.png)
Bees – not just honeybees, but bumblebees, wasps, hornets, sweat bees, mason bees, etc. – and butterflies; beetles, flies, bats, hummingbirds, and other flying creatures received a new home at Rock Point on Sunday, June 23rd.
It’s been there all along, but the table has been filled with junk food along with the good stuff. Now a third of it has a smorgasbord awaiting them.
Under the solar trackers, inside the deer fencing,
you will see the newly planted pollinator demonstration garden and part of the meadow:
§ The grassy areas is sown with a native conservation mix and thyme that will need minimal attention and smell wonderful. It will be for pollinators to sample and people to walk on, sit and learn on, or just sit and BE on. Eventually this area will contain a small water feature to provide a drink for our pollinators, and a corner of refreshment for our visitors. And there will be simple signs that tell you what you’re seeing and its place in creation.
§ All around the paths will be native flowers, and grasses, shrubs and trees – carefully chosen and sited to provide food and shelter for pollinators, without getting in the way of the solar trackers.
§ And beyond the demonstration garden we will sow a pollinator wildflower seed mix prepared by American Meadows (on Shelburne Road) for northeastern gardens.
The remaining two thirds of the field under the trackers has been mowed and tilled. This will be done repeatedly until we plant its cover crop to winter over, and prepare to sow its plants next year. For the rest of this year we will need volunteers to help us watch and tend the garden … pulling any unwanted plants that try to take over, turn our commercial sprinkler on and off (IF we ever need it!), and individually establish specific plants we decide we want.