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Lawn

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Border

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Drought

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Poor Soil

Pollinator Garden at the Cabarrus County Extension Office

Description

The idea for a pollinator garden started in 2019, with the garden design provided by Hope Duckworth, NC State Extension Master Gardener/ Cabarrus County.  The purpose of the garden is to educate the public regarding pollinator plants and their benefits.  Plans for the garden continued through the pandemic, and approval from the Cabarrus County Commissioners came in the early summer, 2022.  The garden was planted by Extension Master Gardener Volunteers in early autumn, 2022.

The site is adjacent to the extension office and is approximately 650 square feet.  The garden is a partnership between the Extension Master Gardeners, the Concord Wildlife Alliance and the North Carolina Wildlife Federation.  The initial plants were donated by the North Carolina Wildlife Federation - thank you!!

While we were planting, we noticed a Mockingbird eating Aronia berries before the plants were even in the ground.  The garden is located in an urban area with few natural areas, and we're hopeful the garden will provide a bit of food and shelter to birds and pollinators in the area.  

We had to get creative with the garden.  About half of our initial plant list had to be substituted based on lack of availability, so we did a bit of designing on the fly.  We're hoping to add some of our initial design elements as soon as we can.  

 

Plants Used in the Garden

  • Yarrow (Achillea millefolium “achillea vintage rose”)
  • Joe-Pye Weed (Eutrochium dubium “little joe”)
  • Blazing Star (Liatris spicata)
  • Bee Balm (Monarda fistulosa “Claire Grace”)
  • Woodland Phlox (Phlox divaricata “Blue Moon”)
  • Stokes Aster (Stokesia laevis “Stokesia Divinity”)
  • Blue Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum "Heavy Metal")
  • Chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia)
  • Sweetshrub (Calycanthus floridus)
  • American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana)
  • More to come!