The plentiful pollinator gardens within Lake Metroparks provide the inspiration you need to plant one of your own at home

By Mimi Vanderhaven

It’s easy to take the biological phenomenon of pollination for granted. This generational marvel happens when pollen is moved from the male part of a plant, the anther, to the female part of the plant, the stigma, ensuring seeds and fruits are produced, as well as the next generation of plants. The legwork is done by pollinators (birds, bats, bees, wasps, butterflies, beetles, and some small mammals). It’s a perfect little plan.

In fact, you can thank amazing pollinators for one in every three bites of food you take. That equates to about $40 billion worth of food produced in the United States alone each year.

Mimi caught up with Lake Metroparks Biologist Megan Hart for more insight.

“Pollination is essential to agricultural crops and promoting other wildlife species on the landscape, such as birds and mammals,” she explains. “It’s extremely important to produce flowers and tree species. Our landscape would look completely different without pollinators.”

Unfortunately, over the years the populations of pollinators have been declining, mostly due to lack of food and pesticide usage.

But marvelous news, darlings: Fall is the best time of year to plant your own pollinator garden.

Why? Because most native plant species have adapted to spread their seeds after the growing season ends. Over the winter, cold soil is needed for wildflowers to successfully germinate and bloom on time in the spring.

Megan recommends planting your garden after there’s been a heavy frost, usually in October or November.

“You can buy pollinator seed mix at any local garden or farm supply store, or even online,” she explains. “I recommend planting the mix in a place that gets lots of sunshine and is free of pre-existing plant material. It’s best to plant the seed in no more than an eighth of an inch of soil, or about as deep down as your first knuckle. Most wildflowers are self-seeding, so you should enjoy the beautiful, colorful flowers for years to come.”

For inspiration, check out Penitentiary Glen Reservation’s pollinator garden outside the Nature Center or the Environmental Learning Center’s native wildflower planting or Gully Brook’s rain garden.

Lake Metroparks Penitentiary Glen is located at 8668 Kirtland Chardon Road in Kirtland. For more information, about pollinators, visit LakeMetroparks.com.