We are sourcing plants for these gardens from Home Earth Alliance and Wild Things Rescue
Nursery and are using excess plants from friends’ native plant gardens. (If you move any plant from an existing garden bed, make sure the bed does not have jumping worms in it.) Three of the gardens are currently being prepped by using the “lasagna method” to kill the grass on the hellstrip and
prepare for fall planting.

Spring Street Deli garden

Spring Street Deli garden

This garden is a “chaos garden”, that is, a largely unplanned collection of native species chosen for their ability to survive mild neglect and full sun while providing season-long blooms for pollinators to feed on. Originally, we planted tall species on the ends and lower species in the
middle, and had not done much replanting, other than removing unwanted volunteer plants and thinning the aggressive cutleaf coneflower to keep it from completely taking over the bed. Only
the ends of the garden survived the destruction of the sewer pipe repair. This year we added some native beebalm, black-eyed Susans, a mountain mint, some goldenrod and a number of annual marigolds, Mexican sunflowers and zinnias. A New England aster popped on its own. There is still some empty space in the middle – we will add more plants in the fall when conditions are favorable for transplanting perennials.

Spotted bee balm in the mid-Spring Street garden

Mid-Spring Street garden

We convinced a neighbor to let us plant our first new garden on their hellstrip just prior to launching this initiative publicly. Their hellstrip was mostly bare dirt, so we covered it with 25 bags of organic compost and then planted directly into it. We wanted the garden to be low at the ends since visibility is important for cars pulling out of driveways. We put spotted beebalm on one end and native geraniums and golden ragwort on the other end in the full shade of a tree. The other species planted, mostly in groups of three, include mountain mint, Joe Pye weed, blue lobelia, beardtongue foxglove, big leaf aster, foam flowers, evening primrose, aromatic aster, goldenrod, pink coreopsis, boneset and a single golden alexander that we had lying
around. Rabbit damage has been heavy on the coreopsis and asters and we are not sure they
will make it. Since the plants are still small, we are watering nearly every day and examining
which plants are most successful. So far the spotted bee balm is the star of this garden.
Existing Spring Street hellstrip garden

Existing Spring Street hellstrip garden

Existing Spring Street hellstrip garden

When the previous owner of this property passed away, her garden was left untended so we asked if we could weed it and add to it. It already had four healthy native false indigo plants, which are excellent for hellstrips because they thrive in poor soils, plus two peonies, some
astilbe and daylilies, and a couple of rather bedraggled native columbines that desperately needed water. We added six bee balm plants, three narrow-leaved mountain mints, three spotted beebalms and ten annual Mexican sunflowers. The sunflowers were promptly eaten by rabbits. We will add more perennials in the fall.

Three new hellstrip gardens

One of these gardens is on Spring Street and two are on Empire Avenue. All these gardens are under construction and will be planted in the fall. We laid down cardboard or newspaper on top of the grass of each hellstrip, then added a layer of compost on top of the paper. Depending on the size of the plant-able area, it takes 25 to 35 bags of compost to fully cover an average 25- foot hellstrip. We will let these gardens sit for the rest of the summer, watering if it doesn’t rain at least once a week, and then will plant into them in the fall, primarily with plants purchased from Home Earth Alliance. It is also fine to prep the hellstrip with cardboard and compost and let it sit all winter before planting in the spring. If you choose to plant in the spring, you can try winter sowing seeds, a very economical alternative to purchasing plants or plugs. More on that in a future post.

New hellstrip gardens

Be a hellstrip hero!

We hope you will consider planting a perennial pollinator garden on your hellstrip or elsewhere on your property. It is important to provide a variety of plants that bloom at different times, preferably local ecotypes but at least native to this region of the country. If you need help designing your garden or finding places to buy plants or compost, please feel free to reach out to us at pollinators@sustainablesaratoga.org. We would also like to hear from you if you have a pollinator garden – we love seeing what other people have done.

The post Hellstrip Heroes – Summer Update appeared first on Sustainable Saratoga.

