Lakeview Cemetery Plants Pollinator Garden at Main Street Entrance

[The NewCanaanite.com Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Karp Associates.]

A pollinator garden, an extension of existing “pathways” around New Canaan that help bees and butterflies, was planted last week at Lakeview Cemetery.

Created in memory of Bailey Stewart, former president of the Board of Directors of the 1867-founded cemetery, the new garden is located by the Lakeview Cemetery entrance on Main Street.

“He passed away and we all loved him dearly,” said master gardener Beth Jones, a member of the cemetery board. “It was Stewarts’ idea when they first started the pollinator gardens to do one here, so we decided to do it in memory of him because he was such a big part of it.”

The garden will fully bloom in a month or two, Jones said. Credit: Valentina Baldini

The garden consists of nepeta flowers, autumn fire sedums, and black-eyed Susans, Jones said. More than just decorative, the garden helps the environment by feeding pollinators such as bees, hummingbirds, butterflies and other insects, she said.

Jones added that Robin Bates-Mason, executive director of the New Canaan Land Trust, was also involved in the project.

She “gave us some advice on the garden and pollinator pathway projects, and once she talked to us, the board of the cemetery decided to do it.”

“Since I’m the only master gardener on the board, I decided I would take it on,” Jones said. 

Launched in New Canaan before the pandemic, the “pollinator pathway” refers to a series of gardens designed to feed insects and wildlife. Two years ago, town officials dedicated the “Cam Hutchins Pollinator Garden” in Bristow Park, named for a lifelong resident and longtime conservationist who also chaired the Conservation Commission.
“The idea is that we will help the pollinators if there’s connected areas,” Jones said. “The New Canaan Beautification League has put a bunch of pollinator gardens down at Mead Park and different areas of town. A lot of residents have put them in their yards and the League encouraged different organizations to do it.” 

Jones said she enjoyed planning the garden more than planting it. 

“I happened to do the planting and the mulching during the wicked heat, so that part wasn’t as pleasant as I was hoping it might be,” she said.