Our Butterfly Garden Project

The NSUC Butterfly Garden is a project sponsored by our church’s Environmental Action Team.

Butterfly garden update - October 21, 2024

On Tuesday, October 15th, a small but enthusiastic crew tidied up our butterfly garden.

Butterfly gardens, by definition, are designed to be wild places where the eggs and larva stages of our local butterflies can find refuge in the plant stalks, the inner plant stems, and the soil.

For many of us raised in the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s the idea of leaving stalks and leaves to overwinter is a sign of a sloppy gardener. In 2024 we have learned that fall over-clipping and deep clean-up has cost us many of our exquisite butterfly species. We realize that many of the ancient methods of feeding the soil — like mulching — has great merit.

The surrounding environment (which also supports our NSUC Butterfly Garden) has changed dramatically with the cutting and clearing of our cedars and other trees.

In the coming spring we will carefully add native plants which might help to encourage and attract butterflies. Our challenge today is learning to “see” the natural beauty in our “messy” garden now, when the unseen stages of the butterflies are busy so that in spring when they emerge we can appreciate them.

Special thanks to our amazing Butterfly Garden Team: Bob, Inga, Jim, Joanne, Marcia, Ruth, Stuart plus the Building and Grounds Team.

~ Ranger Jean Prescott

Butterfly Garden Update - June 24, 2024

For an outing last week, Stuart and I visited the NSUC Butterfly Garden around noon. I was pleasantly surprised by the growth and condition of our many native plants. These past rainy weeks have spurred flourishing despite the chilly temperatures. Our deep purple lupine, the new bleeding heart and the Pacific Nine Bark look particularly healthy. The lawn has been cut recently which has removed the prolific cotton wood “cottons” plus team members have hand picked out those seedlings which landed in the soil. A super thank you to those that worked on this and general weeding!  Stuart twisted the sprinkler hose to maximize water use to areas not fully covered setting it to sprinkle very early every two days.

Being confined to a gravity chair I have had more time to be truly watchful in my own yard this year. Two weeks ago I sighted a Morning Cloak butterfly. Today I saw a Western Tiger Swallowtail.  With warmer weather watch for more native butterflies wherever you are!

Thanks again for keeping our garden in such nice shape.

Jean Prescott
Butterfly Ranger

What’s planted in our Butterfly Garden?

Jean Prescott, our Butterfly Ranger, provided us with a list HERE.

May 4, 2024
Butterfly Garden Clean-Up

A small but enthusiastic family of volunteers assembled Saturday morning to clear and clean our Butterfly Friendly Garden. We all turned in composted material, weeded and planted those lovely new plants which graced our tables at the Earth Day luncheon. Additionally we headed daffodils plus swept and cleaned up the area. 

Last fall we added a Pacific Ninebark (physocarpus capitatus) in the front section of the garden. This lovely member of the Rose Family is a North American native which shows creamy blossoms in the spring that evolve to glossy red seeds in fall. Our bush has thrived so we can now watch for it’s first blossoms. Growing to around 8 feet the branches should gradually arch beautifully over the garden.

In front of our Ninebark we planted two lavenders (lavandula mint family) which should be effective in drawing both bees and butterflies. Toward the shadier area the Stephenson’s provided a lovely Bleeding Heart (dicentra) to accompany ours. Bleeding heart is attractive to both bees and hummingbirds. Throughout the garden we added alyssum (alyssum maritimum). It is native to Mediterranean regions but is used extensively in Butterfly Gardens to bring in pollinators as the fragrance is intoxicating!

A special thanks to Stuart, Inga P. Jim and Marcia for their assistance and Jasha for the super refreshments!

~ Jean Prescott, NSUC Butterfly Ranger

November 7, 2023
Mulching

Our Butterfly Garden Team chose a nice sunny day (November 7th) to add more mulch to the Butterfly Garden at NSUC. The trees surrounding the garden are hazelnut, cottonwood and red alder, which produce sturdy and somewhat leathery leaves that are harder to break down. So we brought from home some smaller and softer maple leaves (pre-chopped using the lawn mower). Our hope is that this initial layer of leaves will compost over winter for easy incorporation into the garden in the Spring of 2024. Feeding the soil for new planting in spring will give all our flowers lots of nutrients for a good start. The surrounding trees will gradually drop a coat of thicker leaves over this layer, wrapping our garden until spring awakens the soil.

If you are watching leaves fall in your garden space, try using them to mulch your own perennials.

~ Jean Prescott, Butterfly Ranger and member of the Environmental Action Team

September 30, 2023
Butterfly Garden Work Party

Saturday, September 30th, eight capable Unitarian volunteers worked diligently to put our Butterflyway Garden to “bed” for the fall and winter.

We all have learned lots about the best way to assist the pollinators go into their dormant time. Weeding was undertaken with minimal ground disturbance. Using a “chop and drop” or eco clearing technique we removed the tall stalks, flower heads and leaves to create mulch over the soil. Additional leaves were raked and blown onto the garden’s bare patches.

Of the 450 native bee species many are solitary. Mason bees and their cousins live in empty stalks while Mining bees are ground dwellers. Eco clearing allows the bees to remain undisturbed so they can emerge healthy next spring. Butterflies also lay eggs on plant stalks, under leaves and under the bark of trees.

Once we observe the growth in April-May we hope to add additional plants to supplement the species which have flourished this year.