By Dianna Goodwin and Deb Stone, Pollinator and Native Plant Committee

A hellstrip in part sun/part shade with compost added, waiting to be planted.

Insect populations have been plummeting world wide over the last several decades, largely because of climate change, habitat loss and the use of increasingly toxic insecticides. The expansion of cities and their suburbs has been disastrous for native bees, butterflies and other pollinators because their food and nesting areas disappear into building lots and lawns.  Suburban lawns are ecological deserts that do not support wildlife and that are often treated with noxious pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Remaining natural habitat is fractured, making it difficult to sustain natural populations of vulnerable insect and bird species.

Be a Hellstrip Hero!

You can help reverse this trend by planting native flowering plants in your yard that support wildlife instead of turf grass or exotic garden plants. Even if you do not have a large area of land that you can convert to a pollinator garden, you can create habitat on a small piece of land, like a hellstrip. Hellstrips, those narrow pieces of land between the sidewalk and the street, also known as tree lawns or verges, are often neglected areas with poor soil, high salt, and damage from foot traffic. Replacing exotic plants with native plant gardens in adjoining or nearby hellstrips can create a pollinator corridor to feed insects and birds for the entire growing season. 

A full sun hellstrip that was a pollinator garden last year. It was destroyed by sewer work in the winter and needs replanting.

We ask that you take the challenge to be a hellstrip hero and turn your verge into a pollinator paradise by getting rid of turfgrass and any invasive exotic plants, like goutweed and garlic mustard, planting native species, and eliminating the use of insecticides, herbicides and fungicides on or near the garden. If you need help planning a hellstrip garden, reach out to us at pollinators@sustainablesaratoga.org. Even planting a few native pollinator plants in an existing garden bed can help save the bees. 

Get started now

To get the ball rolling, members of Sustainable Saratoga’s pollinator committee will create two hellstrip gardens on Spring Street in Saratoga Springs, one in dappled shade and one in full sun, to help others learn how to turn their hellstrips into habitat. We will post pictures of the process and document the growth of the two gardens through this first growing season.  

Share your hellstrip

If you turn your hellstrip into habitat, or have already done so, send us photos or post on social media and tag #hellstripheroes!  We will post them to inspire other people to ditch their grass in favor of biodiversity. You can also register your native plant hellstrip garden on the Pollinator Pathway and/or Homegrown National Park websites to become part of the nationwide movement to turn yards into habitat.   

Less lawns, more life!

Learn more about our Pollinators and Native Plants Committee

The post Be a Hero- Turn your Hellstrip into Habitat appeared first on Sustainable Saratoga.

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There is no set prescription for combatting hopelessness or gloom, but personally, I have found, time and again, that getting my hands dirty and observing new beginnings is one of the simplest, purest life-affirming acts there is.

Sowing My Way to Sanity

Like many during Covid lockdown, I felt drawn to seed and soil. In her book, What We Sow: On the Personal, Ecological, and Cultural Significance of Seeds, Jennifer Jewell writes, “A seed is the dormant dream of a new life.” Jewell continues, “The notion of it, a seed, and the very act of it, to seed, permeate our collective cultural fabric and imagination. Seeds are the flesh of life and one of the smallest visible units of its meaning, they are the future of that flesh and meaning, and they hold the metaphoric bounty of it all wrapped up in the enormous diversity of their relatively tiny forms.”

Every time I pick up an acorn, I think, how? How does this tiny hooded nugget become a centuries-old behemoth, not to mention on a national level, play larval host plant to nearly 1,000 species of moth and butterfly, in turn feeding hundreds of birds and other wildlife? Growing our own, creating beauty, nourishing both mind and body, all while investing in the health of our children and community– that is the seed of good fortune. 

