If your community was recently treated to a bit of Adirondack snow, planning your summer garden is just the thing to get the focus back on spring. It’s interesting to hear the “ole timers” refer to late seasonal snow as “poor man’s fertilizer.”

Even if that spring snow helps add nutrients to my garden soil,  I want all my seasons to have an end. So while I wait, I plan my garden.

Truth is, I’m a lackadaisical gardener. I plant native plants for the most part, but in the spring I cross my fingers that I’m pulling the weeds and not the flowers. I want my garden to be carefree and fun. I’m not sure if that’s possible, but let me live in my dream garden bubble, please.

To keep my mind off the snow, I’ve been ordering plants from the Adirondack Pollinator Project, a partnership between Lake Placid Land Conservancy, The Wild Center, Paul Smith’s College, and ADKAction. The native, pesticide-free plants can be ordered separately or even as a pollinator garden kit.

Plants ranging from red cardinal flowers to sneezeweed bring bursts of color to any garden. Besides brightening my landscape, the bonus is each plant provides much-needed nectar and food to the pollinators that help complete the link in our own food chain. The deadline to pre-order is May 31 and pick-up is in one of three locations: June 5 at North Creek’s Tannery Pond Community Center during the Pollinator Symposium from 10 am – 4 pm, June 15 at the Tupper Lake Wild Center from 4-6 pm, or June 15 at Plattsburgh’s Cook and Gardener Nursery from  11 am–2 pm.

Another way to fill the garden is to bring any extra plants to a plant swap. Lake Placid Beautification Association is asking gardeners to share the wealth on June 8 from 11 am – 2 pm, a great opportunity for new gardeners.

Please make sure not to include anything on the New York State Invasive list. In addition to the businesses involved in the Pollinator Project, the staff at Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program and the Lake George Association are always generous with sharing their native plant knowledge. Good luck gardening!