Staff Reports
The city of Gainesville and the Florida Wildflower Foundation (FWF) will host a volunteer planting event to install the first Bee City Gainesville native plant demonstration garden on Saturday.
The event will take place from 9 to 11 a.m. at Grow Hub, a local nonprofit nursery, at 2900 NE 8th Ave. in Gainesville.
Zamia Design, a Gainesville-based landscape architectural firm, designed the garden that will feature native shrubs and wildflowers that will provide resources for native bees, birds, butterflies and other wildlife. The native plants will require less pesticides and water than non-native plants, according to a city of Gainesville press release.
“We are thrilled to see the first Bee City Gainesville native plant garden take root at Grow Hub,” said FWF Executive Director Stacey Matrazzo in the press release. “These gardens will not only provide a haven for our beleaguered pollinators, but will also bring an abundance of beauty, biodiversity and educational opportunities to the community,”
Additional gardens are on tap and public input is encouraged. The future gardens will contribute to preserving native plant species and creating habitat for birds, pollinators and other wildlife while reducing the city’s carbon footprint.
“This is a great opportunity for all neighbors to learn how they, themselves, can support bee populations with native wildflowers, and flowering trees and shrubs in their own lawns and gardens across our city,” said Gainesville Mayor Harvey Ward in the press release.
Gainesville earned a Bee City USA® designation in November 2022.