Sow Those Blues Away

Winter sowing was a term I first heard five years ago during Covid. I had no idea you could sow seeds in January and store them outdoors all winter! Up to that point, I’d been placing jars or ziplocs of native seeds saved from my garden in the fridge for sixty days and then planting in spring. Many seeds require stratification, a period of cold, moist conditions that mimics winter so the seeds will break dormancy and germinate. Then I listened to a Joe Gardener podcast with Heather McCargo of Wild Seed Project. “Let nature do the work!” Heather urged. A few clean pots, soil, sand, seeds and a screen under my deck all winter? I could do that. Plus, it was practically like growing a garden for free. Plants for myself, plants to share… what’s not to love? 

What Native Plants Teach Us

Most native seeds don’t need special care or fertilizer to grow because they are adapted to our native soils and faithfully temper the conditions of our inconstant climate. Additionally, propagating native seeds helps preserve genetic diversity. “The biggest problem I have with cultivars is that they’re all cloned,” McCargo says. “So we’re mass-producing a really narrowed gene pool.” A cultivar, or nativar, is a plant propagated by humans to clone preferred traits like color, size, yield, petal shape, or disease resistance. Considerable research has been dedicated to producing cultivars; that’s not to say that certain cultivars aren’t worthy of our garden space, but without seed diversity, plants frequently fall prey to disease, predatory insects, and changing climate conditions. Sowing seeds of straight (native) plant species ensures genetic biodiversity, resilience, and the health of our planet.

Come Join Us and Learn How… It’s Sow Easy!

Sustainable Saratoga and SoBro Conservancy are co-hosting a free winter sowing workshop on Thursday, January 29 from 5-7pm at the Skidmore Center for Integrated Sciences. Drop by anytime between 5 and 6:30pm. Soil, seeds, and recycled pots will be provided, but please feel free to bring your own recycled plastic milk jugs or containers/pots. Volunteers will be on hand to instruct and answer questions. Within a few quick steps, you’ll have your own potential garden at the ready!

***Please register using the QR code from the event flyer on Sustainable Saratoga’s website (included in their January newsletter).

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Resources:

The Easiest Way to Start and Grow Seeds in Winter: No Special Equipment Required
https://joegardener.com/podcast/easiest-way-to-start-and-grow-native-seeds-winter/

Wild Seed Project – Autumn and Winter Sowing in Six Easy Steps
https://wildseedproject.net/blog/ideal-time-for-sowing-native-seeds

Get Dirty. It’s Surprisingly Good for Your Health
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/17/well/live/dirt-health-benefits.html

Jewell, Jennifer. What We Sow: On the Personal, Ecological, and Cultural Significance of Seeds. Timber Press, 2023.

The post Seeds: A Metaphor for Life and Antidote to Despair appeared first on Sustainable Saratoga.

Leaves: Our Not So Hidden Superpower

by Johanna Garrison

When I was introduced to the realm of wildlife gardening ten years ago, I had no idea how much I needed to unlearn. For ages, I had followed the same gardening routines as my neighbors. Fall was the season to cut everything back and to amass heaps of leaves on the street. Once gone, I didn’t give the leaves another thought. Other than a few hibernating bumblebee queens, I figured most insects were dead by the time frost hit. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Holy Habitat, Batman

In a recent study, University of Maryland Associate Professor of Entomology Karin Burghardt and graduate student Max Ferlauto wanted to know to what extent leaf removal impacted insect populations over winter. From 20 pesticide-free suburban yards, Burghardt, Ferlauto, and their team removed leaves from some areas and kept them in others. Then they set up emergence traps over each square meter patch that would keep everything contained, and in the spring they lifted each trap to quantify the life beneath.

Any guesses as to how many insects were collected under leaves from one square meter of suburban yard? An average of 18,000! Here’s the takeaway: When leaves were removed, so were 45% of butterflies and moths, up to 67% of spiders, and 25% of beetles, not to mention thousands of flies and other beneficial insects that vegetable gardeners love.

Here we are, thrilled to be planting, watering, propagating so much humming, buzzing vitality within our glorious wildlife gardens… only to smother these lives by cutting off their life cycle when we send leaves to the landfill.

