Bronxville’s Native Plant Gardens at Alfredo Park Are Worth a Visit!

Local resident Ben Lentz has been leading the transformation of what was once a wilderness of invasive weeds into a public park of gorgeous native plant gardens.

With the help of volunteers from the nearby neighborhood, Bronxville scouts, and the Bronxville Green Committee, Ben has been working for several seasons to remove aggressive, persistent knotweed, mugwort, and bittersweet (all invasive plants) and replace them with plants that are native to our area and support local wildlife.  Now you can find trees such as willows and native viburnam; shrubs such as ninebark, winterberry, and chokeberry; and flowers such as hyssop, phlox, goldenrod, and milkweed. As the flowers bloom in succession, they attract a wide variety of tiny native bees, butterflies such as monarchs and swallowtails, iridescent wasps, and even a hummingbird! And as fall arrives, the native trees and shrubs will take on color in their leaves and stems that can last all winter.

Native Plants Help Reduce Flooding: The roots of native plants reach deeper into the soil than the roots of other plants. That makes them better able to survive dry spells and soak up storm runoff.  In fact, Alfredo Park is situated at one of the lowest lying areas of Bronxville yet recent intense rain events have not left the standing water of previous years.  One of the many steps you can take to alleviate flooding in your yard is to plant natives.  Another benefit: After the first year, native plants require far less maintenance than non-natives!