the pollinators in your neighborhood.
|
The fall Pollinator Palooza pickup will be Saturday, September 13 from 9:30-11:00 at Gwynedd Friends Meeting.
|
|
Sign up for next spring begins September 1--
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Help us weed!
Learn about native plants while you make more room for them to grow!
|
- Saturday, August 9 from 8:00-9:30am at Gwynedd Friends Meeting
- Tuesday, August 12 from 7:00-8:00pm at Plymouth Meeting Friends School meadow
|
|
|
|
Falling in Love with Natives Garden Tour on 9/21
|
|
|
The Ambler-Keystone Woman's National Farm & Garden Association is offering their second fall garden tour on Sunday, September 21 from 12-4:00. The tour will feature several gardens in Upper Dublin and Lower Gwynedd, including the gardens at Gwynedd Friends Meeting. For more information, check out the Ambler-Keystone WFGA Facebook page.
|
|
I am looking for 2-4 "garden sitter" volunteers to greet and direct people as they arrive at Gwynedd Friends Meeting. Please email paige@journeywork.org if you are interested.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lawn-to-Meadow field trip
|
|
|
We had an excellent turnout for our tour on July 12 of Sara Weaner Cooper and Evan Cooper's Blue Bell front yard meadow. Sara and Evan explained their conversion process and what they have learned along the way and answered our questions. They were great hosts!
|
|
If you missed our tour, you can sign up to see Sara and her father, Larry Weaner, present about the meadow on Monday, September 8, 6:00, at Wissahickon Public Library and take a tour on Saturday, September 13. More info here.
|
|
|
|
|
now for a few words from our sponsor, the great golden digger wasp,
|
|
|
Watching the frenetic activity around the mountain mint I have planted has become a favorite summer pasttime. One recent visitor was this great golden digger wasp, an impressive, non-aggressive, solitary creature that captures grasshoppers and katydids for its young when not pollinating flowers.
|
|
|
|
|
Join me and Grace McMackin, a bee expert and professor at Bryn Athyn College, at the pollinator garden at Gwynedd Friends Meeting on Saturday, August 16 from 1:00-2:00 to look for native bees and other pollinators! RSVP to paige@journeywork.org.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If Journeywork inspires you to sheet mulch, start seeds, or plant some native plants in your yard, please send us a picture! Or a donation! Let's celebrate and support each other!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Follow us on social...
|
 
|
|
|
|
|
