A new yard in Nolensville will support maintain Monarch Butterflies

A small tract of land alongside Nolensville Large School has officially opened to the public as a serene pollinator garden.

Planned with intention, local flora and fauna in intellect, the backyard serves during its migration, as nicely as other pollinators.

Monarch butterflies are a threatened species — the population east of the Rocky Mountains is in critical drop.

“We regarded a number of layout iterations and arrived at the arrangement that you see below,” reported landscape architect Micah Hargrove. “Web-site format, plant selection and composition are guided by scientific study.” 

Hargrove volunteers with the Mill Creek Watershed Affiliation, the nonprofit business and crew behind the site. Hargrove and director Kathleen Dennis worked with area nonprofits, volunteers, and artisans, as very well as the metropolis of Nolensville, to prepare and execute the yard, as nicely as get hold of grants for the venture. 

The backyard sits alongside an unnamed tributary of the Mill Creek Watershed, a 27.9-mile-extensive feeder into the Cumberland River. The system of h2o runs through Davidson and Williamson counties.

For monarch butterflies particularly, the yard will act as a “way station” that provides them with sustenance and a put to lay eggs on their migration to Central Mexico for the wintertime.

This is why one particular of the most integral vegetation in the garden is milkweed — the only plant monarch butterflies feed on and lay eggs. Four species of milkweed are clustered together the garden’s perimeter for straightforward access.

The backyard houses 25 unique species of plants—including the a variety of milkweed— that have the electricity to help a lot more than 100 species of wildlife, like deer, songbirds, bees, moths, and butterflies throughout the 12 months.”The back garden demonstrates what can be done in a really small place with planning and enter from the group,” Hargrove mentioned.

The backyard, which opened in late July, will also aid in better absorbing stormwater as opposed to the nonnative turf grass beforehand planted.