Pollinator Garden

Goldenrod adds a touch of yellow to the pollinator garden.

Cephas (Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license)

Quick Facts

Location:

25.939321, -97.487677

Amenities

6 listed

Benches/Seating, Bicycle - Rack, Bicycle - Repair, Parking - Auto, Restroom, Restroom - Accessible

In an effort to manage land at Resaca De La Palma, the Resource Division at Palo Alto Battlefield NHP has determined one of the ways to update the park land is to add a pollinator garden. Resaca De La Palma Battlefield has been highly developed since the time of the battle, especially with the continued development of the city of Brownsville. The installation of a pollinator garden helps provide plants for use by local wildlife in a landscape where their habitat is highly fragmented.

Most of the plants in the garden are specifically butterfly plants, both for use and laying eggs. Several plants produce fruit which may be used by birds for food and the flowers may provide pollen for other insects such as beetles, flies, or bees. Pollinator gardens are important spots for migratory animals as well, especially in the Rio Grande Valley which has an abundance of butterflies that live and migrate through the area. Some of the plants in the garden include Zizote Milkweed (Asclepias oenotheroides), goldenrod (Solidago sempervirens), and Texas lantana (Lantana urticoides).

Different plants evolve to be pollinated by different animals. Butterfly flowers look a little different than beetle flowers which look different to bird flowers. For more information on how to tell what pollinator may be attracted to certain flowers, check out the U.S. Forest Service’s Pollinator Syndromes webpage.