May 9, 2023 3 min read

Be on the lookout for some changes to several of the ?owerbeds at the Greene County Fairgrounds. Work has already begun and will largely be ?nished in June. It is the product of a partnership among the Greene County Commissioners, the Department of Parks and Recreation directed by Bret Moore and the Penn State Extension Greene County Master Gardeners, whose coordinator is Cheryl Brendel. Three Master Gardener trainees, Lisa Durbin, Sandy Brudnock and Judi Tanner, have undertaken the work as their graduation project. A fourth trainee is assisting Laura Miter, who is using her computer design skills to help make the manual that will guide the planting and maintenance of the garden beds. Two certi?ed Master Gardeners, Susan Swala and myself, are mentoring the trainees.

It all started in the summer of 2022 when county commissioner Betsy Rohanna McClure was touring the fairgrounds before the county fair held in August and noticed that many of the ?ower beds could look so much prettier. She approached Cheryl Brendel, and the seed was planted, pun intended, for the work that began in earnest this spring.

Nearly all of the ?owers used in planting these beds are Pennsylvania natives, meaning they have been growing here since before European settlers arrived. Why are native plants so important? Well, just as a country’s cuisine evolved based on what has consistently and reliably grown locally, such as tomatoes and basil and oregano and garlic in Mediterranean countries like Italy and Greece, our native insects and birds evolved to thrive on the pollen and nectar produced by plants native to our region. A growing body of research demonstrates that bees, birds, buter?ies and other creatures we depend upon are preferentially drawn to native plants over newer hybrid plants introduced into an area. And as the presence of native plants dwindles, as it has for decades, there is a corresponding drop in the number of bees and birds. According to the Cornell Lab on Ornithology and other sources, North America has lost 3 billion birds – nearly 30% of its songbirds- since 1970.

The Master Gardener trainees responsible for the fairground ?ower bed renovation researched several possible online sources of native plants. They were able to select a native plant nursery in our backyard. Arcadia Natives Nursery, started and run by Kelly Strope, is o? Route 19 near the Lone Pine exit from Interstate 79, and they have been a valuable resource for the project. Readers interested in learning about other sources for native plants are referred to The Pennsylvania Native Plant Society at panativeplantsociety.org.

So, next time you are at the fairgrounds to attend an event, go to a meeting, or just take a walk, be sure to check out the ?ower beds. The ?owers were chosen to provide blooms to please the eye from spring through fall. And the color scheme for the beds straddling the road leading into the entrance tunnels is good old American red, white and blue. The view will only get better with the passage of time, as native perennials often need a few growing seasons to hit their prime.