Volunteers met on our June 11 Tend and Learn Day to clear paths and manage the plots at the Native Medicinal Garden. It has continued to be a drier Spring than we are accustomed to in New Jersey. We will continue to manage the plots and clear the paths as much needed rain has arrived, and will hopefully continue through the next Tend and Learn date.
Now is the season for pollinators, as there is abundant nectar available through mid-July for honeybees and other insects. Milkweed has started to show their flower buds and we will be on the lookout for the pollinators to start feeding on them. Soon afterward, monarch butterflies will begin to lay their eggs. We have seen a severe loss of this plant that the monarch butterfly depends upon for survival. Some varieties of milkweed flowers smell like chocolate, which is another great reason to start a milkweed patch on your own property.
Please join us to help learn more about the plants and trees that are beneficial to the insects, birds and mammals, including people during our next Tend and Learn day on Sunday, July 16 from 11:30 am – 3:30 pm.