Butterfly Garden & Monarch Waystation
Creating a place for pollinators to thrive
Something new is taking root at the McCutchanville Greenway & Nature Preserve.
The Butterfly Garden & Monarch Waystation will transform a section of the former golf course into a native pollinator habitat designed to support monarch butterflies, bees, birds, and other beneficial insects while creating a beautiful new educational feature for Greenway visitors.
Located alongside the existing paved path, the garden will provide an opportunity to experience native plants and wildlife up close throughout the seasons.
The design includes two curved stepping-stone paths that will allow visitors to walk into the garden and experience the plants, butterflies, bees, and other pollinators from a closer vantage point.
As the garden matures, what is now a newly prepared landscape will become a colorful, changing habitat filled with native plants.
Designed with Native Plants
The garden has been thoughtfully designed with native plants arranged in drifts to provide continuous blooms from spring through fall. Plants were selected to offer nectar and pollen for pollinators, host plants for monarchs and other butterflies, and habitat for wildlife.
The plan includes 18 native plant varieties, including milkweeds, asters, coneflowers, sunflowers, cardinal flower, blazing star, rattlesnake master, golden alexanders, coreopsis, and more.
Different plants will take their turn in the spotlight throughout the growing season, creating an evolving landscape rather than a garden that blooms all at once.
A Monarch Waystation
One of the most important features of the garden will be its role as a Monarch Waystation.
The design includes both Rose Milkweed and Butterfly Milkweed, which serve as host plants for monarch butterflies. Nectar-producing native flowers will provide additional food sources for monarchs and other pollinators throughout the growing season.
Together, these plants will create habitat that supports butterflies through different stages of their life cycle while giving Greenway visitors an opportunity to learn more about the importance of pollinators.
More Than a Butterfly Garden
This project is about more than beautiful flowers. The garden will:
The garden will be maintained with wildlife in mind, including leaving seed heads when appropriate to provide additional natural food and habitat.
Growing With Community Support
We are grateful to the Southwest Chapter of the Indiana Native Plant Society (SWINPS) for awarding the McCutchanville Greenway & Nature Preserve a $1,500 grant to help purchase native plants for the Butterfly Garden and Monarch Waystation. The grant specifically supports creating pollinator habitat while developing an educational feature for the Greenway.
Projects like this are possible because individuals and organizations believe in preserving and improving this special green space for our community.
Watch Our Garden Grow
The Butterfly Garden & Monarch Waystation won’t happen overnight. That’s part of its story.
We look forward to sharing the garden’s progress as native plants become established, flowers begin to bloom, and new winged visitors discover the habitat.
Plant Native. Support Wildlife. Grow Community. Create Habitat. Make a Difference.