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The plant above is a white cultivar of swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata 'Ice Ballet'), and I saw it on Saturday in the front garden of the Brooklyn Museum. The garden was designed by Rebecca McMackin and Brook Klausing. Photos of its first year are here. If you happen to be in Brooklyn next month, it will be popping with the purples and golds of asters and goldenrod.
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Gardens change. Plants move. Others appear. Just like the gardens featured in our August not-a-lawn parties, the garden in front of the Brooklyn Museum has its own singular and proud volunteer late boneset plant (at right).
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While I was in Brooklyn, snapping photos at Brooklyn Bridge Park (bottom center and right) and conserving my phone battery, many people were responding to a post I made announcing that Journeywork has received a grant from Trumark Credit Union to plant school pollinator gardens with students. (Thank you, Trumark!!)
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Indeed, the interest exceeds the amount and geographic scope of the grant, which is so exciting! We want to be able to offer native plants and lessons about them to all the teachers who have inquired. Because of this, I am making this challenge--to raise $1,000 to match our grant. My birthday is on 9/9, and this is my birthday fundraiser. We welcome donations of $9, $9.99, $99, or any amount. In fact, we have already received a donation of $199.99. Only $800.01 to go!
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Please read on for more info about Pollinator Palooza--which opens tomorrow, upcoming events, and other pithy tidbits.
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Pollinator Palooza for spring 2027 opens 9/1
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We began offering our DIY Pollinator Palooza program in 2023. It works this way: Sign up now to prepare a 4X12 area of your yard this fall. We give you the directions to do that, and you pick up 28 native plants in the spring with a garden map. All for just $85.
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We signed up 46 yards in 2023, 105 yards in 2024, and 213 yards in 2025. We are hoping to keep this trend going and sign up at least 400 yards in 2026.
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Expand your garden if you have signed up before. Share this newsletter or our social media posts with all your friends, and help us reach 400!
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Fall Pollinator Palooza pick-up on 9/12
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If you ordered a fall Pollinator Palooza set, the pick-up will be on Saturday, September 12 from 9:00-11:00 at Gwynedd Friends Meeting.
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If you want to help prepare the plant sets (lots of fun!), click this button. We still have a few open spots.
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Lansdale not-a-lawn party on 9/12
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Join us on Saturday, September 12 from 1:00-2:00 to see what is blooming in this Lansdale yard, where Journeywork volunteers planted pollinator gardens in the spring along the front walk and the hellstrip.
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August not-a-lawn parties
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Neither grey clouds nor steady rain dimmed the enthusiasm or conversation at our two not-a-lawn parties on August 16. A great big thank you to our gracious hosts who invited friends and neighbors!
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Stiltgrass!
On August 13, Journeywork volunteers tackled a nice patch of Japanese stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum) in the Gwynedd Friends Meeting burial ground. Stiltgrass is a nonnative annual grass that spreads densely by seed. Its shallow roots make it easy to pull, though, and we removed two wheelbarrows' worth to reveal sedges and native grasses growing beneath. Thank you, stiltgrass pullers!
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If you have stiltgrass in your yard, you can hand pull it or string trim close to the ground at the end of August before it sets seed.
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We would love to see you at any of these events--we will have garden signs (at left) for sale at our tabling events. If you want to help us at a community fair, please sign up here.
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September 12: Pollinator Palooza pick up at Gwynedd Friends Meeting, 9:00-11:00
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September 12: not-a-lawn party in Lansdale, 1:00-2:00 RSVP here
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September 27: Ambler Keystone Farm & Garden tour, 12:00-4:00, more info here
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October 3: planting at Norwood-Fontbonne, 2:00-3:30
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looking for youth board member and intern
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Journeywork is seeking high school students interested in ecology, gardening, and native plants to serve on our board and/or to volunteer as an intern. Please click the button for more information and to apply.
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I first read about this garden in American Roots by Nick and Allison McCullough. Sakonnet Garden is the home garden of John Gwynne and Mikel Folcarelli, and they have been designing the nineteen "rooms" that comprise their garden for over 40 years. The pollinator garden, filled almost exclusively with native plants, was added in 2015. If you are visiting in or near Little Compton, Rhode Island, it is well worth a visit.
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Liatris love
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There are 48 species of blazing star (the genus Liatris) in the United States. They are an important nectar source for monarch butterflies, two moth species feed on them exclusively, and they each each sport a different way of looking like a plant Dr. Seuss might have invented.
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1) Smallhead blazing star, Liatris microcephala (at Gwynedd Friends Meeting)
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2) New England blazing star, Liatris novae-angliae (at Sakonnet Garden)
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3) Dense blazing star, Liatris spicata (in a Journeywork yard)
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4) Meadow blazing star, Liatris ligulistylis (at Gwynedd Friends Meeting)
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5) Devil's Bite, Liatris scariosa (at Brooklyn Bridge Park)
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When Trees Testify
I am currently reading When Trees Testify by Beronda Montgomery, a plant biologist who investigates how the histories of seven trees and the cotton plant are connected to and shaped by the history of Black Americans.
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If you buy When Trees Testify (or any book) through our affiliate page on Bookshop.org, you support Journeywork.
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It is also available in the Montgomery County library system. Upper Dublin Library recently hosted an excellent livestreamed conversation with Beronda Montgomery, which you can access here.
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the Journeywork journey
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We are doing consultations now for fall planting--our schedule is almost full. 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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