The Whitefish Bay Garden Club has been working on a pollinator garden at Klode Park. This garden is located west and a little bit south of the tennis courts, between the courts and Lake Drive.
Though the Club did not originally plant the relatively small (approx. 12×30-ft.) garden at Klode, some years ago, seeing the opportunity for a thriving pollinator garden, we took responsibility for maintaining it.
Consistent with our mission to protect and help pollinators, in 2024, we began the process of replacing much of what was there with natives, while maintaining a small selection of non-natives; each species was carefully selected for its benefits (as a host plant and/or food for pollinators (from spring through fall), its beauty to humans, and its size/appropriateness for a small garden.
Some of the plants you will see here are Big Bluestem, Spotted Joe Pye Weed, False Blue Indigo, Anise Hyssop, Milkweed (common, swamp, and butterfly weed), Nodding Pink Onion, Echinacea, Prairie Dropseed, Wild Bergamot, Golden Alexander, Phlox, Calamint, and Catmint.
As this project continues to unfold, when you visit, you will see plants at various stages of maturity, some just trying to establish themselves. If you see us there moving things around, weeding, watering, or mulching, please stop and say hello. We are “Growing a Greener Village, One Garden at a Time.”
Some of the plants you can see at Klode:
Big Bluestem*+
Spotted Joe Pye Weed *+
False Blue Indigo*
Anise Hyssop ‘Blue Fortune’ **
Sweet Black-eyed Susan*+
Butterfly Weed*+
Swamp Milkweed*+
Common Milkweed*+
Sly Blue Aster*+
Cardinal Flower*+
Spotted Bee Balm*
Nodding Pink Onion*
Little Bluestem*
Prairie Dropseed Grass*
Wild Bergamot*+
Golden Alexander*
Hairy Petunia*
Ironweed ‘Iron Butterfly’ ** +
Purple Coneflower ‘Magnus’ ** +
Coneflower ‘White Swan’ ** +
Calamint ‘Montrose White’
Catmint ‘Cat’s Pajamas’
Phlox ‘Luminary Backlight’
*Native species
**Cultivar of native
+Keystone species