On a beautiful Saturday morning, May 15, Pam Phillips and other volunteers from Friends of Bees came to the Watertown Department of Public Works to help install a new pollinator garden. Bob DeRico and his crew greeted us and showed us the new plants. It was exciting to see so many native plants set out ready for placement. There were Joe-Pye Weed, Black-eye Susans, Lupines, Columbines, Wild Geraniums, and Asters. Crabapple trees growing nearby had just finished flowering. This is a spot that will have flowers for pollinators from spring to fall.
Planting native flowers will feed the pollinators that have evolved in the place we now call Watertown. Bumblebees, butterflies, and other pollinators will help produce seeds and fruit for birds and other wildlife. Since native plants are adapted to our location. once established, they require less water and fertilizer, making them easier to maintain. Their deep roots also help draw carbon down into the soil.
Once the plants were arrayed on the soil, we set to work. The crew dug the holes, and the volunteers set the plants into the ground. The next time you stop by the DPW at 124 Orchard Street, please take a moment to enjoy the flowers and see what kinds of pollinators come to visit them.
Friends of Bees thank the DPW and the Conservation Commission for the coordination and hard work that made this happen. This new pollinator garden joins existing pollinator gardens at Watertown Community Gardens. We look forward to adding more gardens for our native pollinators.