New pollinator gardens are in bloom at St. Anthony Park Library
The pollinator gardens at St. Anthony Park Library.
The new pollinator gardens at St. Anthony Park Library are in bloom, and members of the St. Anthony Park Garden Club and its auxiliary group, the Weekly Weeders, want to show it off.
Work on the garden began in December 2014 with the removal of invasive woody plants on the steep hillside to the east of the library. In 2015, the Weekly Weeders removed weeds and began planting pollinator-friendly plants on the slope facing Como Avenue and in other areas of the library property.
By early June 2016, half the pollinator garden had been planted in the gardens along the alley behind the library. The group is now focusing on the Como Avenue side of the property.
The plants in the garden will attract native bees, honeybees, butterflies and hummingbirds. You can watch the pollinators in action from the patio on the east end of the Como Avenue side of the library or walk up the alley and follow the woodchip path along the fence line.
The garden club and the St. Anthony Park Library Association helped fund the plants and other materials for the gardens. In 2015, volunteer hours donated at the gardens were valued at more than $9,000, said Mary Maguire Lerman, one of the Weekly Weeders and garden club member.
The group plans to have educational materials ready for distribution in 2017, which is the St. Anthony Park Library’s centennial, but garden viewers can do their own research before then. The gardeners have labeled stakes by each group of plants. You can learn more about the plants at www.dnr.state.mn.us/pollinator_resources/index.html.
The Weekly Weeders volunteer every Tuesday and Friday mornings from 8 to 10 a.m. and the public is invited to join them any Tuesday or Friday.
