Pollinator gardens popping up in neighborhood, thanks to Ginger Ford and her bucket list

Over the past five months, Ginger Ford has been diligently digging, planting and sweating her way along Camellia Avenue in Baton Rouge, turning grassy corner plots in her neighborhood into flowering pollinator oases.

The 68-year-old nurse maintains her license in case her skills are needed, but has been devoting her time to community service since retiring.

“I have a bucket list of community projects, and one of the things I’ve always wanted to do is plant pollinator gardens on each corner of my street,” she said.

A pollinator garden is one that contains plants with blossoms attracting bees, butterflies, moths, hummingbirds and other creatures that transfer pollen from flower to flower.

Ford said she’s been a lifelong gardener, and remembers growing up in the Garden District when most of her neighbors had lush gardens, including vegetable gardens, in their yards.

Months ago, she set out with her design plans and successfully got approval from most homeowners to turn their corners on Camellia into gardens; to date, she has planted 29 pollinator gardens.

“I had mapped out the streets with each garden so they would look different. Fortunately, most of the homeowners were willing to participate,” she said.

Most of the plants were grown from seed, and others were purchased from Clegg’s Nursery on Donmoor Avenue.

She began her effort by placing pre-measured pieces of plastic sheeting down on selected plots to kill the grass, avoiding the use of chemicals. Soil and organic material from the street, as well as oak leaves from the neighborhood, are used for mulch. She estimates that she’s spent about $2,000 of her own funds on the project.

Patricia Landrum, a longtime friend and neighbor, said, “She’s an environmentalist as well as a gardener. She collects plants from other people to use and collects leaves and pine straw from the street to use. She cleans up as she does it.”

As work on the corner plots progressed, neighbors began helping her with donations of money, gift cards, soil, plants, bird baths and even statuary.

Over the past month, the gardens have exploded with colors of yellow coreopsis, purple coneflowers, red salvias, pink zinnias and orange blanket flowers.

“In my view, it’s been a real success,” she said. “People can visibly see how transforming it is. It’s amazing to see that in only a 6-foot-by-7-foot area that so many bees, butterflies and hummingbirds can congregate,” she explained.

Ford said she frequently visits with children in the neighborhood, telling them about the wildlife that the plants draw into the gardens, and has enjoyed creating scavenger hunts for them using garden trinkets she has purchased.

“I want kids to see what you can do to help your environment, even on a small scale,” she said.

It’s been rewarding for her seeing people walk by with their dogs to view the gardens, some stopping to take pictures. Cindy and Jim Elliot are one couple who walks daily in the neighborhood.

“She has really beautified our neighborhood, and there is such a beautiful variety of flowers that are all in bloom. It’s such a nice thing she has done,” Cindy Elliott said.

Aaron Sheehan-Dean said Ford helped convince him and his wife Megan to do away with their grass lawn and plant flowers instead. “What you get in exchange is pretty spectacular,” Sheehan-Dean said. “It’s been such a joy to see all these flowers.”

Sheehan-Dean said he’s not surprised that his neighbors trusted Ford with their yards.

“She is well-known in our community and is outdoors all the time. She was such a bright spot during the pandemic because of the free flowers she gives away on her porch,” he said.

Flo Ulmer-Rodman thanks Ford for her efforts and hard work along Camellia: “Ginger embodies what our neighborhood — The Garden District — is all about. We have beautiful trees, unique homes, but it is ultimately our neighbors who make our ’hood such an amazing place to live!”

Planting pollinators in your yard

Rita Farris, of Clegg’s Nursery, has designated tables devoted to pollinator and host plants for butterflies at the garden center to assist other gardeners who want to transform their yards.

“We have a lot of beekeepers living in this area, so they are always looking for the best plants for them,” Farris explained.

Ford advised first-time gardeners to jump in: “The best way to learn how to garden is to garden. When you go to a nursery, talk to the people there and learn from them. I find that once you get a little bit of success, you will get hooked,” she added.

Ford’s favorite pollinator plants are (*designates native plants): Coreopsis*, Verbena*, Blanket Flower* Zinnia, Lantana, Cigar Plant, Salvia*, Coneflower* and Swamp Milkweed*.