To Shred or Not to Shred 

Years ago, I thought it was fine to wait till the leaves had fallen and then blast through them before putting the mower to bed for the winter. I’d read that leaves make excellent compost and felt gratified I wasn’t raking them to the curb. But according to Ferlauto, mulch-mowing or shredding is just as bad as removal. He calls it “direct mortality.” I sometimes wonder how many thousands of ecosystems I destroyed. Probably more like tens or hundreds of thousands. Sadly, we all know what that road to hell is paved with.

But I Don’t Live in a Forest– I Live in a Neighborhood

Maybe you don’t want a wilderness and you like your lawn. How about raking leaves into garden beds, less-traversed areas, and around trees to create what pollinator conservationist and author Heather Holm calls “soft landings.” Let them remain year-round as insects continue to emerge. I’ll bet these dark, damp, protected areas are the first to light up with fireflies next year. During an outdoor Sustainability Science class last fall, a high school senior uncovered a peculiar looking pink and brown critter and asked, “What’s this?” I shouted, “That’s a firefly larva! They live one to two years in the soil relying on moist leaf litter until they emerge as adults. The larvae eat slugs, snails, and earthworms. Awesome find!” Beaming, the student gently covered the larva back up with leaves.

“He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Oak Leaf…”

Renowned entomologist and author Doug Tallamy says that the best leaf litter doesn’t degrade quickly. These leaves provide insulation, nutrients, and protection for longer periods than other leaves, and consequently preserve more insects and other arthropods. Enter the Mighty Oak. Larval host to over 500 different species of caterpillar, a native oak’s leaves provide moisture for thousands of critters, most of whom live beneath the soil, and numerous others who live within the leaves themselves. Furthermore, Tallamy reports that jumping worms don’t care for oak leaves; another win. Six inch layers, rather than large piles, is today’s standard recommendation. We can do that, can’t we?

Leaves Do a Lot More Than Look Pretty

Ecological gardening experts teach us that leaves are critical habitat. Here’s what they do:

• Return nutrients to the soil (free compost, anyone?)
• Provide insulation for overwintering invertebrates and mammals
• Retain moisture preventing dry soil, erosion, mycorrhizal disease and insect death
• Camouflage and protect wildlife
• Provide nesting material for insects, birds, and mammals
• Fortify the soil carbon which improves overall soil health, holds moisture, mitigates runoff, and suppresses weeds

The Xerces Society calls fall “the season of neglect.” Thanks to this study, we now have empirical evidence that leaves definitively play a critical role in preserving insects. So let’s leave the leaves, not to mention twigs, dead wood, and faded blooms. I assure you, the party does not stop during winter!

Resources: 

Xerces Society’s Bug Banter Podcast Link: https://www.xerces.org/bug-banter/leave-leaves-or-lose-insects?emci=c874ce03-538e-f011-b484-6045bdeb7413&emdi=de1da724-b697-f011-b484-6045bdeb7413&ceid=14163139

Max Ferlauto’s and Karin Burghardt’s Science of the Total Environment study: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969725004565?emci=c874ce03-538e-f011-b484-6045bdeb7413&emdi=de1da724-b697-f011-b484-6045bdeb7413&ceid=14163139

Nancy Lawson: https://www.humanegardener.com/newsletter-september-2025/

https://www.humanegardener.com/fallen-leaves-are-everything/

Heather Holm: https://www.pollinatorsnativeplants.com/

Joe Gardener Podcast: https://joegardener.com/podcast/nature-oaks-doug-tallamy/

Johanna Garrison is an active volunteer for Sustainable Saratoga’s Pollinator Committee and a garden advisory member for SoBro Conservancy. Recently retired from teaching, Johanna hopes to inspire others about the fascinating interconnection between insects and native plants.

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by Johanna Garrison

I noticed him bobbing in the water and knew he’d never make it; not by himself. It’d probably only taken a minute or two before the current had swept him far from the bank’s edge. I couldn’t leave him there, so I scooped his leaf into my left palm, figuring a one-handed doggy paddle across the Hudson could prove entertaining.

