Pollinator-Friendly Raised Bed at the Free Library's Thomas F. Donatucci Sr. Branch

Stephanie Rukowicz

Thomas F. Donatucci Sr. Free Library Branch at 20th & Shunk.

Nestled in the Girard Estates neighborhood of South Philly, the Thomas F. Donatucci Sr. Free Library Branch boasts a garden open to the public Spring through Fall. The Branch Manager, David Mariscotti, encourages the community to enjoy the grounds in reading books, bringing picnics, or just enjoying the fresh air. As one of his many responsibilities, David works with the Free Library's sole gardener and a few dedicated volunteers to maintain the landscaping. To encourage future generations to tend garden, David connected with Marj Rosenblum and together they generated the idea of a Pollinator-Friendly Garden workshop for children and their families.  

Marj and I worked with David to plan the workshop that took place on May 17th earlier this year. Part 1 featured a presentation on why pollinators are important, how pollination happens, and how to encourage pollinators to visit our gardens. During the presentation, we were pleased to meet a young student, named Sophia, whose school curriculum included work on pollinators! She had much to share with the group on what she was learning in class.

The workshop continued outside with Part 2, where we installed a 4'x8' raised bed, planted with nectar-rich annuals such as zinnia; perennials such as columbine, coneflower, goldenrod; as well as butterfly-specific hosts such as milkweed (Monarch), parsley and dill (Black Swallowtail). Of course this was the group's favorite part, and there was much discussion over who got to plant what.

All hands on deck! Master Gardeners-in-Training Marj and Stephanie work with support from the Children's Librarian to instruct attendees and their guardians how to plant and select placement.

Families were encouraged to check out one of the many resources on pollinators found at the Donatucci Branch, and each child left with a plant to include in their home garden.

A satisfied workshop participant with her plant, joined by her father, and Master Gardener-in-Training Marj.

This small raised bed contributes to the large garden that already existed at the Branch. Among the many trees and plants found on the property there are native oaks, dogwoods, Black-eyed Susan and Purple coneflower. Now that Fall is upon us, we will take advantage of the perfect time of year to transplant in additional native perennials to attract more pollinators and to fill in the gaps where annuals won't return next year.

Pollinator-Friendly raised bed in the Fall. Zinnia, Goldenrod, Cosmos, and Calamintha are currently in bloom.

Pollinator gathering Goldenrod nectar.

Twists and Turns in the Zinnia Bed

~ Jessica S. Herwick

I will admit, I have never been a huge fan of flowers, and I primarily plant them to bring the honeybees  I scatter several pollinator friendly flowers throughout my garden areas every year.  I prefer the most natural flower garden, to watch them emerge, bloom, and remain; letting their seeds drop to the ground in hopes of volunteers sprouting up next spring.  But, today I had to do it.  I picked one of my zinnias.  I couldn’t help myself.  

At first I noticed this particular flower while watering.  From the front, it seemed like an ordinary cut-and-come-again.  I passed it dozens of times.  But as I reached behind the leaves, I discovered the severe curving and turning of its stem – and it was such a striking example of the phototropic reactions in my Zinnia bed I couldn’t resist.  I was so delighted with the shape, I impulsively clipped it and brought it inside to photograph. 

As I sprayed it down with water to wash the dust off the petals and leaves, my zinnia disclosed yet another surprise.  The most unusual little bug emerged, scurrying back and forth along the curled stem like a miniature rollercoaster.  It was very small, barely noticeable to the naked eye.  I have never seen a bug like this before (and I stop to look at a lot of bugs).  Since he was trapped in the loops of the zinnia stem, I had time to use a close-up lens and capture the image.  See the close-up here.  I have yet to identify this little guy, but I have a call into the Hort-Hotline! 

My experience with the Zinnia bed this year has reminded me that sometimes gardening can be silly and fun.  Sometimes it’s not about perfection, but the surprises that emerge when we stop trying to force our flowers to grow straight, leave them as they are, and allow the bugs to land.

So – What exactly happened to the stems of my Zinnias? 

The curved stems were caused by the perfect storm of plant biology, my lazy gardening and some hard falling rain.  I was too busy to stake the flowers earlier in the season, and then my gardening habits were interrupted by several days of heavy winds and thunderstorms.  When the rains passed, I returned to my garden duties to find the Zinnias had tripled in size and become top-heavy - laying down from the weight.  Buds were already forming, so I left things as they were, undisturbed for several weeks.  Shortly after the blooms began, I was forced to lift the flowers up from ground level, after an unsuccessful battle with a community of snails.  The results of staking the flowers so late resulted in some interesting twists and turns within the flowering stalks.

