Pollinators

Laura Lovett Pollinator Garden

Where?

Outside of Clapp Hall on either side of the stairs to the main entrance.

Types of Plants

Bigleaf Lupine Gallery Mix
Eastern Red Columbine
Large Rough Blazing Star
Purple Coneflower
Purple Love Grass
Red Switchgrass
Sky Blue Aster
Spotted Bee Balm
Wild Bergamot

Map of Laura Lovett Pollinator Garden

In Memory

About Laura Lovett

This garden honors Laura L. Lovett (1963–2025), a beloved Pitt historian whose scholarship and teaching centered on gender, environment, and community. A dedicated gardener herself, Laura helped recreate the historic steelworkers' garden at the Carrie Furnace site, and this space reflects that same spirit of cultivation and care.

More About Laura

Laura Lovett Pollinator Garden Plants

Bigleaf Lupine Gallery Mix

The Bigleaf Lupine Gallery Mix (Lupinus polyphyllus) is a dwarf, compact perennial that produces vibrant spires in shades of red, pink, yellow, blue, and white.

Blazing Star

A blazing star is a wildflower of the genus Liatris, also known as gayfeather. They are native to North American prairies and meadows.

Eastern Red Columbine

Eastern red columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) is a native North American perennial wildflower known for its delicate, nodding red and yellow flowers.

Purple Coneflower

The purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) is a hardy, native North American perennial known for its striking, daisy-like flowers with a prominent central cone.

Purple Love Grass

Purple love grass (Eragrostis spectabilis) is a spectacular, low-maintenance native North American ornamental grass. Famous for the airy, reddish-purple haze that covers it in late summer, it thrives in full sun and thrives in the driest, poorest, or most sandy soils.

Red Switchgrass

Red Switch Grass (Panicum virgatum) is a hardy, upright ornamental prairie grass prized for its dynamic foliage. Its green-blue blades develop deep burgundy and wine-red tones in summer, culminating in a brilliant, fiery-red fall color

Sky Blue Aster

The Sky Blue Aster (Symphyotrichum oolentangiense) is a tough, drought-tolerant perennial native to North America. Blooming in late summer and fall, it is an excellent choice for supporting late-season pollinators like bees and butterflies.

Spotted Bee Balm

Spotted beebalm (Monarda punctata) is a drought-tolerant, native perennial in the mint family, known for its unique, tiered whorls of pale yellow flowers with purple spots, surrounded by showy, white to pink bracts.

Wild Bergamot

Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa), also frequently called bee balm or horse-mint, is a hardy perennial wildflower native to North America. It belongs to the mint family, features distinctively square stems, and produces ragged, pompom-like clusters of lavender-pink tubular blossoms from mid-summer through early fall.

About the Garden

In April 2026, Pitt planted a new pollinator garden honoring Laura Lovett, a beloved Professor of History and Director of the Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies Program at the University of Pittsburgh, who passed away in 2025. The garden, located near Clapp Hall, was designed in collaboration with the Pitt Pollinator Habitat Advisory Committee and incorporates some of Laura's favorite flowers, including bee balm and blazing star. It will serve as both a thriving habitat for native pollinators and a living laboratory for student research and education. We are so grateful to the donors, volunteers, and Pitt community members who helped bring this garden to life.

Flower in foreground and volunteer works in background Volunteers plant Laura Lovett Pollinator Garden Volunteers planting Laura Lovett Garden
See more photos on Flickr