Wings of Wonder: PPG Butterfly Garden
PPG Design Click to Download (Microsoft(R) Word Document)
The hub of monarch studies for Team Monarch is a three-acre butterfly habitat at PPG Monroeville Technical Center, as designed by Thelma Redick, ASSET Outreach Coordinator and master gardener. The garden is composed of mostly native grasses and wildflowers that provide both adult and larval foods for the monarch butterfly, as well as other pollinators and wildlife.
The Layout
Adjacent to an existing broomsedge meadow, there are four comma-shaped garden plots: butterfly garden, short grass prairie, tall grass prairie, and milkweed patch. These plots are described below, and can be adapted to any backyard or property. The species used are listed by both common and scientific name in the PPG Design.
The butterfly garden is nearest the building and features non-native species and native cultivars of butterfly-attracting plants. These provide a large, higly visible splash of color to attract many butterflies and provide a significant nectar source for the adults.
To encourage monarch reproduction, a milkweed patch provides a large area of host plants. All butterflies and moths have host plants that their caterpillars depend upon in order to grow. The monarch caterpillar will only eat milkweed plants, and so are vital for reproduction. Milkweed species are also an important nectar plant for the adult monarchs.
The short grass prairie features native species of grasses like little bluestem and showy flowering plants such as bee balm and coreopsis. In addition to nectar sources, some of the species will also serve as host plants.
Behind this plot is the tall grass prairie. Native, warm-season grasses found on the prairie are here, as well as tall native flowers like ironweed. The grasses also lend striking gold and red colors in late fall and winter, when everything else is drab. Songbirds especially utilize the tall grasses for seeds and shelter.
An electric fence is installed around the perimeter to prevent deer damage, a serious issue on site due to overpopulation.
Tall Grass Prairie
July 2001
