For part of my  Master Gardener Volunteer hours I planted a "Bee and Butterfly Garden" at the Durham River Park.  At present it includes entry beds and the areas in front of and surrounding the Nature Center.  Eventually I will place nametags on the plants and put up a list of which butterflies are attracted to specific plants.

Click on any picture to enlarge it...

Durham Conservation Commission installed a sign at Durham River Park last year.  Most people didn't know this was a park.  Some folks thought the sign was a bit extravagant.  The stone wall was built by Joe Crowley.  He also placed the rocks around all the beds to really set them off nicely.  Last fall the girl scouts and I planted 300 mixed daffodils in front of this wall.  We can't wait until spring for them to start blooming.

This bed was planted in the summer of 2002.  The hand-dug well went dry that year.  I carried water from home to keep these plants alive. One of the local Girl Scouts, Erica Brown,  her mom and Chip Gorgone helped me keep the plants watered during the summer.  They survived and did well.  This picture is July or August, 2003.  The little building in the background will be The Nature Center.  It has been scraped and repainted by the Boy Scouts, re-roofed by Chip Gorgone and his son, re-wired, insulated and sheet rocked by Russ Jabaut.

Some of the plants were purchased but many were donated by friends, co-workers and people I asked for donations.  All plants were gratefully accepted.  The red in front are Sweet Williams (Dianthus sp), the orange is butterfly weed (Asclepias sp), the yellow in back is yarrow.

This picture was taken from the picnic table area in early December, 2003.  No snow yet on the ground.  In the summer the Androscoggin River is barely visible from this spot.  Too many leaves.  We need to do some thinning so Grandma can see the river.