Pollinator Garden

The Pollinator Garden, located on the right side of the entrance to the Page-Walker, was created and is maintained through a partnership with the Cary Woman’s Club, the Cary Garden Club, the Friends of the Page-Walker, and the Town of Cary.

What are pollinators? Butterflies, Bees, Birds, and more…

A pollinator is anything that helps carry pollen from one flower to another. The movement of pollen must occur for the plant to be fertilized and produce fruits, seeds, and young plants. Some plants self-pollinate, while others are fertilized when pollen carried by wind and water. Other flowers are pollinated by insects and animals, such as bees, beetles, wasps, moths, butterflies, birds, flies, and small mammals. Almost all of the fruits, nuts, and vegetables that we eat need pollinators to produce our food.

Pollinators need our help!

Many pollinators are in decline. They require two essential components in their habitat: somewhere to nest or lay their eggs and flowers from which to gather nectar and pollen, as food for them and their young. These components are more scarce as development increases. Native plants are the best source of food for pollinators, because plants and their pollinators have coevolved. Many varieties of garden plants also attract and are dependent on pollinating insects. Some of the plants in our garden include milkweed, goldenrod, butterfly weed, lantana, yarrow, columbine, and aster.

Get to know some of our local butterflies and what their caterpillars look like so that when you encounter them in your yard, you can avoid killing or removing them.  Click on the image below to open a printable version of a brochure that tells you more about pollinators.

We hope you will learn and get ideas from our garden, and then consider planting a pollinator garden - even a small one - at your home to provide nectar and host plants for the pollinators that call Cary “home.”