Where the wildflowers grow, the butterflies go.

Visitors to Moritani Preserve should see plenty of both this summer, as the preserve’s first-ever pollinator garden sprouts up in the north meadow.

Volunteers from Friends of Moritani Preserve have seeded the new garden with a colorful mix of wildflowers, mostly perennials with a few annuals tossed in, from Pro Time Lawn Seed Co. of Portland, Ore. A few Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia fulgida) starts were added to jump-start the garden.

As the garden flowers, butterflies, bees and other pollinators are attracted to the nectar the flowers provide. In the process of feeding, they transfer pollen from flower to flower.

“Pollinators are extremely important, and one of the hidden things most people probably don’t notice is, every plant and tree and shrub has its specific pollinators to help with seed production,” Friends of Moritani Preserve chair Maryann Kirkby says. “The more diversity we can put into the preserve to […]