I’m no Trudy Ederle, first woman to cross the English Channel, but I’m a decent swimmer. Still, who chooses to doggy paddle other than dogs or five-year-olds? Poor guy, I didn’t want to freak him out. I had no choice but to move slowly, and was worried he’d try to leap off of my hand into the water. But he didn’t. He watched me watch him. I told him everything was going to be alright; I’d get there eventually. And please, don’t move. So, in between huffs and pants, I prattled on. How cute he was, did he have a family, was he a dad, maybe he was on the verge of starting a family, or maybe he wasn’t a male at all, but a female; oh excuse me, it’s hard to tell from this vantage point. I’m a human. Most of my species don’t see you, let alone understand you. Or your cousins. Or your cousins’ cousins. If only they knew how marvelous you are!

A few final paddles and, pant-pant, I made it. What a relief to be alone. It’d be kind of embarrassing for a breathless, middle-aged woman to emerge from the water carrying an insect on a leaf. And since an insect is pretty small, they’d most likely assume I was only carrying a leaf. “Uhh, you okay, lady?” 

I crawled out, balancing with my right hand (which by now was pretty tired) and walked over the rocks to the flowering grasses. I gently set his wee life raft down and told him how lovely it was to have shared this river crossing, and that I would never forget him. He replied by hopping away. 

I felt grand. I’d saved a cricket. I stood tall, arms outstretched, and looked across the glorious expanse from which I’d paddled. So much life. Does one cricket matter? Does one bee, butterfly, wasp, spider, grasshopper, dragonfly, milkweed, turtle, chickadee, cat, dog, or horse matter? 

I’m often asked if I have pets. My answer is yes, thousands. And they’re all in my backyard. They either care for each other, or eat each other. Admittedly, the word pet connotes devotion, affection, and care. Do I snuggle with our great golden digger wasps? Well no, but I do gaze at them fondly and we respect our mutual boundaries. Which is a lot more than most humans can say for each other these days.

Don’t get me wrong. Doggies, kitties, ponies and bunnies all make incredible family members. I grew up with them. I also grew up in a world where we swatted, smashed, cursed, dismissed and poisoned a vast amount of wildlife that helps sustain us. How many times have we swiped down a hand to squash a bug? Or swished one away with a, “Piss off!” Because insects are not seen as charismatic like mammals or birds or even fish, they always get the short end of the stick.

The passing of the Endangered Species Act in 1973 marked the first time invertebrates (and plants) were given distinct federal protection. However, funding is dismally disproportionate to monies allocated for vertebrates. For example, a 2024 study in PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) found that between 2005 and 2021 over $1.6 billion in conservation funds were assigned to vertebrates. Invertebrates and plants during that same period each received just 6.6% of funding ($129 million), despite making up the majority of listed species.

It’s pretty certain in today’s political climate that funding is not going to increase for either mammals or insects. So what can we do? A lot, actually. You don’t have to be a landscape designer, master gardener, or plant biologist. Lord knows, I’m none of these things. All you need to do is care. Biodiversity loss and climate change are existential crises that clamor for our attention. Many of you reading may already be unlawning, turning off exterior lights, and planting natives, and I am grateful. If you see an insect and think, what a cutie, you’re on your way. Or if you don’t have space for gardening, maybe you want to donate or get involved in one of the many pollinator initiatives across our region.

Back to my cricket. I still think he, or she, matters. Gardening for wildlife, native gardening, ecological gardening (whatever you want to call it), taught me to care about the “little things that run the world.” E.O. Wilson wasn’t exaggerating when he said we’d be lost without them. We need them. Far more than they need us.

Learn more about national and local initiatives – the movement is growing!

https://homegrownnationalpark.org/
https://xerces.org/     —      https://xerces.org/learn-about-invertebrates
https://sustainablesaratoga.org/projects/pollinators-and-native-plants/
https://sobroconservancy.org/
https://www.pitneymeadowscommunityfarm.org/

Curious about a male cricket’s mating prowess and testicle size? Yes, you heard me.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/130709-crickets-science-animals-audience-learning

Reasons behind our plummeting insect population:

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2023989118

As I wrap up this piece, wherefore art thou, Romeos? In the garden, of course. I can hear about 300 of them chirping for their Juliets, and one, in particular, is stealing the show. 

