7.b) Butterfly Garden at LilleskogenJudi Ne us
From:
Neil Soltis <n.soltis@ci.scandia.mn.us>
Sent:
Friday, August 03, 2018 2:57 PM
To:
Terry Gorham
Cc:
Judi Negus
Subject:
FW: Lilleskogen Butterfly garden
Terry,
Can you have this discussion at the PRC meeting on Monday.
Neil
From: Karen Schik [mailto:kaschi@frontier.com]
Sent: Friday, August 3, 2018 2:14 PM
To: Neil Soltis <n.soltis@ci.scandia.mn.us>; Terry Gorham <tcgorham@frontiernet.net>; Adam Hawkinson
<a.hawkinson@ci.scandia.mn.us>; Christine Maefsky <christine@poplarhillfarm.com>
Subject: Lilleskogen Butterfly garden
Hello all!
Hope you are enjoying your summer!
I am writing about the butterfly garden at Lille. Have you seen it lately? (photo attached but it looks better in
person). The plants in front and back are finally coming into their own - they are big and beautiful. It seems an
awful shame to remove them. The Friends of Scandia Parks board said earlier this year we would remove the
plants. The garden had languished for several years already - with the compacted/clay soils the plants were not
taking hold very well. Adam really encouraged us to cut our losses, rather than to continue to invest in it. He felt
it would be better to essentially "start over", get better soil or loosen the compaction, and replant it. I really felt
the plants would eventually take hold, but it was beginning to seem that "eventual" was too long to wait. Until
now! The plants that have established are now very large and would be very difficult to successfully move.
Most would probably not survive a transplant.
So, with this new development the FSPT would like to propose that the garden plants STAY - as is. We would
not move tall plants away from the front, but we would add more plants to the middle. Native plants won't
really stay where you put them anyway (several of those tall plants in the front were not planted there but
seeded in). We think the garden is becoming a great amenity to the park and for pollinators. We could get it
certified as a Monarch way station once we get more milkweed established.
We have not, however, heard what the PRC is planning for the park. If this beautiful garden does not fit with the
plans for the park then we will try to find new homes for some of the plants and attempt to move them.
Please let us know!
Karen
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