Volunteers planting the pollinator garden at EKU’s Science for Sustainable Living Initiative
The Kentucky Native Plant Society (KNPS) is thrilled to open applications for its 2025 Native Plant Pollinator Garden Grant. Grants of $500 will be awarded to several applicants to promote biodiversity and environmental education.
Our mission is to encourage people to establish pollinator gardens. They don’t have to be huge or even aesthetically beautiful for our purposes. They simply need to exist where humans can see them, commune with them, and learn about them.
The grant’s objective
The grant aims to foster the establishment of native plant pollinator gardens, emphasizing not only the ecological benefits but also the educational enrichment they provide. Through these gardens, KNPS seeks to nurture a deeper understanding and appreciation of native plant species and their crucial role in pollination.
It’s that time of year, and you’re in luck if a gardener is on your gift list. If you’re the gardener, send a link to this article to all of you secret Santas!
Passionate gardeners are probably the easiest people to please. If you’re close, you might already know that they’re searching for a specific orchid or drooling over a new set of shiny loppers. On the other hand, if you’re not sure, we can help.
Close to the holidays, you can purchase traditional holiday plants most anywhere. Amaryllis, paperwhites, and holiday cacti will show up everywhere and they’re affordable. They’re not natives, and not all gardeners are keen on house plants; if they don’t have any, skip this suggestion.
Tools are personal, but a gardener can almost always use a new set of good hand pruners, a hori knife, or a good pruning saw. A gardener can never have too many pairs of gardening shears, and they come in all sizes. If your gardening friend tends to lose tools (I know I do), a tool apron might be high on their list. It should have lots of pockets in different widths and lengths to corral they’re favorite hand tools.
Growing new native wildflowers from seed is inexpensive and satisfying if you really enjoy the hands-on approach. In Kentucky, most native wildflowers require some form of preparation, such as stratification or scarification. In this article, you’ll learn how to stratify your seeds, because it is the most common method required by Kentucky natives.
Stratification, defined simply, is the act of creating layers. For our purposes, stratification is the process of breaking down a seed’s outer protection so it can germinate. Nature does a great job of this. When seeds drop to the ground, they overwinter in the cold, moist soil. The constant change in temperature and moisture works to grind or dissolve the outer covering. By spring, many of these seeds are ready for the warm spring weather and germination. Many Kentucky natives will reseed year after year without any human intervention.
If you want more control, you can collect seeds and force the germination in flats, pots, and even milk jugs. But for most of the native seeds you collect, you can’t wait until spring to sow them — they won’t germinate until the next year, if at all.
Fall is a good time for planting flowers and greenery because native perennials develop stronger root structures as the weather gets colder. Fortunately, Kentucky is home to many native trees, flowers, herbs, and grasses, that you can add to your garden in the fall. There’s nothing like enjoying nature in the bluegrass state.
When choosing native plants for your landscape or garden, implementintegrated pest management strategies to keep your yard and garden from being chewed up by bugs. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is an eco-friendly approach to preventing pests in the garden with as little pesticide as possible.
Kentucky’s native plants include trees, shrubs, and groundcovers, but native perennial flowers do more to add color to your homestead. Here are a few to consider when planting this fall. The following natives, planted in fall, are a great way to add specific colors and more natives to your flower beds.
This year, we were thrilled to receive numerous applications for our pollinator grant program. Selecting the winners was no easy task, as each proposal showcased incredible dedication and innovation. However, after careful consideration, we’ve chosen five projects that not only promise to enhance public education but also boast strong collaborative partnerships. Without further ado, let’s meet the winners!
Forestry Outreach Center
Located in Berea, the Forestry Outreach Center plans to utilize their grant to create more accessible community spaces celebrating native plants and wildlife. Equipped with informative signage, the area will transform into a captivating self-guided tour for the community. Students will lend their hands for the project while the dedicated staff ensures its upkeep. Berea’s educational staff will fulfill the crucial role of educational partners, enriching the learning experience for all involved.
Legacy Grove Park
Legacy Grove Park, managed by the nonprofit Legacy Greenscapes, stands as a testament to visionary park design. Featuring a sprawling two-acre play area inspired by Kentucky’s iconic landmarks, nature trails teeming with indigenous flora and fauna, and extensive ADA-accessible pathways, the park is a haven for both nature enthusiasts and families. With this grant, the park aims to establish garden beds brimming with native species, further enriching its ecological tapestry. Supported by a passionate volunteer program and led by garden curator Anna Campomanes, Legacy Grove Park is poised to continue its mission of environmental stewardship and community engagement.
Now that spring is really here, it’s time to start planning for the fall. Right now, is the perfect time to critically review your property for areas that fall flat during the winter. You can still see the empty spots and it’s time to plant! What follows is a list of shrubs that provide a bouquet of fall colors for you to consider.
Itea virginica (Virginia sweetspire)
Growth: 3 to 5 feet tall.
Autumn Colors: Red to orange.
Notable Features: This shrub shines with its small cascading white flowers in summer and vibrant fall foliage, making it an excellent alternative to burning bush, an invasive species, although it doesn’t get as tall as burning bush.
Rhus glabra (smooth sumac)
Growth: 9 to 15 feet tall.
Autumn Colors: Orange to red.
Notable Features: Recognized for its striking color and upright fruit clusters, smooth sumac is drought-resistant and adaptable to various environments.
Volunteers planting the pollinator garden at EKU’s Science for Sustainable Living Initiative
The Kentucky Native Plant Society (KNPS) is thrilled to announce the continuation of its Native Plant Pollinator Garden Grant, following a successful pilot phase last year. In its initial year, six grants of $500 each were awarded, marking a significant step towards promoting biodiversity and environmental education.
Our mission is to encourage people to establish pollinator gardens. They don’t have to be huge or even aesthetically beautiful for our purposes. They simply need to exist where humans can see them, commune with them, and learn about them.
The grant’s objective
The grant aims to foster the establishment of native plant pollinator gardens, emphasizing not only the ecological benefits but also the educational enrichment they provide. Through these gardens, KNPS seeks to nurture a deeper understanding and appreciation of native plant species and their crucial role in pollination.
This unique initiative partners with organizations that share an educational mission for two reasons:
Pollinator gardens often fail. They have plenty of people willing to help, but the organization often lacks the expertise to establish and maintain a successful garden.
We hope that these gardens will ‘put the bee in the bonnet’ of visitors. If only a few visitors go home and plant a few native plants for pollinator support, we all win.
These gardens can serve as vital educational tools, offering firsthand learning opportunities about pollination, plant species, and ecosystem health for our native plants.
Grant details
Details can be found on the application form, but in a nutshell, if you have a group of volunteers and a site that’s open to the public, within reason, or you plan to use the garden for educational purposes, and you have an educational partner, you qualify. If you don’t have an educational partner, we encourage you to apply because we can help you find someone.
To apply for a grant, follow this link to the KNPS Grants page. There you will find more details about the grant and a form to apply. But hurry, funds are limited. It doesn’t matter to us if you plant immediately or this fall, only that you plant in 2024. If you have any questions, email us at Grants@knps.org
