Native Plant Gardens

The purpose of the native plant gardens of the Spencer J. Roemer Arboretum is to improve this site’s value for native pollinators like bees, butterflies, and other insects – as well as for showing off the beauty of native plants. Native pollinators have suffered population declines because of habitat loss and fragmentation, habitat degradation through the spread of invasive species, and pesticide use. Three-quarters of flowering plants require animal pollinators to some degree to reproduce, and animal pollinators aid in production of 35% of the world’s crops. The entrance and gazebo gardens serve as a showcase for native plants that are both aesthetically pleasing and valuable to insect visitors.

You can view the diversity of species in our native gardens in the guides below. 

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The key to an effective pollinator garden is to provide floral resources for insect visitors from spring into the fall. See how our gardens provide a continuous array of food sources for native bees, butterflies, and insects in the chart below (note some of the plantings are a bit out-of-date as the garden has changed since this chart was developed in 2016).