Pollinator Gardens: Lessons and Successes
Here are a few pollinator gardens where we've highlighted what went well and what could have gone better!
There are pollinator gardens and habitat found throughout the Appalachian Forest region. These gardens vary in size, in preparation method and in maintenance strategy. We've chosen to highlight a few so that, if you ever choose to embark on your own pollinator space, you have the wisdom of those that have come before you!
The Division of Natural Resources
The Division of Natural Resources office in Elkins, West Virginia has a beautiful pollinator garden off to the side of the building.
First started in 2016, this garden is now flourishing and features an abundance of blooming wildflowers in the summer months.
The actual garden receives a large amount of direct sun, is mostly flat and has a slight slope down to a stream bed.
While the garden was started in 2016, the area of the garden with the most activity was planted closer to 2019.
Site preparation:
- An herbicide, glyphosate, was applied three times prior to planting.
- The first application was done in late fall, followed by rototilling two weeks later.
- The second application was in March.
- Three weeks after the second application, a third glyphosate application was conducted
- In May, $700 of dry site mix from Ernst Seeds (dry site mix) was planted
- In July of the same year, the garden mostly consisted of annual grasses (quack grass, goosegrass, barnyard grass and Japanese stilt grass), so a final herbicide application was applied. Since then, no one has touched the plot (aside from prescribed burning in the late Spring).
- The result has been beautiful flowering wildflowers, shown in the image on the right!
Notes on site creation: The deer ate all of the columbine that was planted.
Contact: Keith Krantz, Keith.D.Krantz@wv.gov
Greenbrier Ranger District
The Greenbrier Ranger District has a small pollinator garden behind their office. It was originally started in 2009, scaled down in size in 2011 and then scaled down again in 2014 so that it is now half the size that it was initially in 2009.
Recommendations: The office recommended first starting with a smaller plot, and then expanding it later on. Additionally, if you're planning on building at a Ranger District Office, they recommended planting the pollinator garden in a place where it's not as visible. This allows for more flexibility when managing it, especially because pollinator gardens do not look as "landscaped" as traditional gardens. However, this more "unkempt" look is great for the pollinators and bird species that may use the plant material as habitat!
Contact: Jack Tribble, jack.tribble@usda.gov
Cranberry Mountain Nature Center
The Cranberry Mountain Nature Center pollinator garden was planted in May of 2008. The garden includes wildflowers around the sidewalk and on islands in the parking lot.
The garden attracts lots of pollinator visitors during the summer, including a large gathering of Ruby-throated hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris) at their hummingbird feeders!
Contact: Diana Stull, diana.stull@usda.gov
Seneca Rocks Discovery Center
The Seneca Rocks Discovery pollinator garden was started five years ago on a sloped hillside behind the Discovery Center. Unfortunately, the first planting involved mainly invasive species, so the plot was rototilled in the Spring of 2020 and covered with a black plastic tarp.
In late March of 2021, Dave McGill with the West Virginia Extension Office, donated biochar, a soil ameliorate, and assisted with putting 10 wells of biochar into the garden. The goal of this was to assist with water retention, as biochar can act like a sponge for nutrients and water. This is especially important because the garden is on a slope, which means that water runoff will occur at a faster rate.
Contact: Cassidy Attanasio, AmeriCorps member at Seneca Rocks Discovery Center, Cassidy.Attanasio@usda.gov
