Save the Pollinators Button - March 2022

This weekend we popped into the Garden Show at Wannemakers and it was a lot of fun and a really welcome pop of gardening as we wind down Winter.  A bunch of things were on sale (Trellises were 10% off) and they had some hardy annuals like pansies for sale, too.  But, they also had some vendors with little tables set up including a local pond and koi group, the Downer Grove Garden Walk and these folks from American Beauties Native Plants.  They were handing out buttons - which...I of course - glommed on to one of them.  It isn't a Disney Pin, but I think I'll put it up on the board in the garage none-the-less.

We inherited a few Native trees on hand in our yard including the Catalpas and the Kentucky Coffee Trees.  I planted a Pagoda Dogwood and a Chinkapin Oak that I bought at a local sale in Glen Ellyn.   Last year, I tried to grow a few Kentucky Coffee Tree seedlings from seed and this year, I'm going to do the same with Catalpas.  

The button calls out how native plants help with the pollinators like butterflies.  But, they're also more drought hardy and seem to do better in our growing zone than things we import and hope are adapated.  I'm by no means a 'native' gardener, but I certainly appreciate the appeal of native plants, shrubs and trees and have been pretty deliberate in bringing more and more into our garden.