If you are walking or driving by the Mother House pollinator garden, and thinking, “When are they going to clean that garden up?” The answer is late April or early May!   Leaving dead stalks and leaves provide much needed shelter for our native pollinators who overwinter in the garden beds. While it is tempting to clean out garden beds as soon as the daytime temperatures begin to climb, cooler spring nights and occasional light freezes mean local pollinators still need shelter.

Ninety-five percent of pollinators reside within a 1-mile radius their entire lives. And many either burrow underground or reside in dead leaves and stalk matter to live through the winter, and then breed in the spring. Although most people think of butterflies or bees as pollinators, moths, birds, and bats can also be pollinators.

The Mother House pollinator garden is a project of the Care of Creation Committee inspired by Laudato Si’ and has been growing bit by bit for the last few years. In 2022, the SCL grounds crew expanded the mulched area and added a convenient water pump to the garden. Also, an anonymous donor gave a bench to overlook the garden.

This year, Kenny Davidson, from the SCL grounds crew created a solar-powered fountain for the garden. A beautiful addition to the garden and great for pollinators, too!

Today, members of the Care of Creation subcommittee for the garden and members of the JPIC office worked to prepare the garden for new growth. The SCL grounds crew added a new hibiscus tree and prepared a nearby drainage area, where cattails and other plants will be added that will benefit from the runoff water throughout the summer.