Havens Homestead Native Pollinator Garden
Havens Homestead Native Pollinator Garden
Located at Havens Homestead in Center Moriches, NY
The mission of the Havens Homestead is to preserve history. The pollinator garden with plants that are native to our area that were here before any European colonization, and designed in the Shingle-Style consistent with the Homestead provides the community with a visual, tactile example of “then and now”. The goal is to inspire and educate by example.
Creating this garden fostered community and learning. There’s more to gardening than “Does it look pretty?” The ReWild grant deepened our understanding of sustainable native gardening. With more than 1,000 square feet to plan, prep and plant in, 17 gardeners with varied experience worked together. All contributed expertise; soil preparation, critter barriers, root washing, plant choice and placement, and drip irrigation are some topics we tackled together.
Gardening is a humbling experience. There is always more to learn. We continue to do so in an environment where it is safe to ask questions, and where we nurture plants and each other.
Creating an environment that will support native biodiversity and provide a lasting, healthy space for future generations is hard. How to do this in a changing climate, how to transform horticultural practices are daunting questions.
The ReWild partnership underlined that sustainability is a hopeful, thoughtful process. It requires not only hard work and dirt under the fingernails, but also continuous learning, ongoing evaluation, open communication and dialogue. And optimism- looking to improve the future one garden at a time.
Get involved with the Native Pollinator Garden at Havens Homestead by emailing Co-Lead jbranna@hotmail.com (Jean Branna) or Lead kvdnp50@hotmail.com (Kathleen Dhundale).
