Olive Free Library Pollinator Garden
Maraleen Manos-Jones started the pollinator garden with 4-H girls in the spring of 2014. Annie Van Kleeck and her parents Sharon & Ralph and Maraleen continued to tend the garden through the summer.
Some plants were purchased at Catskill Native Nursery, but most of the plants came from Maraleen’s gardens.
Maraleen said: “It was a glorious late afternoon on September 30th as I pulled up in front of the Olive Free Library and saw a newly emerged monarch butterfly enjoying the nectar in our pollinator garden. She kept fluttering from flower to flower and was soon joined by a bee. They had no problem sharing the same flower.
I learned that the monarch had been nectaring in the little library garden all day. She was fattening up to fuel her long journey to Mexico.”
Invite the butterflies for lunch, and they’ll stay for dinner. We all need to plant pollinator friendly gardens on our own little piece of land, whether it be a window box or a vast estate and everything in between, including in front of our public buildings and in every school as a living library. Our food and water safety depend on each of us pledging not to use pesticides and reaching out and teaching others. We have to learn to live sustainably and become good guardians of our beautiful planet, which provides us with everything we need: food, water, medicine, and materials for shelter and is the source of all our riches.
Thank you for taking care of our beautiful planet.