Did you know that every time you enter the Woodruff Library, you are walking through a pollinator garden? In 2024, ELESC (the Emory Libraries Environmental Sustainability Committee) used grant funds from OSI (the Office of Sustainability Initiatives) to install pollinator-friendly plants along the terraces near the library entrance.
The summer and fall saw some interesting results from our planting – including vigorous attraction of pollinators!
Bees on Spotted Beebalm. Photo by Laura Akerman
Monarda punctata, Spotted Beebalm at the Georgia Native Plant Society.
Gulf Fritillary butterfly attracted to Scarlet Sage. Photo by Saul Chavira.
Salvia coccinea (Scarlet sage) at the Georgia Native Plant Society.
Gulf Fritillary at the Alabama Butterfly Atlas.
A few plants were dormant, or didn’t appear to adapt well to the area planted in, like the Purple Giant Hyssop, and some, like the green-and gold, seemed to die out in summer and fall heat/dryness but appear to be coming back stronger this year. We are learning more as we go – this is an educational institute after all.
Purple Giant Hyssop wasn’t very purple or giant!
Purple Giant Hyssop. Photo by Laura Akerman.
Agastache scrophulariifolia (Purple Giant Hyssop) at the Georgia Biodiversity Portal.
Green-and-Gold springing forth better, April 2025!
Green-and-Gold. Photo by Julie Newton
Chrysogonum virginianum (Green-and-Gold) at the University of Georgia Extension’s Native Plants for Georgia.
Over the winter, many of the plants died with first frost, but that does not mean they won’t sprout again. Also, our evergreen plants powered through the winter (Blue Phlox, yarrow, some milkweed), we had February-March blooms from the Lenten Rose / Helleborus and we saw the Trilliums pop up for the first time with a color surprise. Expect more soon!
Wild Blue Phlox, Swamp Milkweed, and Yarrow. Photo by Laura Akerman
Phlox divaricata (Wild blue phlox) at Using Georgia Native Plants.
Asclepias incarnata (Swamp milkweed) at Birdwatching HQ.
Achillea millefolium (Common yarrow) at the University of Texas Plant Database.
Lenten Rose in bloom, 2/28/2025. Photo by Laura Akerman
Helleborus orientalis (Lenten rose), one of the few non-native species in our pollinator garden, chosen for their winter blooming.
Trillium (yellow or purple?). Photo by Laura Akerman
For 2025, we have a small OSI Incentive grant to update the garden, so after the last frost date in April, we will assess the return of our mostly perennial plantings and add new plants from seed, from stores, or from donations by our campus partners. (Special thanks to Erik Edwards and Jaap de Roode at the de Roode Lab!
And we have new developments in the works. In addition to sustaining our entrance area, we plan a “mini-meadow” of native pollinator-friendly plants in a weedy area on the side of the library near Asbury Circle. This will be less planned, planted from seed for a more natural mixture of plants, and easier to maintain.
Also, on the other side of campus, the Health Sciences Library is installing two small pollinator planters outside the window of their Wellness Room. Students looking for a place to relax, pray, or meditate will be able to do so in the presence of happy little butterflies and bees.
Finally, speaking of bees, May 20 the Woodruff Library will host a World Bee Day celebration with bee themed crafts and a giveaway of Georgia wildflower seeds to start your own pollinator garden.
— Julie Newton and Laura Akerman, co-coordinators of the Library Landscape project for Emory Libraries Environmental Sustainability Committee.