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 attract pollinators, the better.”
The kidney-shaped garden hugs the curving path up to Shepard Way and meanders away to the west. The irregular shape avoids a “tract” look and reflects the preserve’s rolling topography.
The garden has been planned for several years, to add biodiversity to the 8-acre park. Special donations provided seed money, as it were.
In April, the Park District scraped the 18×50 plot clear of field grass and backfilled with 8 inches of fresh soil. Since seeding the garden, volunteers have been keeping the plot watered with timers in between spring showers. With the sun upon us, good things should follow soon.
One of the hopes is that the Moritani garden will inspire visitors to plant pollinator gardens in their own yards, as has Kirkby.
“It’s been fun to watch it grow. It brings intense joy, just the visual aspects of it,” she says, “and observing what insects are out there using it, and birds and butterflies. It’s a great thing to do at any scale.”
