Just before 9 a.m. Monday, Daniel Park in Beebe was bustling with activity. Several people were getting their morning exercise along the walking path that winds through the park at the corner of Main and Mississippi streets. The park is small but well-used, and one group is striving to make it even more enjoyable for visitors.
Members of the White County Master Gardeners have been working for two months to install a new butterfly garden in Daniel Park, and as people walked along the path through the park Monday morning, the gardeners were filling the newly constructed flower beds with a variety of plants that will attract butterflies nearly year-round.
“We get a lot of butterflies around the plants that we’ve already planted here in the park,” said Bob Morrison, a White County Master Gardener and project manager for the Daniel Park butterfly garden. “But they don’t have their own little habitat. There are certain plants that they lay their eggs on. For example, the eastern swallowtail butterfly likes to lay its eggs on fennel. So we’re going to put some fennel out there.”
The goal is to put indigenous high-nector plants in the garden, Morrison said, and that list of plants includes milkweed, sage, dill, marigolds and salvia.
This will be the first butterfly garden installed by the White County Master Gardeners, said LuLynn Keathley-Richards, the organization’s president, and a lot of research went into making the garden a successful project, with plants that thrive through spring, summer and fall.
“The butterfly garden is important because we’re trying to increase awareness about how all aspects of our environment work together,” Keathley-Richards said.
Between planning, coordinating plans with the city, gathering funds and building the flower beds, the butterfly garden has been two months in the making, and Morrison said it may never be completely “finished.”
“Working on a garden is a never-ending process, you know,” he said. “We hope to have everything placed by March or April after winter passes, but there will always be work to be done.”
Kristen Boswell, Beebe Chamber of Commerce executive director, said she is excited to see how the community responds to the garden.
“Daniel Park is such a focal point in the community,” she said. “We have several people who come out every day for fitness. We have families come out and use [the park] for picnics and family time. The garden is an added attraction to Daniel Park. It’s going to be lovely. We’re very excited.”
The garden is 50 feet by 30 feet, and Morrison said there is room to expand the area in the future if anyone feels inclined to do so.
“We could try to get the 4-H Club out here or other groups — people with younger backs,” he said. “The average age out here right now is about 67.”
Funding and supplies for the butterfly garden came from the city of Beebe, the Beebe Chamber of Commerce, the Beebe Street Department and the Beebe Parks Department. All of the labor has been done by volunteers, Morrison said.
With beds built and plants in the ground, the garden is off to a good start.
“We just want this to be a butterfly oasis,” Morrison said.
Staff writer Angela Spencer can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or aspencer@arkansasonline.com.