The Bartlesville Council of Garden Clubs will commemorate years of hard work at the corner of U.S. Highway 75 and Frank Phillips Boulevard — an area commonly known as “The Corner” — and the group’s work to help replenish monarch butterfly populations in North America by dedicating the garden as a monarch waystation during a ceremony planned for next month.
The come and go ceremony is set for 9-11 a.m. Sept. 14 at The Corner. The public is invited to attend.
“Members of the Bartlesville Council of Garden Clubs, which is a member of the Oklahoma Garden Clubs, have been learning about gardening and caring for gardens in Bartlesville for 70 years,” said BCGC Secretary Brenda Hansen. “As a part of our objective to beautify the community, council members have been maintaining the public garden at the corner of Frank Phillips Boulevard and Washington Boulevard for 45 years. For the last couple of years work has been done to update the gardens, including adding plants to support the monarch butterfly.
“These efforts have paid off, and on Sept. 14, the council will be dedicating the garden as a monarch waystation. The dedication will be a come and go event from 9 a.m. till 11 a.m.”
A monarch waystation is a garden that has the appropriate nectar plants to attract monarch butterflies and the host plants to support the hungry monarch caterpillar. The dedication will be a time to learn more about the monarch and what it takes to create a garden that will support the monarch throughout its life cycle. Attendees will be able to view monarchs in all stages of their life cycle and tour the garden to view the plants supporting all these stages.
The dedication will feature a short program at 10 a.m. to recognize those making the waystation a possibility. Kloma Laws, president of the BCGC, and Mayor Dale Copeland will be the speakers for this portion of the event.
Parking will be available on Hillside Drive. Access to Hillside Drive is north of Frank Phillips Boulevard and one block west of Washington Boulevard. For more information, email at gtgardeners@gmail.com.