News

Pleasantville Gardens

By Elizabeth B.

Moving into our home, which was built in the 1960s, nearly 13 years ago, the garden had become overgrown and was overlooked for several years. A large wooded area had been used as a place to throw away trash and unused yard equipment. It was covered with invasive English Ivy. The first two years were spent clearing the entire 1/2 acre property down to bare ground.

The past 10 years have been spent developing new gardens, including a dry shade wood garden, and planting to attract pollinators. This effort began in late winter with snowdrops and hellebores, and continued through early fall with asters. The garden is a balanced combination of natives and ornamental plants. Nicknamed “Pleasantville Gardens” by our neighbor before he passed away, we continue to refer to our yard by this name.

Takeaway: You can successfully bring pollinators and song birds to your gardens with multi-season interest. Planting for very early season and late season blooms is crucial, as there are more limited options for our pollinators to eat and find protection from the weather during these colder times of the year.