Spreading the Joy: Pollinator Gardens Feed Baltimore Ecosystem

National Wildlife Magazine

The sun beats down on a garden bed in northeast Baltimore as Lavette Blue leans over, pointing out bees and butterflies perched on white elderberry flowers. At a row of fig trees, she tugs fruit from the branches only to find that birds have already pecked open the succulent purple flesh, leaving it for insects to feast. As Blue reflects on her history with the land, a rabbit darts between bushes for cover, and a red-tailed hawk soars gracefully overhead.

“When we first moved here, there were no birds, there were no butterflies and very few bees,” says Blue, who lives in Baltimore’s Hamilton Hills neighborhood. She and her husband, Warren, purchased their home 40 years ago, when the environment was less welcoming to wildlife. “People would throw their trash out the back door,” Blue says, pointing to the lot beyond her back fence. “It looked like a junkyard.”

The Blues eventually acquired that lot and transformed it into The Greener Garden, a half-acre urban farm with nine hoop houses and raised beds for growing food and flowers. As they cared for the land, a variety of insects and other animals became regular visitors. When their work slowed during the COVID-19 pandemic, however, Blue noticed the farm had grown quiet again.