Native pollinator gardens attract amazing wildlife, help ecosystem
Want to build your own native pollinator garden? Join the Alabama Field Office as we create our own!
Follow our biologists as they create a pollinator garden with native plants
Denise Rowell
Scott Lamont
Evan Collins
September 15, 2022 - Changing Seasons!
As September rolls along, we still have color, but you can now see how things are changing as fall approaches. While some of the plants are still blooming, others are starting to go dormant, while others are preparing to spread seeds in preparation for next year!
How did our garden begin? For an overview of the history of our native garden, as well as updates to our plant list, check out our Alabama Ecological Services Native Garden page.
July 22, 2022 - Colors emerge!!
After all of the recent rain, we're starting to get some colors! We were also able to capture a photo of a pollinator visiting the garden. Look closely on the milkweed, and you'll see one (Second picture from the top). No monarch butterflies yet, but we're hopeful we might get some butterfly visitors soon. We have been getting a lot of rain in the area over the last couple weeks, but the plants are loving it! Check back often to see the status of our garden!
July 19, 2022 - The transition begins
Through intense heat over the past two weeks, and now heavy afternoon rainstorms, the Alabama Field Office (ALFO) pollinator garden is starting to take root. After a month since the initial planting, the majority of plants have made the transition and are starting to flourish.
It will still take time for the plants to fully establish themselves and for the garden to mature, but we are already seeing flowers on some of the plants and we are excited to watch as the garden starts to move into its next phase.
We also have a new plant that joined! Pennywort (Hydrocotyle spp.), or dollarweed has begun to spread through the garden. Several species are in the genus Hydrocotyle, some of which are native and some that have been introduced from other regions. While we haven't identified this species in particular, we aren't concerned that it will negatively affect the native wildflowers as they become established.
Instead we can use this species' presence to better understand soil conditions in our garden since dollarweed is found in wet or constantly moist conditions. This information will help guide our selection and placement of future plant species.
June 1, 2022 - Starting from scratch
An over-grown flowerbed in front of the Alabama Ecological Services Field Office (ALFO) will soon be transformed into an inviting garden filled with native plants. After two years of neglect due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the goal is to transform the overgrown plot into a beautiful garden that will not only be inviting for employees and visitors to the office, but also to pollinators and other wildlife in the area.
Biologists Brittany Barker-Jones, Jenna King, Evan Collins, GIS Specialist Drew Rollman, and Alabama beach mouse biologist Bill Lynn are ready to transform the office landscape into a native pollinator garden.
Starting in April, 2022, members of the ALFO began to prep the ground for planting. Tilling the soil began after a number of native plants were either marked or relocated in preparation for the project. Some of the plants that were saved include: White Wild Indigo (Baptisia alba), Dutchmen's Pipe (Aristolochia macrophylla), and coreopsis plant (Coreopsis spp). Future plans include planting numerous other native plant species to transform the landscape and encourage local wildlife and pollinators to visit.
Evan Collins and Drew Rollman look for existing plants to save before soil is prepped
Jenna King transfers plants to temporary pots for later re-planting
Biologist Bill Lynn begins to prepare the soil.
GIS Specialist Drew Rollman lays out weed barrier
The Alabama Field Office receives bags of mulch.
Four days later: the weed barrier and mulch are down! This is just the beginning of our journey.
Biologists (USFWS)
Alabama Ecological Services Field Office
Want FWS news sent to your inbox?
Beginner's Fly-tying Workshop at Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery
2023 - Highlights from the Asheville Field Office
Reflection on Conservation Leaders for Tomorrow (CLfT) Experience