Our Native Pollinator Garden
Owner of Sanctuary Native Landscapes and Historic Southwood Park resident, Sean Nolan, has teamed up with the Board of Directors to install a native pollinator garden at the intersection of S. Wayne Ave and Pettit Ave.
Pollinators and other beneficial insects will be using this garden as cover through winter and into spring, so annual maintenance for this bed will not take place until late Spring.
2019
In 2019 the Historic Southwood Park board of directors hired a gardener to refresh and maintain all 10 of our pocket gardens. The most challenging by far was the bed at S. Wayne Ave and Pettit Ave. Loaded with a persistent deeply rooted grass, its been a challenge to totally eliminate it.
July 10, 2019 before restorative maintenance was attempted.
July 10, 2019 before restorative maintenance was attempted.
There were attempts to restore the bed to its former glory. But the grass kept growing back.
2020
All viable plants were removed from the bed and taken to to other pocket gardens as further attempts to remove the grass were made. In 2020 the Beautification Committee proposed the idea of reinstalling the bed with all native plants. This plan was then unanimously approved by the full board of directors. After reaching out to Martha Ferguson, of Riverview Native Nursery, we found out that a native landscape designer lives right here in our neighborhood.
2021
Excited about the prospect of a native garden, Sean Nolan of Sanctuary Native Landscapes, offered us his design and consultation expertise free of charge as well as plants at his wholesale price. After several mockups, we settled on a design that fits our budget, growing habit and desired look. In addition to that, this bed will be incredibly beneficial for native wildlife.
On June 6, 2021, board members and beautification committee volunteers helped prep and expand the bed for installation.
Board Members Steve McCord, Erika Stuller, Sierah Barnhart and Beautification Members Larry Barnhart, Kaylan Buteyn, and Finley Buteyn prepped the bed by removing all of the sod from the orange line forward. The large boulder was also moved from the center of the bed to the back center.
This desolate looking space will soon be filled with blooms Spring through Fall, offer benefits to wildlife year round and enhance the beauty of one of our primary entrances to the neighborhood.
On June 14, 2021, the primary section of the bed was installed. Our black chokeberry shrubs wont be ready until July so those will be added to the back edge of the bed a little later.
On Monday July 12, 2021 Sean Nolan talked to residents about the importance of native plants and how to incorporate them into our own back yards. The association also gave away 64 native plugs of butterfly weed, common milkweed and purple coneflower.