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Johanna Garrison discovered wildlife gardening ten years ago and never looked back. She is an active volunteer for Sustainable Saratoga’s Pollinator Committee and a garden advisory member for SoBro Conservancy. Recently retired from teaching, Johanna hopes to inspire others about the wondrous interconnection between insects and native plants.

The post I Brake for Crickets appeared first on Sustainable Saratoga.

PRESS RELEASE – For immediate release 5/15/25

Sustainable Saratoga Hosts Pollinator Palooza Native Plant Sale Event on Saturday, May 31st, 2025

Media Contact: Beth Plummer; beth@sustainablesaratoga.org

Saratoga Springs, NY – Pollinator Palooza is Back! Join Sustainable Saratoga on Saturday, May 31st from 10am-3pm to buy native plants and meet people dedicated to protecting our precious pollinators, their habitat, and other natural resources.

Pollinator Palooza offers a wonderful array of native flowering perennials that attract pollinators as sources of nutrition, and homeowners will love the colors, fragrances, and beauty these natives bring to yards and gardens. Sustainable Saratoga volunteers have been growing 1,600 plants for the last 2 months and they are ready for their new homes.

Dianna Goodwin, Pollinator Committee chair for Sustainable Saratoga says, “Every garden, no matter how small, has an important role to play in protecting pollinators. Planting native plants is an essential part of creating food and habitat for our native pollinators. However, finding native plants can often be a challenge. The Pollinator Palooza native plant sale offers a variety of plants to gardeners in the local area.”

EVENT DETAILS:

• When: Saturday, May 31st, 10am-3pm
• Where: Oligny’s Country Gardens, 390 Wilton-Gansevoort Rd, Gansevoort
• Parking: Across the street at 393 Wilton-Gansevoort Rd.
• Pet policy: While we love our four-legged friends, we kindly ask that you leave your pups at home. No pets at the event, please.
• Payment by cash or check preferred

This family-friendly event includes

• Over 30 varieties of native plants for sale
• Information about native plants and pollinators
• Free soil pH testing by Cornell Cooperative Extension (bring about 1/4 cup of dry soil)
• Help with your gardening questions
• Local organizations focused on native plants and ecosystems
• Kids’ activities
• Raffles to win books, gift certificates, plants, and more
• Food Trucks

New this year, give the gift of native plants to someone you love by buying a Pollinator Palooza e-gift card prior to the event. Electronic gift cards are now available on the Sustainable Saratoga website for purchase. Good for purchase of plants in the Sustainable Saratoga greenhouse or for raffle tickets. BUY YOURS HERE.

For more information on the Pollinator Palooza native plan sale, visit:

https://sustainablesaratoga.org/projects/pollinators-and-native-plants/pollinator-palooza-native-plant-sale/

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ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION
Sustainable Saratoga is a not-for-profit organization that promotes sustainable practices and the
protection of natural resources, through education, advocacy and action, for the benefit of current
and future generations in the Saratoga Springs area. Since 2008, Sustainable Saratoga has been a
leader in promoting awareness of environmental issues and what we as a local community can do
to minimize our ecological impact while maintaining a high quality of life.

The post Press Release: Pollinator Palooza 2025 appeared first on Sustainable Saratoga.

No Mow May is a movement that encourages people to provide food for insect pollinators by refraining from mowing their lawns in the early part of the growing season. Spring is a critical time for insects emerging from hibernation – they wake up hungry and need to eat fairly quickly if they are going to survive. Traditional sterile suburban landscapes do not provide much for them to eat and early mowing can make food resources even scarcer. By delaying mowing until June 1, or by slowing mowing down and mowing higher at any part of the spring or summer, bees and other insects can find nectar sources in lawns, like violets and dandelions, that would otherwise be cut down before flowering.  

