Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia
Over 40 Years of Growing Gardens and Gardeners
Seven Asteraceae genera sustain specialist bees. Two are the top perennials supporting Lepidoptera. Learn about the Asteraceae’s flower structure—a capitulum with disk and/or ray florets—that attracts pollinators. See pictures of 24 pollinators and a new video of American lady butterfly and brown-belted bumble bee foraging on capitula. #PollinatorWeek
Tried and True Native Plant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic
Showy flower clusters and airy foliage make Thread-leaf Coreopsis as popular in Mid-Atlantic gardens today as it was in the 19th century. Seventeen specialist bee species feed only on its genus. If you are wary of self-seeding plants, try the sterile cultivar ‘Moonbeam.’
Part 3. Residential Land Use: Lawns
Ever-expanding residential development not only continues to destroy wildlife habitats but affects biodiversity by replacing natural systems with human-made structures surrounded by pollinator– and environment–unfriendly monocultures, lawns. Learn the history of lawns, their environmental impact, and what YOU can do to better manage your lawn. #PollinatorWeek
Tips and strategies for helping your "grocery store" orchid live a long life.
Part 2. Residential Land Use: Impervious Surfaces
Residential development with its impervious surfaces—buildings, patios, driveways, parking lots, roads—causes fragmentation, degradation, and loss of natural habitats, which threaten pollinators and other wildlife. Learn what YOU can do to address some of the environmental problems associated with impervious surfaces. #PollinatorWeek
Part 1. Climate Change
Human-induced climate change and human development constitute the biggest threats to biodiversity and pollinators. Did you know in 2020, global human-made mass exceeded all living biomass? Learn how climate change affects plants and pollinators and what YOU can do to reduce your individual carbon footprint. #PollinatorWeek
