The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Gardening for pollinators at Tel Hai
In order for a yard or gar- den to be designated a Monarch Waystation by the Monarch Watch organization, it requires only a few things: milkweeds, nectar sources, and shelter needed to sustain monarch but- terflies as they migrate through North America. Pretty easy. But it might also be helpful to have Shirley Walton and the Tel Hai Nature Society around to inspire and guide you.
Walton, who grew up on a dairy farm in southern Chester County, developed an interest in butterflies For more, see this animal specific fact sheet about Plants Poisonous to Livestock from Cornell University: http://poisonousplants.ansci. cornell.edu/php/plants.php?action =display&ispecies=horses years ago as a means of keeping her family entertained. “When you have nine children, you have to find ways to keep them occupied,” she jokes.
Through reading this column over the years, Walton knew of my interest in pollinators. She invited me to come take a look at the gardens at the Tel Hai retirement community in Honey Brook, PA, where she now resides. She wrote, “Here in our … community garden, we plant for the birds, bees, and butterflies, as well as grow vegetables. The butterfly weed makes a nice addition … and encourages the monarchs to visit and multiply.”
Walton said that when she moved to Tel Hai, she discovered that so many of the people she met did not know that butterflies come from caterpillars. Two years ago, she bought a couple of flats of butterfly weed plants (Asclepias tuberosa) and the Nature Society gave them away to other gardeners living there. Their project quickly took off.
Their main interest was in