Amenia Garden Club invites birds and bees to check out the native garden at the library

AMENIA — Trowels in hand, board members of the Amenia Garden Club set about planting a native garden of pollinator plants, its gift to the Amenia Free Library on Saturday, May 10, the plant choices to be an attraction for bees, insects and birds common to this area.

The new perennial garden measuring 6 feet by 12 feet replaces old rhododendron bushes and a patch of wild strawberries, adding a colorful native display throughout the growing season for all to enjoy.

Butterflies and birds will soon be seen flocking to the Amenia Library to take advantage of a newly planted native pollinator garden. The entire board of the Amenia Garden Club gathered on Saturday, May 10 to do the planting using a Homegrown National Park/Ecoplantia kit. Left to right are Ryan Bagley, Nina Peek, Michael Peek, Ken Monteiro and Paul Arcario.

A program offered through the Homegrown National Park organization, cooperating with Ecoplantia of Frederick, MD, provided 25 live plant plugs that will bloom throughout the growing season from spring to fall, attracting and nourishing pollinator species. The planting kit includes a kraft paper biodegradable template to spread over the prepared soil, showing precise placement for each plant. A bit of fertilizer and a cover of mulch completed the task.

Ken Monteiro, president of the Garden Club, provided details, describing the various plants, all native to the region and therefore of interest to pollinating insects and birds that search for these specific plant species.

Visitors to the library during summer will delight in purple coneflower attracting a variety of butterflies and later, goldfinches. Then Black-Eyed Susans will appear in summer, along with Beardtongue, irresistible to bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. Ornamental purple Lovegrass will also appear along the way, as will a profusion of Coreopsis and Aster.