PARKS: Where Nature Meets Community

April 07, 2022

GC of Irvington-on-Hudson Enlarges Pollinator Garden

In the spring of 2020, two members of the Garden Club of Irvington-on-Hudson (GCI) initiated plans to donate and plant a small pollinator garden at Greenburgh Nature Center (GNC) as part of the Pollinator Pathway project in Westchester County, NY. GNC is a thirty-three acre nature preserve with trails, a vernal pond, a native plant meadow, native American replica village, barnyard, and organic garden with close to 90,000 visitors per year. The nature center provides environmental education and hands-on visitor experiences as well as numerous programs for young children.

In early June 2021, GCI significantly enlarged the Pollinator Garden. The expanded area was previously overgrown with invasives such as mugwort, porcelain berry, and more. Working with landscape designers Bill Boyce and Guy Pardee, the garden was laid out with a narrow path circling new beds allowing for viewing the plants and pollinators up close and from different vantage points. It now covers over 800 square feet at the sloping woodland edge of the Great Lawn and is adjacent to several of the honeybee hives.

The pollinator garden is now planted with over 450 sun-loving, drought-tolerant and deer resistant native grasses, perennials, and shrubs that provide nectar and pollen for bees and hummingbirds and serve as host plants for the caterpillars of both butterflies and moths. The selection of natives not only best supports the environment, but also demonstrates which plants work well in homeowners’ gardens. The garden will soon offer educational signage about the importance of pollinators, native plants, and native bees. The enlarged pollinator garden honors Geraldine “Gerrie” Shapiro, a valued member of GCI, who passed away in the fall of 2020. The club is committed to future maintenance of the garden. 

The Garden Club of America (GCA) is a proud founding partner of the Olmsted 200 bicentennial campaign. The GCA's contribution to the celebration is the unprecedented opportunity for all 199 GCA clubs to connect the needs of their communities with Olmsted’s revolutionary vision for parks and public landscapes by participating in the GCA’s initiative, PARKS: Where Nature Meets Community. Each club project helps their local community public spaces while collectively celebrating Olmsted’s genius for public access to nature across the country.

 

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