Build it and they will come!
Many of you remember the Peace Garden at FT Proctor Park after it was planted in May of 2022 – a scattering of baby plants struggling to survive in a fairly unforgiving site for a new garden.
Peace Garden at FT Proctor Park in July 2023
One year later and look at it now! Full of color and texture. A peaceful spot to stop and enjoy the lower level of the park – but not just for human visitors. The garden is also buzzing with all kinds of pollinators – bees and moths, butterflies and wasps – all partaking in the various benefits these native plants are providing. I spent a half hour in the garden last week, and this is what I found:
Honey bee on Culver’s Root
A Honey Bee is collecting pollen or nectar from Culver’s Root, Veronicastrum virginicum. Grow Culver’s Root to support a variety of bees and butterflies, and also to help protect this native plant that is considered threatened in 13 states including New York. It is well suited to our local climate and growing conditions,
Combination planting of Wild Bergamot, Culver’s Root, and Purple Coneflower
requires little care, and is disease resistant. It prefers full sun, and if it gets too much shade the tall stems may lean or flop.
Culver’s Root will prosper in average, medium wet, well-drained soils, but it will also tolerate less than optimum soils and moisture levels, making it a good choice for a rain garden.
Hummingbird Clearwing Moth drinking nectar
This is not a hummingbird! It’s a Hummingbird Clearwing Moth drinking nectar from this patch of Monarda fistulosa with its long, thin proboscis. Hummingbird moths pupate in a thin cocoon in leaf litter, where they remain during the cold months and emerge as moths in late spring or early summer to visit flowers during the warm months. Another reason to leave your leaves where they fall in the fall!
Silver-spotted Skipper
Nearby in the same patch of Monarda fistulosa was this Silver-spotted Skipper, a type of butterfly that looks more like a moth. The Silver-spotted Skipper almost never visits yellow flowers but favors blue, red, pink, purple, and sometimes white and cream-colored ones. Monarda fistulosa is a highly adaptable native plant and its fragrant lavender flowers are a favorite nectar source for a wide variety of bees and butterflies.
Great Golden Digger Wasp
The white blooms of this Mountain Mint, Pycnanthemum virginianum had more visiting pollinators than I could count. Despite its vivid coloration, this Great Golden Digger Wasp is not an aggressive species of wasp. They tend to mind their own business and can be found sipping on flower nectar during the summer. With its striking orange and black coloration and mild demeanor, the Great Golden Digger Wasp is one to admire, not destroy.
Blue Mud Wasp visiting Mountain Mint
The Blue Mud Wasp caught my eye with its shimmering flashes of iridescent blue. Wasps like these are especially beneficial to gardeners as their larvae feed on pests such as aphids, white flies, and stink bugs. “They are nature’s pest controllers,” according to biologist and wasp champion Seirian Sumner. Read more about these fascinating pollinators from the National Wildlife Federation – link below.
Common Eastern Bumble Bee
A pollination workhorse, the Common Eastern Bumble Bee is considered one of the most important species of pollinator bees in North America and is one of the most often seen. They fly from flower to flower, drinking nectar and collecting pollen. As they go, they are dusted by pollen and move it to the next flower, fertilizing the plant and allowing it to reproduce and form seeds, berries, fruits, and other plant foods that form the foundation of the food chain.
Paper wasp enjoying the Swamp Milkweed
This paper wasp is visiting Swamp Milkweed, Asclepias incarnata. Known for being a host plant for the Monarch Butterfly, it is an exceptional plant for other pollinators too, including Hawk moths, Swallowtails, Fritillaries, Monarchs, skippers, bumble bees and numerous other nectar seekers. Swamp Milkweed grows 3-5 feet tall and forms a stately clump with upright stems, long narrow leaves and clusters of fragrant pink flowers – followed by attractive seed pods for late season interest. It is a beautiful choice for a pollinator garden or for low, moist areas of your landscape.
Bumble bee on Great Blue Lobelia
This could be a Common Eastern Bumble Bee or a Two-spotted Bumble Bee. I had no idea when taking the picture I had caught this one in action. Read about Blue Lobelia, Lobelia siphilitica, and its specialized relationship with bumble bees in our January blog post.
These plants in the Peace Garden were carefully chosen to thrive in this specific location but most of them are quite adaptable. They grow best in full sun and don’t mind periodic wet feet or drought conditions. After the first year, native plants like these don’t need extra watering or fertilization if sited properly. In fact, they will often become overgrown and floppy if you do. If you haven’t paid a visit to the Peace Garden yet this summer, we hope you will stop by. The succession of blooms will continue through the fall as these summer blooming plants give way to Joe Pye Weed, Eupatorium maculatum, Purple-stemmed Aster, Symphyotrichum puniceum, and New York Ironweed, Vernonia novaboracensis. These fall blooming plants will continue to provide for our pollinators as they prepare for the cold of winter.
Purple Coneflower and Wild Bergamot surrounding Culver’s Root, Blue Lobelia, and Little Bluestem, with Obedient Plant and Switchgrass behind.
Combination planting of Blue Lobelia, Mountain Mint, Wild Bergamot, Common Wood Sedge, Switchgrass, Blue Flag Iris, and soon to bloom in the fall, Purple-stemmed Aster and NY Ironweed.
More about the pollinators and plants found in this article:
https://www.nwf.org/Home/Magazines/National-Wildlife/2022/Aug-Sep/Gardening/Wasps
https://www.massaudubon.org/nature-wildlife/insects-arachnids/hummingbird-moth
https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/silver-spotted-skipper-epargyreus-clarus/
https://www.insectidentification.org/insect-description.php?identification=Great-Golden-Digger-Wasp
https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/pollinators/pollinator-of-the-month/blue-mud-wasp.shtml
