The latest What’s The Buzz? Pollinator newsletter from Penn State Extension Master Gardeners features articles on the 18th Habitat of Merit Award winners from York County, late blooming native plants, creating safe havens for pollinators and much more.

Habitat of Merit Award Winner

Linda and Rich Silverman, York County Master Gardeners, sat down with Sandy Ullrich and Don Hake, the 18th Habitat of Merit Award winners, for a conversation about the habitat areas they created.

Describe your garden. How long have you been gardening here?

Our property is about 1.25 acres, about half of that is wooded with large oaks and other native tree species. The other half is mostly shaded wild habitat garden, with both dry and moist areas, and a few sunny spots.

We bought the property in 1995. We started to gradually replace the existing lawn with garden beds in 1997.

How did you get into gardening? How did you get into natives?

When we bought the property, we became interested in learning more about the plants that were here. Around that same time, we read an article about people who were planting natives to support biodiversity and felt like that was what we wanted to do.

Does your property have any unusual elements?

I think that our many trees, oaks Quercus spp., hickories Carya spp., wild black cherry Prunus serotina, tuliptree Liriodendron tulipifera, ash Fraxinus spp., hackberry Celtis spp., and sassafras Sassafras albidum, give our garden a special feeling. All are host plants for butterfly or moth larvae.

How many species of plants do you have?

We have counted more than one hundred species of native plants.

What kind of pollinators do you attract? What have you done to increase pollinator diversity?

We have seen many different types of pollinators visiting our plants including bumblebees, carpenter bees, leafcutter bees, small metallic sweat bees, flower flies, butterflies, moths, beetles, and hummingbirds. We have added many species of native flowering perennials, especially in sunnier spots.

What are your future plans to increase pollinators in your garden?

We recently had to have some dying spruce trees removed, which has given us a bit more sun. We plan to plant the area they occupied with native flowering shrubs.

What have you observed this year in regard to the number of bees and other pollinators?

We have never counted our pollinators, but we do enjoy seeing them visiting our plants. We especially enjoy watching the large queen bumblebees in the spring as they visit the Virginia blue-bells and search for a place to start their colony.

There are many native plants that attract pollinators. Do you have a special one that you would like to suggest?

Buttonbush, Cephalanthus occidentalis, is one of our favorites because we have enjoyed seeing many types of pollinators visiting it.

Other Articles

-- Outstanding Pollinator Plants — Late Season Bloomers

-- Create Safe Havens for Pollinators

-- Pollinator Podcast and Thanksgiving Placemat

-- Wasps! Wait—What?

-- News from Certified Gardens

Click Here to read the entire What’s The Buzz?

To be added to the email list, contact ​​Kelly Folcomer, Penn State Extension York County, Ksf13@psu.edu  or call  717-840-7408.

Resource Links:

-- Pollinator Gardens: Help Encourage Ecological Diversity In Your Own Backyard  [PaEN]

-- Penn State Watershed Friendly Certification Program Expands To Large And Small Properties, Apartments  [PaEN]

-- Penn State Master Gardeners Certification As Pollinator Friendly Garden

-- Pollinator Vehicle License Plate Now Available From PennDOT To Support Pollinator Habitat Fund  [PaEN]

[Posted: October 30, 2024]

11/4/2024