Watertown
Community Gardens

WCG wants to help gardeners in the community grow the best plants for pollinators and diversity of local wildlife!

Now is the time to be planning our gardens, and planting native plant seeds!  Turning gallon jugs into mini-greenhouses is a great way to grow your own plants, a method called “winter seed sowing”.  We have instructions for this method here: Winter Seed Sowing Basics - WCG.pdf

Seeds that require 30 days or fewer of cold stratification (exposing seeds to cold, moist conditions to break dormancy).  Even though snow is melting, seeds can still be stratified in temperatures between 34 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

The native plant seed library on the community path has been stocked with more free seeds, including

• Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta): This is a great flower for beginners, this is a short-lived perennial which will likely flower in its first year.  The yellow flowers with dark centers are recognizable and cheerful.  They are heat and drought tolerant, and feed caterpillars of butterflies such as the Silvery Checkerspot.  Will reseed to fill in an area (preventing unwanted weeds), and dried seed heads feed birds throughout winter. Can grow in containers.

• Calico aster (Symphyotrichum lateriflorum): A relatively short, highly adaptable aster which gets covered with small daisy-like blooms.  Asters are keystone species, providing essential food, shelter, and resources for a high diversity of insects, birds, and wildlife.  This is a favorite of bumblebees.  You can see it in full bloom at our public pollinator garden in Filippello Park, surrounding the splash pad, in mid-September.

• Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa): This is a vital food source for monarch butterfly caterpillars.  The plants will not bloom the first year, but will produce bright orange flowers in later seasons.  Prefers sandy, well-drained soils.  Drought tolerant once established (1-2 years). Toxic to mammals. Can grow in containers.

• Foxglove beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis): This is a wonderful plant with white trumpet-shaped flowers in early summer.  It is a favorite nectar source for a variety of less-common bumblebees.  Adaptable to full or part sun, preferring medium soils but can tolerate clay.  Dried seed heads provide winter interest and food for birds. Can grow in containers.

• Short-toothed mountain mint (Pycnanthemum muticum): A perennial that is rabbit-resistant due to its aromatic foliage. Plants in ideal conditions will spread by rhizome, but are easy to remove in undesired areas. Small pinkish white flowers will attract numerous species of pollinators.

We ask that you plant all seeds you take, and take no more than six seeds packets per person at a time.

These native plant seeds come from a combination of sources, including seeds collected and cleaned by WCG volunteers and our friends at Mystic Charles Pollinator Pathways, another local organization dedicated to promoting pollinator-friendly gardening.

The seed library is on the community path near the intersection with Waverley Ave, where Forest St dead ends.