~ Jean Prescott, Butterfly Ranger

July 11, 2023
update on our Butterflyway Garden Project

Our lovely butterfly garden at North Shore Unitarian suffered this year with our long cool spring, then sharp change to very hot June weather. We had hoped that hand watering would bring our plantings back. Our yarrow, bee balm, lupin and strawberries survived these changes but several plants were struggling and some were not in evidence.

Stuart and I decided to reinvigorate the garden with a similar watering system as was installed last year. We have created an improved system with a perforated 50’ dedicated line which automatically waters at dawn. Our hopes are that this will help plants flourish with our increasing summer heat. 

Weeding, clipping and replanting have densified the spaces. The Stephensons donated a beautiful Kinnikinnick for the shady side and Stuart provided a new Native bush which attracts bees, butterflies and squirrels in fall: Pacific Ninebark (physocarpus capitatus). This will fill in the front area just behind our Sage (salvia •hot lips). Ninebark is a bush which likes damp river edges where it binds the soil with its strong root system. A member of the rose family, it has lovely dense flowers which become red-pink berries in fall.

We hope you will enjoy these changes as our garden develops over the seasons.

Also, watch for butterflies anywhere your summer takes you! (send photos)

~ Jean Prescott, Butterfly Ranger

Butterfly Ranger's Wanted

Are you committed to the environment?  Are you interested in gardening?  Here’s a great opportunity to learn about butterflies and become a Butterfly Ranger through the Dr. David Suzuki Foundation.  Contact Ranger Jean Prescott for more information or visit the David Suzuki Foundation website.  

September 21 2022
Summary of Butterfly Garden Project so far

The goal of our Butterfly Garden project was to create a hands on multigenerational project to alter a portion of our lawn space to a butterfly and bee-friendly garden as a part of the David Suzuki Butterfly Garden Project. With the support of the NSUC Board and many congregants plus the teaching I received from the Dr. David Suzuki Foundation we have created a very full, blossoming garden on an area on the south end of our church lawn. Soil was brought in to create this garden over the composted cardboard which was laid down in early October 2021. Planting was done on a rainy May 15th weekend by a throng of wet and happy children and adults.

Blessed with a very long cool spring lasting through mid July, the cool dampness helped root development so that when the sun finally shone in earnest plants grew with enthusiasm. Daily parents with children attending the daycare, walk by the garden with fascination as they watch the pollinators at work on the yarrow, sage, thyme and wild strawberries which have taken over the space. With a range of blooming times pollinators are given something to feed on from cool spring into our unseasonable warm fall. Growing in this soil was not an issue, but tackling the many tiny red alder sprouts with inserted themselves everywhere required the Butterfly Garden Team to keep weeding to encourage our native plants and discouraging these unwelcome additions.

Overall, the garden was a beautiful addition to the lawn area. It attracted many pollinators in bees, wasps, hoverflies and some butterflies, mostly Cabbage Whites. One Western Tiger Swallowtail was noted. As the winter arrives we will cease our watering and allow the plants to die back with little clipping. Undisturbed we hope a place for eggs and larva is provided so that next year we will see more butterflies throughout our season.

If you are interested in being a part of the Butterfly Garden Team, or pursuing Butterfly Ranger training please contact Ranger Jean through the church office.

~ Jean Prescott

May 14 & 15 2022
Update from our Planting Party

May 14th and 15th our Butterfly Friendly Garden was planted by our community of children and adults at North Shore Unitarian Church. Members matched the coded chopstick in their plant pot to a chopstick in the ground to create plant groupings which would attract our local butterflies and other pollinators. Plant selection was over 90% native perennials. What an exciting community event we created. Despite the rain people jumped at the chance to be a part of the excitement of an environmentally positive action for our lawn and our world.  Jim and Marcia Stephenson saved the day with this super tent! We put in about 80 plants (with a few more added on Monday) — nearly all native species carefully grouped for easy areal viewing. Now our fingers are crossed for the arrival of better, warmer weather and butterflies!

On Monday, May 16th, the irrigation system was completed to allow the plants to grow up around the hoses. We also added a fence on the sidewalk side provided by Jasha, and our Butterflyway signage from the David Suzuki Foundation’s Butterflyway Project. A special thank to the Board of NSUC plus the many assistants and contributors, including Stuart Browning, who made this project possible.

Here in BC we are all hoping for sunnier days and the emergence and evidence of butterflies!

Ranger Jean Prescott, Environmental Action Team

March 12, 2022 Work Party

We held a work party on March 12th. All ages were invited to the church between 10am - 4pm to help move soil and build up the garden bed.  A number of volunteers showed up, including members of the Board and Building & Grounds and Environmental Action Teams. They had a great time laying the groundwork for our butterfly garden! Click on an image to enlarge it. See more work party images HERE. (Work Party photos by Malcolm Mallory)

Background

In September of 2021, our Environmental Action Team proposed to our Board of Trustees (and the Board approved) the concept of using a small portion of our church’s lawn space to create a pollinator pathway as a part of the Butterfly Garden Projects in co-operation with the Dr. David Suzuki Foundation. The goal of this project is to attract various pollinators including butterflies AND to provide opportunities of excellent educational engagement of our multigenerational community. This project will also provide:

• a chance for all ages to assist in the creation of the garden

• a great opportunity for community building

• a chance for a multi-sensory experience for all ages

• plants with a range of colour with excellent visual appeal

• plants adapted to the space, light, wind and soil conditions

• plants which are drought tolerant

• plant which are easy care

• plants which bloom throughout the seasons or all season

• an additional “Stop Over” for endangered butterflies

• an improved aesthetic for our NSUC entrance