Author: katrobbins

by Ada Mahood Blooming time: July-September  Sunlight/Water: Tolerates full sun to partial shade. Needs to be evenly moist or wet all the time.  Pollinators: Butterflies, Bees, Hummingbirds.  Benefits: Provides nectar for hummingbirds and bees.  Height: 3-6ft  Habitat: Best for garden edges. River/Pond banks, needs evenly moist soil and part sun.  USDA Zone: 3-9 Human Benefits: […]

Blooming time: July-September Sunlight/Water: They love full sun, but will tolerate partial shade.  Pollinators: Beetles, Honey Bees, Solitary Wasps, and Native Bees.  Benefits: Mountain Mint flowers are large enough to accommodate bigger butterflies and bees!  Height: 1-3 ft.  Habitat: Open moist fields, forest edges, located on lower elevation mountains.   Zone: 3-7 Human Benefits: Tea […]

Blooming time: July-November  Sunlight/Water: Full sun and dry to medium level soil, so not much water.  Pollinators: Butterflies, Bees and Hummingbirds.  Benefits: Huge nectar source for pollinators, a pollinator magnet some say!  Height: 2-4’ tall Habitat: Native to prairies, will do well in full sun with well draining soil. Good for gardens (doesn’t spread too much) […]

Blooming time: Mid to Late summer Sunlight/Water: They need full sun and like moisture.  Pollinators: Epoline cuckoo bees, eucerin miner bees, and verbena bees.   Benefits: Attracts native bees and species to the area.  Height: 2-5 ft tall.  Habitat: They love moist meadows, streambanks, marshes, ditches, and thickets. (Spreads easily – good for meadows)  Zone: 3-8Human […]

Blooming time: June-August Sunlight/Water: Lots of sun, low tolerance for drought conditions and water logging.  Pollinators: Honey bees, Native bees, Leafcutter bees, etc.  Benefits: Provides a source of nectar and pollen for all the bee families. Height: 2-4’ tall Habitat: Prairies and open woodlands (good for gardens) Zone: 3-9Human Benefits:  Herbal Medicinal treatments. Can be […]

Blooming time: March-Early May Sunlight/Water: Prefers full sun, but is okay in partial shade. Water regularly in the first year, then it should adapt and become pretty drought resistant.  Pollinators: Wild Indigo Duskywing, Bumblebees, and Silver spotted Skipper.  Benefits: Conserves water, attracts native species. Makes your garden look beautiful 🙂 Height: 2-4 ft max Habitat: […]

Blooming time: August-October Sunlight/Water: Sunny to partly shady spaces. One inch of rain or once a week watering is good enough for the asters.  Pollinators: Pearl Crescent butterflies, Bees and Harris’s checkerspot butterflies.  Benefits: Will attract pollinators to your garden.  Height: 2’  Habitat: Calico Asters grow naturally in low lying areas, meadows, roadsides, and sunny […]

This summer, VIA worked with Kat Robbins and Janis Boulbol, two educators in the Woodstock Union school district, who founded an innovative program (CRAFT) to prepare students for leadership roles in land and community stewardship. Based at the historic King Farm in Woodstock, the program, in partnership with the VT Land Trust, is working to repurpose […]

Outdoor Education inspires high-school students at the King Farm in Woodstock, as noted in the Vermont Land Trust’s Field Notes.