Did you hear the buzz?
A new garden planted at the corner where North 18th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway meet at Sister Cities Park is being hailed as Center City Philadelphia's largest pollination station.
Planting took place throughout the spring by Center City District landscapers, horticulture partners and contractors.
The teams removed the viburnum hedges that were there near the popular splash fountain to clear the space and add in 4,000 pollinator-friendly native flowering plants and grasses.
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Philadelphia's Center City District is hoping the new garden will attract birds, butterflies, bees and other insects.
“The re-envisioning of this spot in Sister Cities Park is both beautiful and functional,” Prema Katari Gupta, CCD vice president of parks and public realm, said.
The insect-friendly plants include:
- black-eyed Susan
- common milkweed
- bluestem
- prairie dropseed
- ironweed
- joe-pye weed
- goldenrod
- blue flag iris
- muhly grass
As of now, the plants are small in size, but since they are native to the Philadelphia region they are expected to grow and thrive.
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Experts are encouraging all of us to plant more native species.
Native bees, beetles, moths, butterflies, birds, bats and other creatures are critical to the food supply because they pollinate many crops, including apples, blueberries, peaches, potatoes and strawberries, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.
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