Pollinator Garden Kits Available for Spring
A pre-selected kit of 32 native perennial plants, called the "Butterfly Buffet," is being offered for pre-order with early bird pricing. The collection is designed to help homeowners easily create gardens that attract and sustain pollinators.
- Pollinators like bees and butterflies are crucial for the reproduction of about 90% of flowering plants and are responsible for one out of every three bites of food consumed. Their populations are threatened by habitat loss, pesticide use, and climate change. - The number of managed honey bee colonies in the U.S. has plummeted from 5 million in the 1940s to approximately 2.68 million in 2023. Some native bee species have also seen significant declines in their populations and geographic ranges. - Native plants are particularly crucial as they have co-evolved with local pollinators. Research indicates that native plants can be four times more attractive to pollinators than non-native species. - For example, native oak trees can support over 500 species of caterpillars, whereas the ginkgo tree, a non-native species from Asia, hosts only 5 species. - Creating pollinator habitats can increase local biodiversity. Beyond providing nectar and pollen, native plants also offer shelter, nesting sites, and materials for pollinators to complete their life cycles. - The continental U.S. has lost an estimated 150 million acres of habitat and farmland to urbanization, fragmenting the landscape and making it less supportive of functioning ecosystems. - Globally, 87 of the 115 leading food crops depend on animal pollinators, which contributes to 35% of the world's food production. Pollinators contribute more than $24 billion to the United States economy annually. - The "Butterfly Buffet" kit from My Home Park is part of a larger trend of providing curated plant collections to support specific types of wildlife, such as hummingbirds, songbirds, and butterflies.
