The Observatory manages butterfly gardens at Kiptopeke State Park and at Jamestown Marina/Billsburg Brewery, which is pictured here. By mid-December most blooming plants have finished, though at the Marina Garden, Golden Alexander and Obediant Plant are still blooming as of Dec 17th. The dead vegetation is left in place until March, to harbor winter sparrows and finches.
The Marina Garden has a small table and 3 benches, including a kid-friendly low one. The hummingbird feeder in the photo will remain out for most of the winter at the Marina as hummingbirds are possible. The gardens produced a wide variety of species in 2021, including a very rare Lace-winged Roadside-Skipper at the Marina. Caterpillars for Black Swallowtail, Sleepy Orange, Monarch and Variegated Fritillary were found in 2021. Visitors enjoyed the garden daily.
Brian Taber
