Our pollinator garden is located on the right (south) side of the Parish House, 23 N. Main St. Walk down the brick pathway to the side entrance, and the pollinator garden is just beyond the entrance.

We welcome visitors to the garden during daylight hours, but please be respectful of other users of the Parish House. If children from the Carriage House Nursery School or our Sunday school are enjoying or studying the garden, please come back and visit at another time.

Maebh Casey, a Scout in Troop 48, Cohasset, originated the idea of a pollinator garden. She organized the project from start to finish. The project served as partial fulfillment of the requirements to earn her Eagle Scout award. Maebh provided the following information:

What is a Pollinator Garden?

Pollinator gardens are designed to attract a variety of pollinators including bees, butterflies, and even hummingbirds. These creatures are essential to our ecosystem as we need pollination to happen in order to grow our food. However, a lot of their habitat has been lost to urban and suburban development and many of the plants people are putting in their gardens now are not the native types with the types of pollen these pollinators need to survive and thrive. Growing a native plant pollinator garden provides a space where plants, insects and birds can work together to benefit everyone.

General Information

There is a lot of information on the internet about the benefits of pollinators and what everyone can do to help protect them. Some good websites to visit are listed below:

The Importance of Pollinators — USDA

Pollinator Garden – Important for Plant Life and Insect Life — Just Pure Gardening

Supporting Local Biodiversity — Wild Cohasset

Native Plants for New England – Blue Stem Natives

Pollinator Garden at First Parish in Cohasset

Maebh Casey is a Scout in Troop 48, Cohasset and she approached First Parish to see if they were interested in being the beneficiary of her Eagle Project to design and plant a pollinator garden. First Parish agreed, and the next step was to choose a location for the garden and clear the site. Next, she acquired the plants, all of which were donated, as well as other supplies needed, and the garden was planted in May 2023. The garden required daily watering and regular weeding throughout the summer but once established, will need minimal watering and maintenance. The garden was completed in September 2023.

Thank you to all who donated funds, materials, or their time:

Organizations:
Aubuchon Hardware, Cohasset
Cohasset Rotary Club
Community Garden Club of Cohasset
Frank Williams Landscape and Masonry Supplies, Cohasset
Hingham Lumber, Cohasset
Holly Hill Farm, Cohasset
Home Depot, Rockland

Individuals:
Ciaran, Mary, and Eoghan Casey
Dan Harper
Deirdre Hobson
Adrienne MacCarthy
Ronnie McMorris
Cindy Prentice
Rue Wilson
Troop 48 Scouts: Ava Coffey & Haley Cody

Completed pollinator garden

Plants List

Click on link for more information:

Achillea — Apple Blossom
Agastache
Bee Balm
Butterfly Milkweed
Cat Mint
Goldenrod — Seaside
Lanceleaf Coreopsis
Lavender
Liatris
Mountain Mint
Pearly Everlasting
Penstemon
Sage
Swamp Milkweed

(In addition, annual marigolds were planted in the summer of 2023 to deter pests while the garden got established.)