Just in time for World Pollinator Week, June 21 – 27, NYC Parks today announced the completion of 8 brand new ‘Pollinator Place’ gardens, featuring native flora and fauna! With the newly planted gardens, Parks is looking to strengthen the city’s population of native pollinators including caterpillars of butterflies and moths — an essential part of the city’s ecosystem!
“With our 8 new ‘Pollinator Place’ gardens, we are embracing the idea that greenspaces can act as places of solace and inspiration for humans, and serve as refuges and habitat for birds, insects and other wildlife, simultaneously” said NYC Parks Director of Horticulture, Matthew Morrow. “It is our hope that these new Pollinator Place gardens will also encourage New Yorkers to think about beautifying their own gardens with native plantings, helping to create essential habitat for native bees, moths, butterflies, and other essential native pollinators!”
New Pollinator Place Gardens:
Bronx: Mullaly Park
Brooklyn: Calvert Vaux Park, South Oxford Park, McCarren Park
Manhattan: Morningside Park
Queens: Dutch Kills Green
Staten Island: Schmul Park, Conference House
The eight new Pollinator Place gardens are part of a Parks initiative to support the city’s plant and wildlife biodiversity with the planting of gardens and landscapes in City parks with plants that are known to offer support to a diverse population of insects, birds and small mammals. Plants that are native to the local region have been shown to offer the most comprehensive ecosystem benefits to area wildlife when contrasted with exotic plants.
Pollinator Place Garden Facts & Features:
At least 60% of the total number of plants used in the site are made up of non-cultivar plant species that are native to the New York City region.
25% of the total number of plants used can be made up of Northeast regional native plants.
Plants in the garden include goldenrod, aster, and sunflower and are great for native caterpillars and bees, and attractive to generalist pollinators such as butterflies, flower flies, and solitary wasps.
Other top perennial plants include Joe pye weeds, monardas, and mountain mints.
Let the grass grow! The clumping base of native perennial bunch grasses provide shelter and overwintering sites for butterfly life stages, bumblebees, beetles, and other beneficial insects.
Parks and gardens provide essential habitat – places that provide food and shelter for local biological diversity. The best way to maintain this habitat is by planting native wildflowers, shrubs, and trees, and leaving our gardens in a more natural state with leaves, logs, and plant stems.
For more information, please visit the NYC Parks Pollinators in New York City Parks: Bees, Butterflies, and Beyond page.
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