About Phototropism

- The word tropism comes from the Greek ‘tropos’ which literally means, “a turning”.  Scientifically, a tropism refers to the growth or turning movement of a biological organism in response to external stimuli.  In the case of phototropism, the biological organism is the zinnia and the external stimulus is the light of the sun. 

- A phototropic reaction occurs when the growth chemical auxin within the plant-part reacts in response to the plant-parts desire to be closer or further from the light.  Auxin is responsible for reshaping the cell wall to help the plant move itself towards the light (as with the positive phototropism of the flowering stems of a plant reaching for the sun), or away from the light (as with the negative phototropism of the roots of a plant burrowing into the ground).

- Phototropism is the reason behind the lucky bamboo you may have seen twisted into various shapes such as a spiral or a heart.  You can manipulate the growth of many plants by controlling the amount and direction of the light source.  Of course, in my flowerbed the turned stems and twisted stalks were unintentional, but equally as fascinating.

Fun Facts About Zinnias

- Zinnias were originally cultivated by the Aztecs, and remain most diverse in their native lands of Mexico.  

- They prefer well-drained soil and full sun, and have spread throughout the Southwestern United States to South America. 

- These lovely and diverse flowers were not named until the 18^th century, when botanist Carl Linnaeus of Sweden named the Zinnia to honor his German colleague, Botanist Johann Gottfried Zinn, who was the first botanist to study them scientifically.

To Learn More

Philadelphia Master Gardener Related Link – Annuals from Seed… Zinnia

http://philadelphiacountymastergardeners.blogspot.com/2013/06/annuals-from-seed-zinnia.html

PSU Cooperative Extension Selecting and Growing Zinnias for Cut Flowers

http://trialgardens.cas.psu.edu/CutFlower/ZinniasFS06.pdf

Penn State Cooperative Extension Fact Sheet on Plant Diseases Specific to Zinnia

http://extension.psu.edu/pests/plant-diseases/all-fact-sheets/zinnia-diseases

North Carolina Cooperative Extension Fun Science Project (Kid Friendly)

http://guilford.ces.ncsu.edu/sixth/phototropism/

Annuals from seed...... Zinnia

Michele K. Koskinen

Burpee Queen Red Lime Zinnia

Annuals from the local nursery or other annual vendor are the preference for most busy gardeners to get that shot of instant color for their garden or containers. Marigolds, impatiens, ageratum. petunias, vinca, all common and well loved annuals.

So how about the beautiful flowers you can't purchase readily? Flowers difficult to find or only obtained by growing from seed. Nasturtiums, Morning Glory, Sweet Peas,  feathery Cosmos, sunflowers, and the wonderful selection of Zinnia.  Not instant color but once at their peak a constant cutting garden throughout the summer and into the fall. 




A  fondness for perennials, my garden always has color holes at certain times during the growing season. In the past common annuals purchased at the local nursery have been used to fill the gaps with much success but, everyone has the same flowers. While attending the Philadelphia Flower Show I spyed a Green Zinnia with other annuals only grown from seed. Roadside stands often sell zinnias as a cut bouquet. Zinnias were also a flower of my childhood. Everyone had zinnias in their gardens. They have for years been the annual of choice for many gardeners. So why not plant zinnias to fill the gaps? 

Landreth Envy

I purchased a pack of D. Landreth Seed and planted the seed among the perennials.  The results were a beautiful green flower that attracted the butterflies and bees to my garden and I had beautiful color to the fall. This year I have planted more varieties for a bigger splash of color. This may become my next best annual for containers and perennial garden as it is colorful and is somewhat drought tolerant.

Zinnias grow from petite 6" to over a stakable 40 inches in height. The blossoms are single and double varying in diameter from less than an inch to 7 inches. Colors range from single to multi and mixed. Seeds can be sown early but zinnia's do not transplant well. If starting the seed early, using a peat pot and then planting directly into the ground is advisable. They are also prone to powdery mildew so be advised that should be taken into consideration when choosing the zinnia. 

Burpee Striped Candy Cane mix

Old Mexico

From the National Garden Bureau Inc.  National Garden Bureau...Zinnias  

Zinnia Profusion 5 Color Mix

For decades, zinnias have been the flowering annual of choice for spreading glorious colors throughout the garden as well as for cutting to bring indoors. But it wasn't always so. When the Spanish first saw zinnia species in Mexico, they thought the flower was so unattractive they named it mal de ojos, or "sickness of the eye!" Years of breeding have brought striking new colors, shapes, sizes, and growing habits to the humble zinnia. No present day gardener would ever describe this versatile bloomer as anything less than eye catching.

Additional links for information on Zinnias:
organic gardening.learn-and-grow zinnias
Zinnias in containers