but many of the flowers are also food sources for butterflies, hummingbirds, and other pollinators.


We plan to expand our efforts and are securing grant funding to do so. For example, we applied for funding from the Landscapes for Communities and Wildlife Program through Lehigh Gap Nature Center. In February, the program agreed to grant us a contribution of $1,500, and we are now considering more ways to install additional native plant gardens on the northeast corner of the church building, along with informational signage to help members and visitors understand why native plants are important.


Kimberly Heiman, Ph.D., is a member of FPCA’s Greening Creation Team and a lecturer in the biology department of Muhlenberg College.


GREENING CREATION?


WHAT IS


Greening Creation is a group of volunteers who strive to make First Presbyterian Church of Allentown a more sustainable and environmentally aware faith community.


Its mission and ministry respond to the biblical call to be stewards of God’s creation. Roots of this call can be found in scriptural passages such as the story of the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2:15, Psalms 19 and 148 (“Praise the Lord from the earth”), Jesus speaking of how God cares for the birds of the air and lilies of the field in Matthew 6, and Christ’s place in creation in Colossians 1:15.


For more information about our team, visit fpcallentown. org/greening-creation or contact Denise Jennings at denisejennings@rcn.com. We meet at 6 p.m. the third Wednesday of every month in the Witherspoon Room.


Come join us.


NATIVE PLANTS FOR BEAUTIFUL GARDENS


Many native plants used in the church’s gardens would translate well to home gardens. Here are a few examples that might help create a greener garden throughout the growing season on your own property. For more great native plant options, visit http://www.iconservepa.org/ plantsmart/nativeplants/index.htm.


The American aromatic aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium) is a one- to two-foot-high perennial with abundant, great-smelling lavender flowers throughout the fall. This flower would provide years of enjoyment and attract many butterflies and other pollinators.


Purple coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) are the echinacea of herbal renown, with flowers that can be used to make tea. These plants are also perennials that can have flowers on stalks up to five feet high. The flowers are long lasting and provide food for wildlife, including birds. This plant does fine in dry soil.


The Eastern alumroot (Heuchera americana) is a great ground cover that thrives in poor, dry soil conditions. With attractive foliage and small, dainty flowers shooting up on stalks in early spring, this native offers early season garden interest.


Other native plants included in the church’s initial planting include Phlox divaricata, sundrops, obedient plant, aromatic aster, Bowman’s root, Allegheny stonecrop, Coreopsis rosea, and wild bleeding heart (shown, right).


Photo credits, from top: Clarence A. Rechenth, hosted by the USDA- NRCS PLANTS Database; invasiveplantnews.com, by Bernard L. Schwartz; en.wikipedia.org; R.A. Howard, hosted by the USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database.


NATIVE PLANT SALE COMING


First Presbyterian will hold a plant sale that includes native plants on the first weekend of May on the front lawn of the church—an opportunity to learn about native flora and buy plants, donated by Blue Mountain Nursery, at reasonable prices. FPCA’s Local Mission Team organizes the sale and donates proceeds to Daybreak.


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