Pollinator Garden

Pollinator Garden

About the Pollinator Garden Plans

During the Summer of 2024, the Memorial Library of Nazareth & Vicinity’s Teen Advisory Board devised a plan to transform the unused, weed-filled beds outside the old front door of the library into a vibrant, interactive pollinator garden! This space has sat mostly empty for almost a decade, with current plants and invasive ivy growing out of control, and weeds overrunning the area. The plan for this space involves first heavily weeding and cutting back the ivy, which currently poses a structural danger to our building, as well as trimming back the plants that currently occupy the space. The mulch currently in the beds will be swept back, then reused once the new plants come in. These plants, all non-invasive known pollinating plants, will be planted in bursts throughout the season and cared for by a dedicated team of volunteers. In addition, the space will be given a walking path, birdhouses, a bird bath, bee hotel, a sound playscape, educational displays, a sitting area, and so much more!

What is a pollinator garden?

A pollinator garden is an area of land dedicated to growing a number of flowering plants that are attractive to bees, butterflies, and other pollinating insects and birds. It is pesticide and weed-killer free, and contains other amenities for pollinators such as critter houses and baths.

Why are pollinators important?

Pollinators, such as bees, carry pollen from one plant to another as an inadvertent part of their feeding process, helping plants fertilize and reproduce.  Without pollinators, many plants could not grow, reproduce, and thrive. Over one-third of the food we eat worldwide relies on pollinators to grow, but thanks to human overdevelopment of land on these pollinators’ natural habitats, combined with pesticide and herbicide overuse, many pollinator populations are dying off in massive numbers and becoming endangered. Not only would this cause one-third of the food we eat to go extinct or become heavily endangered, it would also cause the populations of the animals who also eat this food to decline. A pollinator garden in a human populated area helps create places for these displaced and poisoned insects and birds to eat, rest, and recover. It also provides a peaceful and fun educational space for everyone!

Timeline for the Pollinator Garden

The Teen Advisory Board began work on the garden space in 2024. So far, they have been weeding and trimming back ivy in the space itself, but there has also been a lot of work behind the scenes! Signs for the garden and its many plants and features are being designed and created, a budget for plants, tools, and other features has been made and is constantly being updated, and outreach is being done to find donors for our garden. No tax payer money will go toward the garden; it is completely donation-funded!

A map layout of the future pollinator garden has been created and will be available for digital viewing soon. TAB plans to work throughout the Summer and Fall to weed, plant, and create in the space until the work is done! But, it will never really be done. In fact, TAB is taking on the pollinator garden as a permanent volunteer project, as it will need to be constantly maintained. All teens interested in joining TAB will have chance to work in our pollinator garden!

Pollinator Garden Features:

Plants

Current:

• Bloody Geranium
• Bleeding Heart

Future:

• Hardy Geranium
• Bee Balm
• Butterfly Bush

More coming soon

 

 

Critter Areas!

• Bee hotel – Did you know that over 4,000 species of bees within the United States are solitary? This means they don’t live in hives with a queen! So where do they live? Some bees nest in the ground, in trees, or in other small hollowed out spaces. A bee hotel, which is a structure that offer several hole size options for insects, is an excellent way to provide housing for these solitary bees! Our bee hotel will be located toward the back of the garden, so bees can live in peace but be carefully observed by visitors.
• Birdbath – A birdbath provides a clean drinking space for birds, especially in urban areas. In addition, our birdbath will have stones to act as places for small pollinating insects to land and safely get a drink as well!
• Bluebird House – Bluebirds are a native species that hold great cultural and environmental significance in the United States. Unfortunately, they are threatened by invasive predators. Bluebirds need very specific conditions to nest properly, and many invasive bird species push bluebirds out of their homes. Bluebird boxes are specially designed bird houses that prevent other birds and squirrels from getting in. A bluebird box was made by a TAB member in 2023, and will be installed in a quiet area to the right of the pollinator garden.
• Toad Abode –  A toad abode is a small shelter for toads and other small critters. It can provide a place to rest and protection from natural predators, especially when the abode is near a source of food and water, which ours will be. Toads are important to a garden’s ecosystem, as they act as natural pest-control, eating unwanted small insects such as mosquitoes and ticks (not bees!).

Porch Sitting Area

The front porch of our original 1927 building has sat unused since our 1999 renovation eliminated the need for it as an entrance option. Since then, people have been visiting our porch less and less. But our porch has a lot to offer! It has all its original colonial revival architectural features such as stained glass windows and a Mosaic Tile floor.

We will use reclaimed furniture and flower pots full of annuals to create a nice sitting area on our porch for visitors to relax in and enjoy when the weather is warm! A garden path leading from this area will weave and guide visitors through the pollinator garden toward our library lawn.

Germination Station

Information coming soon!

Sound Garden

Information coming soon!

Fairy Garden

Information coming soon! 

Support

How can you help support the TAB Pollinator Garden? Well, it’s easy! The first step is of course direct monetary donation, which you can do in person or online here.

But there are plenty of other ways to help out. We are accepting in-kind donations of new and used gardening tools and gloves, including but not limited to:

• Weeding tools such as garden trowels, spades, forks, etc.
• Garden gloves
• Shovels
• Pruning shears
• Watering cans
• Loppers
• Rakes
• Hoes
• Large lawn trash bags
• Kneeling pads

We will also be accepting in-kind donations of plants for the garden. Please check back for details on what we will need!

In addition, we will be hosting a number of fun fundraisers throughout 2024 and 2025. Check our events calendar for upcoming dates!!