Ibby’s Garden was designed by June Hutson, the outdoor project coordinator at the Missouri Botanical Garden. The Woman’s Club was the primary donor for the project. The Club was involved in all parts of the developmental process, from original designs to physical planting and continues to maintain the garden.
The garden features the native plants that midwestern butterflies, declining in number, need for all four stages of their life cycle.
Located on Danforth Campus at the intersection of Forsyth and Wallace Drive, the garden is a relaxing, natural area attractive to WashU students, faculty and staff, neighbors, local schools, and various groups of nature enthusiasts. The Butterfly Garden committee, partnered with Washington University Facilities, has developed the garden for 25 years, adding benches, picnic tables, and an arbor. Generous donations to the Butterfly Garden 25th Anniversary Gift Fund made the addition of a spacious pergola and hardscape enhancements possible in 2021. Our volunteers have been raising Monarch and Swallowtail butterflies from eggs and releasing the adult butterflies into the garden to educate the public and to raise the number of Monarchs for migration. The garden qualified for certification as a Monarch Waystation from the national Monarch Watch organization in 2016. In 2021 we began participating in the Monarch tagging program through the University of Kansas. The Butterfly Garden endowment and the generosity of Washington University supports annual planting and operating expenses.
How Can You Help?
The Butterfly Garden Committee meets to work in the garden every Tuesday morning in the spring, summer, and fall, when weather permits. We invite new volunteers to join us anytime. Contact co-chairs Lee Anne Quatrano
lquatrano@gmail.com
or Elena Maksaeva
elena.wcwu@icloud.com.
Looking for another way to support Ibby’s Garden? You can also make a tax-deductible gift.
