Turning the Page for Pollinators: Home

Start a little patch of positive for pollinators! Buzz-ah!! 

Your packet contains 2 grams of seeds. This will cover an area approx 40 to 50 square feet. (So - a space that is four cats wide and one alligator long. Or, the size of a door.)

Growing Instructions
Sow your wildflower patch in early to mid-spring. Or, sow in late fall, and the perennial seeds will establish enough to overwinter and come up the following spring.

• Prepare the soil as you would for any bed. Clean out the weeds. Aerate with a garden fork if compact, then rake flat. 
• Spread the seeds out evenly over an area no bigger than 40-50 square feet. 
• Press seeds into the soil by walking over the planted area (with flat-soled shoes!) or using a board to pat them down. 
• If the soil is dry, water the seeds in. In fall, soils could be moist enough without additional watering.* Continue watering in spring for a few weeks; again, fall sowings usually don't need it. 
• Weed fastidiously until plants reach 12-18" in height. 
• Be(e) patient; the perennial blooms will get better every year!

*Except for the Fall in 2024, when our area was in a drought.

These seeds were purchased from Hudson Valley Seed Company, who created a Northeast-specific blend of seeds. Visit their site to see what flowers are in the mix.

We will use these seeds for Southeastern's wildflower area. Send us a pic and let us know how your pollinator garden is growing!

Upcoming Events
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REGISTRATION OPEN: Facilities SIG: Sustainable Landscaping with Wildflower Meadows, Tuesday, June 24, 2025, 2:00 - 3:30
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REGISTRATION OPEN: Preparing a Wildflower Meadow: Planting Event - Call for Volunteers, Thursday, June 26, 2025, 9:00 – 11:00 

Past Events
Project Kick-off: Turning The Page for Pollinators, Friday, May 30, 2025, 9:00 – 11:00 - Event Report
Presentation @ SENYCon 2025: Turning the Page for Pollinators, Friday, April 4, 2025, 10:45 - 11:05 - Watch recording

Project Contact: Sarah Holsted

The “Turning the Page for Pollinators” project will write a new chapter for a damaged commercial site in Ulster County, NY. 

The 1.04 acre property is owned by Southeastern New York Library Resources Council, a non-profit serving a network of 100+ libraries and cultural heritage institutions in eight counties in the Mid-Hudson Valley for more than 60 years. The highly visible site has several challenges: 

• layers of landscape fabric over compacted soil;
• extensive lawns that turn patchy during droughts; and, 
• mature shrubs that are invasive vectors for surrounding woodlands or that do not support pollinator life cycles. 

Building on existing efforts to install more pollinator-friendly plants, the project objectives are to: 

1. Remediate and sustain the soil food web;
2. Install site-appropriate native plants to support pollinator life cycles year-round;
3. Reduce reliance on gas-powered lawn equipment;
4. Engage in pollinator-supporting maintenance practices; and, 
5. Demonstrate for Southeastern members and the public how to actively steward commercial land to support pollinators.

Measurable outcomes from this project include: removing 46 shrubs and 6,000 square feet of landscape fabric and degraded topsoil; installing a mix of pollinator-friendly plants; converting 1,200 square feet of lawn into a wildflower meadow; and, engaging in education and outreach with members and the public through presentations, programs, a website, and signage. Ultimately, “Turning the Page for Pollinators” will reclaim the site’s inherent assets to provide a net positive impact to the local ecosystem.

Project Start Date
March 1, 2025

Project End Date
February 28, 2026

The "Turning the Page for Pollinators" project is supported by an Ecological Restoration Grant from Partners for Climate Action.

Calico bee inside a foxglove