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The flowers above and below are fire pinks (Silene virginica), a species that was included in last year's Pollinator Palooza set for dry shade. Karen, one of our participants, sent the photo above, triumphantly, after the deer and drought and winter took their toll on some of her other plants.
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One garden designer I admire, Benjamin Vogt, says that he begins every conversation with a client by saying that gardening is an experiment. When you adopt that mindset, you can begin to reframe your expectations of how a yard is supposed to look and you can find joy in the results, as Karen has, even if some plants fail to thrive.
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Our Summer Solstice speaker, John Mark Courtney, grew those fire pinks last year and the 5,964 plants that we distributed in this spring's Pollinator Palooza. As a native plant grower, he has to juggle crop failures and try to anticipate when plants will be ready to sell months before unpredictable freezes and heat waves throw his estimates out the window. Even though Silene virginica is one of his favorite woodland plants, he needed to substitute it this year for us. We needed to make several substitutions this year and redo our garden maps, and we still gave out vibrant plants that will provide healthy habitat for wildlife and beauty for humans.
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I hope you will come out on June 19 and hear John talk. He tells great stories and embodies the joy of a life spent observing how the natural world works.
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Pollinator Palooza recap and new gardens
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Twenty Journeywork volunteers made this spring's Pollinator Palooza a smooth success from plant pick-up to distribution! They loaded and unloaded, sorted, made labels, tagged plants, sold merch, and handed out plants, plants, and more plants! Many, many thanks to all of our volunteers and to the 213 participants who are adding pollinator habitat to their yards.
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Here are a few of those new pollinator gardens--thank you to everyone who has sent us a picture of your plants in their new homes. Photos are always welcome!
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May flowers--1,262 so far!
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I can't wait to see all these gardens grow! All of the volunteers who came out made planting a breeze--thank you!
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Fall is a great time to plant! Reach out if you would like us to come to your yard or church.
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So far this month, we have added 1,262 native flowers, grasses, and sedges to four yards and two churches, and we have one more yard and a park to go!
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We gave plant grants to First Presbyterian Church in Germantown and Christ's Community Church in Drexel Hill to help them convert some of their turf to pollinator habitat.
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Last chance to sign up for fall Pollinator Palooza
We are registering folks now until June 1 for Pollinator Palooza--our DIY program that gives you prep directions, 28 native plants, and a garden map in September--all for $75.
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In the spirit of friendly competition, consider encouraging your neighbors to join you and put your town or township at the top of the pack. As of this writing, Philadelphia is still in the lead!
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Sign up, prep your space, and you won't have to mow it all summer!
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Plants in Pots workshops in Germantown
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We recently mixed and matched native plants to make planters at two festive workshops in Germantown. Neighbors came out to the First Presbyterian Church in Germantown on May 17 and took basil plants along with flowers, thanks to a grant from Weavers Way Environment Committee.
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On May 27, workshop participants added an okra plant to their pots, courtesy of Germantown Kitchen Garden.
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We will be selling the landscape plugs left over from our spring installations on Monday, June 1 from 5:00-6:00 at Gwynedd Friends Meeting.
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and a few others! $5 each.
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Three weeks away--our Summer Solstice Evening
Friday, June 19, 7:00pm
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The Summer Solstice Evening is our biggest fundraising event and supports our plant grant program to schools and other nonprofit organizations.
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We hope you can join us for a delightful time exploring native plants and enjoying good food and conversation!
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Journeywork is excited to welcome John Mark Courtney as the speaker for our second Summer Solstice Evening. He will be sharing stories of the rewards and challenges of growing native plants and taking his cues from the natural world.
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If you have participated in Pollinator Palooza, John grew your plants!
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After his talk, John will lead a guided walk through the grounds at Gwynedd Friends Meeting. The evening will also feature refreshments from local venues.
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John is an avid plantsman, professional grower and lover of all things wild. He is the founder and owner of Kind Earth Growers LLC, a native plant nursery specializing in seed grown aquatic, wetland and upland perennials in Upper Bucks County, PA. After completing his B.S. in Environmental Design from Delaware Valley University in 1998, John pursued his passion for growing native plants and environmental stewardship first at Bowmans Hill Wildflower Preserve and then at Aquascapes Unlimited Inc., where he was the head grower and operations manager for 20 years. During the course of his career, he has helped educate and inspire others through published articles, lectures, keynote addresses and appearances on radio programs and Martha Stewart’s television show. John is part of 2014’s GPN Class of 40 under 40 and in 2016 he was awarded the PLNA Green Achiever award.
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Many thanks to our Summer Solstice Evening sponsors!
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- Monday, June 1: our fabulous annual plug sale, Gwynedd Friends Meeting, 5:00-6:00
- Friday, June 19: Summer Solstice Evening featuring John Mark Courtney, 7:00-9:00 tickets here
- Saturday, June 20: Bucks Farm & Garden Designed for Nature Tour, 10:00-3:00 tickets here
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spring pics from Journeywork yards
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You can help us offer more plant grants
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Schools, libraries, and other organizations have reached out to us about our plant grant program. They have available space and interested folks to plant and take care of pollinator gardens, but we need more funds to purchase plants. A donation of any size will help! You can now sign up to make a recurring donation--the cost of a latte every month goes a long way!
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Beginning with tax year 2026, if you do not itemize, you may deduct up to $1,000 ($2,000 if filing jointly) of your cash contributions to certain qualified organizations--like us!
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the Journeywork journey
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Our spring schedule is full, and we are doing consultations now for fall planting. We can create a garden design for you, source the plants, and plan a fall installation event.
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It is not too late to become a Journeywork member and get 5% off plants from Edge of the Woods Nursery and 10% off plants from Good Host Plants. (new Edge of the Woods rate for 2026)
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