Pollinator garden tours to begin May 21
Twenty-one public gardens in Westmoreland County invite locals to present their passports and receive free native plants
Westmoreland Pollinator Partners (WPP), an association of public pollinator-friendly gardens across the county, is sponsoring the event.
Participants can pick up a passport folder at the Ligonier Country Market special feature booth on Saturdays, May 21, June 25, Aug. 13 or Sept. 17. Visit six of the listed gardens, and return to the booth with a stickered passport or photos documenting the visits to receive a free native plant chosen to appeal to local pollinator species. Anyone also photographing a native plant in a WPP garden will receive an additional native plant while supplies last.
“Pollinators provide a valuable service to humans,” explained Andrea Kautz, entomologist with Powdermill Nature Reserve, a WPP member. “Without them, we wouldn’t have access to most of the fruits and vegetables we enjoy every day. Native pollinators and native plants rely on each other to thrive, and together contribute to the biodiversity of our region.”
The WPP pollinator- friendly gardens are: Ligonier Community Garden Insectary Borders, Ligonier Country Market Garden, Loyalhanna Watershed Association Farm and Wetland Gardens, Ligonier Valley YMCA Garden, Ligonier Middle School’s Sustainable Farm Project’s Insectary Border, Powdermill Nature Reserve Gardens, Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art Ligonier Gardens, DCNR Forbes State Forest Meadow, DCNR Keystone State Park Meadow, Winnie Palmer Nature Reserve Garden, Westmoreland Land Trust/Westmoreland County Park and Recreation Twin Lakes Meadow, Historic Hanna’s Town Gardens, Greensburg Garden Center Lefevre Butterfly Garden, Penn State Master Gardener Donohoe Center Demonstration Gardens, Westmoreland Conservation District Meadow, Westmoreland Museum of American Art Garden, Amos K Hutchinson Elementary School Garden, West Penn Power Garden, Mount Pleasant Public Library Story Garden, West Overton Village and Museum Gardens, Smithton Borough Garden, Laurelville Retreat Center Gardens, and the Pollinator Garden of Penguin Court/Brandywine Conservancy.
Visit the WPP Facebook page for locations and highlights at www.facebook.com/WestmorelandPollinatorPartners/