By Kara Sayles, Environmental Educator & Rain Garden Project Coordinator

Garden Springs Park recently installed a pollinator garden at the park entrance off of Garden Springs Drive. The pollinator garden is designed with native perennials to help attract pollinators like bees, butterflies, and birds.

Not only is the garden beautiful but it serves as an example to help educate residents about what they can do to protect native pollinator species. Pollinators are in decline due to factors like habitat alterations, encroaching invasive species and overuse of pesticides. Planting pollinator gardens can help slow the decline in population by providing pollinators crucial habitat.

Work on the pollinator garden at Garden Springs Park began in October 2017. Once the site was approved, underground utilities were identified by calling 811, and Lexington Parks & Recreation began removing the sod. Members of the neighborhood, Lisa Fernandez and Wendy Devier, along with Bluegrass Greensource, began amending the soil to plant pollinator-friendly plants.

The plants started to re-emerge and bloom throughout spring, and now bees and butteries can be seen flying from flower to flower drinking nectar and pollinating the plants. 

For more information, visit the pollinator garden and scan the QR code or visit Bluegrass Greensources’s web page to learn all about planting for pollinators