Insects are in trouble worldwide, with populations plummeting because of development, use of highly toxic, persistent insecticides, especially neonics, and climate change. While No Mow May is not a panacea, it is a useful consciousness-raising tool to make people understand that their yards can be part of the solution to habitat loss. Simply by getting accustomed to seeing lawns that have flowers in them, that are a little shaggy and that do not look like a putting green, people can start to understand the value of changing our landscaping habits in order to preserve our native pollinators and other species.  

Of course, if your lawn is a monoculture maintained by chemicals, you shouldn’t participate in No Mow May because allowing your turf grass to grow longer will not provide food for any insects. But if you don’t use herbicides or insecticides and allow flowers to creep into your grass, you can be part of the solution to habitat destruction.

No Mow May yard signs will be available for a $10 donation at our spring events including the Saratoga Sustainability Fair on April 5 at Sidmore’s Center for Integrated Sciences, Tree Toga on April 26 at Pitney Meadows Community Farm, and Pollinator Palooza on May 31 at Oligny’s Country Gardens. You can also email pollinators@sustainablesaratoga.org to schedule a pick-up time in Saratoga Springs.

After No Mow May, consider building a wildlife garden where you live. Share your yard with other creatures like bumblebees, fireflies, butterflies and birds. Start small; reduce the area you mow, plant some native perennials, leave the leaves under the drip line of your trees and slow down your mowing.  No Mow May is a first step to rebuilding the natural world and we really hope you take it. You can purchase native, pollinator-friendly plants at the Pollinator Palooza Native Plant Sale on Saturday, May 31 from 10am-3pm at Oligny’s Country Gardens- 390 Wilton Gansevoort Rd. 

Written by Dianna Goodwin, Pollinator and Native Plants Committee Chair

The post No Mow May: A Simple Step to Save Pollinators and Rewild Your Lawn appeared first on Sustainable Saratoga.

Video produced by David Washburn and Kelsey Trudell

A HUGE Thank you to all who helped make the third annual

Pollinator Palooza native plant sale a success!

Sustainable Saratoga is delighted that so many people turned out for the Third Annual Pollinator Palooza at Oligny’s Country Gardens on June 1, 2024. We are proud to announce that over 2,000 native pollinator plants were purchased and found their way into the hands and gardens of Capital District and North Country residents. This is terrific support for pollinators and Sustainable Saratoga! Thank you!

The Palooza’s success was owed to the volunteerism and generosity of many individuals including the Oligny family and Sustainable Saratoga’s Pollinator and Native Plant Committee. Here is our recognition of the people who made it happen…we apologize if we missed anyone…please let us know if we did!

Our Hosts

Thank you first and foremost to Brian and Debbie Oligny of Oligny’s Country Gardens for letting us use their greenhouse to grow our plants and then letting us host the Palooza on their beautiful property in Gansevoort. They have been steadfast supporters of this event from the moment we suggested it more than three years ago. We could not hold the Palooza without them and thank them for their warmth, advice, and good-natured tolerance of people trooping in and out of their greenhouse for months.

Thank you to the Olignys’ neighbor, Jeff Mancini, for letting us use his property as a parking lot for the second year in a row. We really appreciate the ability to handle crowds safely because of his generosity. If you came to the first Palooza, you know how important the parking lot is to the event.

The Palooza Planning Team

A huge thank you to Christine Burghart, who is the founder of Palooza and its chief cook and bottlewasher. She conceived of the event, named it and made it happen. Without her, we would just be handing out seed packets at the farmer’s market instead of supplying the region with thousands of native perennial flowers.

The Team: Christine Burghart, Johanna Garrison, Dianna Goodwin, Jennifer Michelle, Tina O’Hanlon, Wendy Mahaney, Paul Murphy, Caroline Rothaug and Kelsey Trudell. It took a lot of time and effort to pull it off again, and we did it!

