Local gardeners host plant sale to help save endangered insects
Bountiful Beloit launched a Spring Native Plants and Veggie Sale. The shop featured native perennial flowers to support federally endangered Rusty Patched Bumblebees, a species they said they spotted throughout the city last summer.
Owner Jenny Hoople said the sale was a great way to start spring.
“It’s a perfect time for putting plants out in the garden,” Hoople said. “Mother’s Day just happens to be exactly when we need to get all these little babies into the ground.”
Jamie Swanson works with S&H Nursery, and she said gardening is a great way to bond with the family.
“[Families] can work together in the garden,” Swanson said. “People can [experience] the joy that everyone brings up and will bring in their own vegetables into their home to cook with.”
Hoople said she encourages planters to step outside of their comfort zones and try to work with native plants.
She said the native plants help the ecosystem through pollination.
“The Rusty Patch Bumblebee is a federally endangered species,” Hoople said. “We have them around here, I’ve seen them in my yard. Five other friends have seen them in their yard. Here, it’s like, ‘Oh they just live here,’ but we’re one of the last places in the U.S. that they are still thriving.”
Hoople further said native plants help by creating a habitat for the bumblebee, one that has declined to an estimated 87% of its historic range.
Hoople said she wants people to know that these types of plants are easy to take care of.
“I think especially with native plants, it’s an easy thing because the plants take care of themselves a little more than your traditional garden plants,” Hoople said. “They do not need as much water, they’ll spread more readily and keep the weeds down on their own. The most important part is probably just picking the right spot.”
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