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It is that time of year when I snap dozens of photos of golden ragwort (Packera aurea) at all angles. One of the first native bloomers of the spring, its flowers exude sunny cheer. The photo on the left captures golden ragwort planted at Plymouth Friends Meeting with a healthy crop of field pussytoes (Antennaria neglecta), a lovely native groundcover that appeared on its own. The photo on the right shows each little sunshine up close in a patch at Gwynedd Friends Meeting.
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People ask me all the time about what they can plant that the deer won't eat. Plant golden ragwort! After its flowers bloom, it remains an evergreen groundcover for the rest of the season in partial to full shade. Speaking of shade, if you participated in Pollinator Palooza last year and planted the dry shade garden, please send us photos of your plants. We love to see photos of all Pollinator Palooza gardens--both sunny and shady--but the dry shade set is new and we welcome feedback and pictures.
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There are so many ways to get involved with Journeywork this month--think about what native plants you could add to your yard or help someone else add to theirs! The bees, butterflies, moths, and birds will thank you.
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Choose a time to plant with us!
Help us add May flowers at any of these planting events this month! We have the tools, gloves, and kneeling pads, and our host provides refreshments.
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- Saturday, May 2: plant in Lansdale, 2:30-5:00 sign up to help!
- Saturday, May 9: plant at The First Presbyterian Church in Germantown, 9:30-12:00 sign up to help!
- Saturday, May 9: plant at Christ's Community Church in Drexel Hill, 3:00-6:00 sign up to help!
- Saturday, May 16: plant in Havertown, 3:00-4:30 sign up to help!
- Saturday, May 30: plant in Media, 10:00-12:00 sign up to help!
- Sunday, May 31: plant at Veteran's Park in Springfield Township, 9:30-12:00 sign up to help!
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We have 6,000 plants to rearrange into the 210 Pollinator Palooza plant sets that we are distributing on May 16. We can do it with your help, and it's fun! There are still a few openings--you can also help tag plants and hand them out! Thanks to everyone who has already signed up.
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Click the button to sign up for a shift--thank you!
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**If you have any plug trays (like the ones pictured above) left over from previous Paloozas, we would love to have them now. Let me know!**
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Still time to sign up for 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 in the lead!
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Prep your space now, and you won't have to mow it all summer--then sign up for your plants!
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This is a great native plant sale!
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Plants in Pots workshop at
Germantown Kitchen Garden on May 27
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We enjoyed chatting and planting at our recent Plants in Pots workshop at Triple Bottom Brewing, and we are having another workshop at Germantown Kitchen Garden at 6:00 on Wednesday, May 27. Bring your own pot or buy one of ours, and take home three native plants!
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Join us for 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 his experiences growing native plants and taking his cues from the natural world.
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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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- Saturday, May 2: plant in Lansdale, 2:30-5:00 sign up to help!
- Sunday, May 3: Chestnut Hill Home & Garden Festival, 11:00-5:00 volunteer from 11-1, 12-2, 1-3, 2-4, 3-5
- Saturday, May 9: plant at The First Presbyterian Church in Germantown, 9:30-12:00 sign up to help!
- Saturday, May 9: plant at Christ's Community Church in Drexel Hill, 3:00-6:00 sign up to help!
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- Saturday, May 16: Pollinator Palooza pick-up at Gwynedd Friends Meeting, 9:00-11:30
- Saturday, May 16: plant in Havertown, 3:00-4:30 sign up to help!
- Sunday, May 17: Keystone-Ambler WNFGA native plant sale at Twining Valley Park, 11:00-3:00
- Saturday, May 30: plant in Media, 10:00-12:00 sign up to help!
- Sunday, May 31: plant at Veteran's Park in Springfield Township, 9:30-12:00 sign up to help!
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- 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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Tracking monarchs
Since 1992, through Monarch Watch, thousands of people have helped track monarch migration by tagging monarch butterflies with small stickers.
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Scientists have now begun tagging monarchs with tiny solar-powered radio tags, and you can follow the migration of individual butterflies on an app!
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As described in The New York Times, each tagged butterfly is equivalent to "a half-raisin carrying three uncooked grains of rice." Through these radio tags, scientists hope to learn much more about where monarchs fly between starting point and final destination in Mexico.
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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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