Native plants for native pollinators
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. Sustainable Saratoga held our first Pollinator Palooza native plant sale in June of 2022 to make native plants available in the Saratoga area.
Oligny’s greenhouse full of plants before the sale
That first sale was an unqualified success, drawing plant and pollinator lovers from Saratoga and surrounding counties. We sold over 1500 plants of 30 varieties selected for suitability to our area. Pollinator Palooza is now an annual June event.
This family-friendly event includes
- Native plants for sale
- Information about native plants
- Information about native pollinators
- Help with gardening questions
- Regional organizations focused on native plants and ecosystems
- Activities for children
- Raffles to win books, gift certificates, plants, and more
A few of our greenhouse volunteers
It’s a labor of love
Thanks to the generous support of Oligny’s Greenhouse in Gansevoort, NY, all plants are raised locally, and lovingly cared for by Sustainable Saratoga volunteers.
Plants suited to local conditions
Offerings cover a variety of planting conditions, from sun to shade and dry to moist soil. Species available each year will vary but here’s a sampling of what you can expect:
Volunteers potting up seedlings
Grasses/Sedges
Carex pensyvanica – Pennsylvania Sedge
Sporobolus heterolepis – Prairie Dropseed
Flowering Plants
Anemone virginiana – Thimbleweed
Aquilegia canadensis – Columbine
Asclepias tuberosa – Butterfly Weed
Asclepias verticillata – Whorled Milkweed
Blephila ciliata – Downy Wood Mint
Chelone glabra – White turtlehead
Echinacea purpurea – Purple Coneflower
Eupatorium (Eutrochium) maculatum – Spotted Joe-Pye
Eupatorium perfoliatum – Boneset
Fragaria virginiana – Wild Strawberry
Geum triflorum – Prairie Smoke
Helianthus divaricatus – Woodland Sunflower
Lobelia cardinalis – Cardinal Flower
Monarda fistulosa – Wild Bergamont
Monarda punctata – Spotted Beebalm
Packera aurea – Golden Ragwort
Parthenium integrifolium – Wild Quinine
Phlox divaricata – Woodland Phlox
Polemonium reptans – Jacobs Ladder
Pycnanthemum tenifolium – Slender/Narrowleaf
Pycnanthemum virginianum – Virginia Mountain Mint
Rudbeckia laciniata – Greenheaded Coneflower
Solidago arguta – Forest Goldenrod
Solidago rugosa – Wrinkleleaf Goldenrod
Solidago speciosa – Showy Goldenrod
Symphyotrichum cordifolium – Blue Wood Aster
Symphyotrichum laeve – Smooth Aster
Tiarella cordifolia – Creeping Foamflower
Veronia noveboracensis –NY Ironweed
Veronicastrum virginicum – Culver’s root
Learn more about what you can do to support native pollinators
Check out our Pollinator Resources page for links to lots of additional information
Have questions? Email us at pollinators@sustainablesaratoga.org
