Village garden puts out welcome mat for butterflies and bees
Elk Rapids Garden Club members Cheryl Jackson, Paula Jorge, and Carol McLachlan with the mason bee house recently added to the Zupin-Anderson memorial garden on Dexter Street. Photo by Barb Mosher
By Barb Mosher, Contributing Writer
Calling all pollinators! The Elk Rapids Garden Club invites bees, butterflies, and other insects to check out the recently expanded Zupin-Anderson memorial garden where an assortment of Michigan native plants and a special mason bee house have been added.
The Zupin-Anderson garden is one of ten village gardens developed and maintained by ERGC members. A $4000 grant from the Grand Traverse Community Foundation provided the funds this spring to enlarge the garden and introduce more pollinator-friendly plants. Additional funds came from the village beautification committee and the ERGC’s coffers.
With help from the village’s Department of Public Works, the north and south ends of the garden on Dexter Street were extended, making room for a variety of native perennials including butterfly weed, cone flower, false indigo, cup flower, culver root, marsh marigold, and two varieties of milkweed.
Milkweed is the only source of nourishment monarch butterflies use in their transformation from caterpillar to adult butterfly. But loss of habitat from land development and toxic weed killers is threatening the plant and the monarch.
“Our environment is very fragile, and we have to appreciate that this all relates to the ecosystem and our place on the earth,” said Paula Jorge, ERGC president and Zupin-Anderson garden crew leader. “One of our goals was to create a monarch way station.”
Monarchs are not the only pollinators discovering the Zupin-Anderson garden as a welcome refuge. Bees are buzzing around the new plants with fresh enthusiasm, transferring pollen within and among flowers, a role crucial to the fertilization and seed/fruit production of many plants. Because pesticides and habitat loss are also contributing to the worldwide decline of bees, the garden crew erected a bee house specifically designed for mason bees.
Mason bees lay eggs in small natural cavities like woodpecker holes and hollow stems rather than in the colony of a hive. A mason bee house provides artificial nesting chambers that female bees fill with eggs, pollen, and nectar during the summer. The nesting larva spin cocoons and grow to nearly adult size by fall but remain in the holes until spring when they emerge, ready to repeat the cycle.
“Mason bees are gentle, amazing little pollinators,” Jorge said. “If we can help supplement the bee population as a way to sustain our future food supply, we’re all for providing a nesting opportunity for them.”
Four times more likely to be attracted to a native plant than a non-native plant, mason bees are indeed finding their way to the Zupin-Anderson garden. “There’s definitely a plethora of activity going on,” Jorge said. “Michigan native plants are designed to work with insects, soil, birds, moisture, and butterflies, all to support our ecosystem.”
The Zupin-Anderson garden is now in its 60th year of flourishing just above the Kids Pond spillway. It was established and dedicated in 1959 in memory of Marie Zupin, an ERGC member from 1932 to 1959. It was expanded and rededicated in 1985 in memory of Ariel Anderson, a club member from 1959 to 1983.
“As a garden club, there’s been a real shift in our emphasis,” Jorge added. “We’re no longer just concerned with making things beautiful. We’re really into education with a focus on protecting and preserving our ecosystem and its pristine shorelines and natural habitats.”
In addition to Jorge, the Zupin-Anderson garden crew includes Cheryl Jackson, Bev Ralston, Carol McLachlan, Marlene Hulteen, Char Fitzpatrick, Ellen Wojtowicz, Jane Stauffer, Paige Peters, and Susan Green.
For more information on Michigan native plants, visit www.michiganflora.net. For help in developing a pollinator-friendly garden, go to www.pollinators.msu.edu. For information on the Elk Rapids Garden Club, go to www.elkrapidsgardenclub.com.
Calling all pollinators! The Elk Rapids Garden Club invites bees, butterflies, and other insects to check out the recently expanded Zupin-Anderson memorial garden where an assortment of Michigan native plants and a special mason bee house have been added.
The Zupin-Anderson garden is one of ten village gardens developed and maintained by ERGC members. A $4000 grant from the Grand Traverse Community Foundation provided the funds this spring to enlarge the garden and introduce more pollinator-friendly plants. Additional funds came from the village beautification committee and the ERGC’s coffers.
With help from the village’s Department of Public Works, the north and south ends of the garden on Dexter Street were extended, making room for a variety of native perennials including butterfly weed, cone flower, false indigo, cup flower, culver root, marsh marigold, and two varieties of milkweed.
Milkweed is the only source of nourishment monarch butterflies use in their transformation from caterpillar to adult butterfly. But loss of habitat from land development and toxic weed killers is threatening the plant and the monarch.
“Our environment is very fragile, and we have to appreciate that this all relates to the ecosystem and our place on the earth,” said Paula Jorge, ERGC president and Zupin-Anderson garden crew leader. “One of our goals was to create a monarch way station.”
Monarchs are not the only pollinators discovering the Zupin-Anderson garden as a welcome refuge. Bees are buzzing around the new plants with fresh enthusiasm, transferring pollen within and among flowers, a role crucial to the fertilization and seed/fruit production of many plants. Because pesticides and habitat loss are also contributing to the worldwide decline of bees, the garden crew erected a bee house specifically designed for mason bees.
Mason bees lay eggs in small natural cavities like woodpecker holes and hollow stems rather than in the colony of a hive. A mason bee house provides artificial nesting chambers that female bees fill with eggs, pollen, and nectar during the summer. The nesting larva spin cocoons and grow to nearly adult size by fall but remain in the holes until spring when they emerge, ready to repeat the cycle.
“Mason bees are gentle, amazing little pollinators,” Jorge said. “If we can help supplement the bee population as a way to sustain our future food supply, we’re all for providing a nesting opportunity for them.”
Four times more likely to be attracted to a native plant than a non-native plant, mason bees are indeed finding their way to the Zupin-Anderson garden. “There’s definitely a plethora of activity going on,” Jorge said. “Michigan native plants are designed to work with insects, soil, birds, moisture, and butterflies, all to support our ecosystem.”
The Zupin-Anderson garden is now in its 60th year of flourishing just above the Kids Pond spillway. It was established and dedicated in 1959 in memory of Marie Zupin, an ERGC member from 1932 to 1959. It was expanded and rededicated in 1985 in memory of Ariel Anderson, a club member from 1959 to 1983.
“As a garden club, there’s been a real shift in our emphasis,” Jorge added. “We’re no longer just concerned with making things beautiful. We’re really into education with a focus on protecting and preserving our ecosystem and its pristine shorelines and natural habitats.”
In addition to Jorge, the Zupin-Anderson garden crew includes Cheryl Jackson, Bev Ralston, Carol McLachlan, Marlene Hulteen, Char Fitzpatrick, Ellen Wojtowicz, Jane Stauffer, Paige Peters, and Susan Green.
For more information on Michigan native plants, visit www.michiganflora.net. For help in developing a pollinator-friendly garden, go to www.pollinators.msu.edu. For information on the Elk Rapids Garden Club, go to www.elkrapidsgardenclub.com.
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