Published: 9/30/2019 1:00:12 AM
GREENFIELD — Winter is coming and as the frost begins to linger, bees and butterflies are searching for somewhere to survive the freezing months.
On Wednesday, gardener, photographer and pollinator advocate Larri Cochran will give a talk entitled “Fall Gardening for Pollinators: Helping Bees and Butterflies Survive Winter,” during which attendees will learn how to make a garden bed into a winter home for pollinators.
The free talk, offered by Greening Greenfield’s Planting for Pollinators campaign, will be held at the First Congregational Church, 43 Silver St., at 6:30 p.m. The talk will be followed by questions, and refreshments will be served.
“Having pollen and nectar-providing plants growing right up until hard frost is important to ensure pollinators can load up on food before the winter,” Cochran said. “They also need shelter throughout the year, and food in the early spring.”
According to a Greening Greenfield press release, Cochran is a Master Gardener, vice-president of the Western Massachusetts Master Gardener Association and a certified horticulturist through Berkshire Botanical Garden. She has offered pollinator garden workshops throughout the region.
Her current garden work supports her passion for pollinators, the release states. As a member of the core team of Western Mass Pollinator Networks, and co-director of the management team for the Northampton Community Garden, Cochran tends three plots of land dedicated to pollinator habitat.
In her gardens, Cochran cultivates a diversity of plants that provide food and shelter for pollinators at all stages of life — host plants for larvae, undisturbed areas for pupae (chrysalis), nectar- and pollen-producing flowers for adults, and year-round shelter.
For more information, visit greeninggreenfieldma.org.
Zack DeLuca can be reached at zdeluca@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 264.