Johanna Garrison and Wendy Mahaney. Along with Chris, they are the brains behind the event. The three of them work hard to choose the plants, provide information on them, pot them up and staff the greenhouse.

The potting crew who carefully potted up all our seedlings: Lori Bishop, Christine Burghart, Nora Cheek, Kathryn Edwards, Johanna Garrison, Dianna Goodwin, Shelley Hachenski, Julie Holmberg, Bethany Khan and Natalie, Wendy Mahaney, Jennifer Michelle, Alexandra Morgan, Tina O’hanlon, Caroline Rothaug, Mary Jo Salomon, Susan Taylor, Karen Totino, Maria Trabka, and Kelsey Trudell.

The greenhouse volunteers who watered and cared for our plants daily for nearly two months: Chris Burghart, Dianna Goodwin, Caroline Rothaug and Kelsey Trudell.

Thank you to Candice Bergmann for making our social media look so good. And to Beth Plummer, Sustainable Saratoga’s Media Coordinator, for help with getting the word out. And to Jodi Visconti and the Saratoga Springs High School Graphic Design and Printing Club for our beautiful new banners.

Our generous donors

Kudos to Jennifer Michelle for soliciting an amazing array of donations for the raffle for the third year in a row, and to Jennifer, Kate Edwards, and Maja Mahaney for selling the raffle tickets and minding the table. Congratulations to all the winners!

Thank you to the businesses and individuals who donated items for our raffle: 9 Miles East Farm, American Beauties Native Plants, Balet Flowers and Design, Booth’s Blend Compost, Chris’ Garden Glass, Dawn’s Wild Things Rescue Nursery, Eastern Mountain Sports, Kayak Shak,Roosevelt Baths and Spa, Saratoga Olive Oil Company, and Saratoga Quality Hardware.

A special thanks to Martha Johnson at Slack Hollow Farm for planting and growing out the milkweed seedlings we gave away at the Sustainable Saratoga table. Thank you to Janet Britt for helping plant the fly-away milkweed seeds.

Food for mind and body

Click the arrows to scroll through the photos

We truly appreciate the participating organizations and their tables filled with information and demonstrations to educate us on land preservation and the importance of native plants to our birds and pollinators: Capital Region PRISM, City of Saratoga Springs Participatory Budgeting, Cornell Cooperative Extension Saratoga County Master Gardeners, Grassland Bird Trust,Merck Forest and Farmland Center, North Shore Animal League, Saratoga PLAN, SoBro conservancy of Saratoga, Southern ADK Audubon Society, Wild Ones Capital Region, and Wilton Wildlife Preserve & Park.

Thank you again to the food and beverage truck vendors who provided sustenance to the hungry crowds:  Coach’s Corner and Sustainable Eats.

An enthusiastic round of applause to the Saratoga Springs High School Fiddle Club who entertained us all. Come back again next year!

Our incredible volunteers

Thank you to our Palooza volunteers who prepared for the day, set up the event, directed traffic, staffed the tables, answered questions in the greenhouse, cashiered, kept things flowing, and cleaned up at the end. In alphabetical order they are: Braelyn Bourgeois, Michael Cohen, Alex Couture, Serene Couture, Leanne Donelan, Amy Durland, Kate Edwards, Anne Ernst, Susan Fairchild, Laura Faulk, Dianna Goodwin, Barbara Lasher, Elaine McArdle, Tom McNamara, Dave McKeighan, Shannon McKeighan, Jennifer Michelle, Alexandra Morgan, Paul Murphy, Tina O’Hanlon, Maja Smemo, Mathew Smith, Judy Staubo, Chuck Tirone, Maria Trabka, Ben Trudell, and Jody Visconti.

And YOU!

And, finally, a big thank you to all the gardeners who gave new homes to the plants we grew. Expand your garden beds and come back next year! Consider volunteering! We need you!

Read More

Get more info on our Pollinators and Native Plants pages

See the details of the most recent Pollinator Palooza, including plant lists and photos

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