Gonzales Garden Club promotes butterfly conservation

     The Gonzales Garden Club met at Vice President Jamie Trisler’s house in Gonzales on Feb. 3 to experience a program on butterfly conservation.  Member Conchita Richey facilitated a presentation by Southern University Senior Research Associate Mila Berhane, who spoke about the creation of butterfly habitats. Berhane described the best locations for butterfly way stations, identified certain host plants that harbor butterfly eggs and feed the emerging caterpillars and recommended colorful nectar plant varieties that provide food for the butterflies.

     Guest Andeab Berhane, Proprietor of Greenhand Nursery, shared numerous young plants with twofold functions, hosting the eggs and caterpillars, plus providing nectar for butterflies.  Conchita Richey created an educational exhibit of “Monarch Waystations in Our Gardens”.  She explained the importance of providing resources that nurture Monarch butterfly migrations in order to increase their chance of survival.    Barbara McCormick’s appropriate gardening tip of the month addressed how to harvest and plant seeds for growing butterfly plants.  

     The horticultural hint for this February is that now is a good time to plant hardy trees and shrubs in the landscape. Members Lorraine Gautreau, Mary Jo Pohlig and Patti Mouton provided flower arrangements in vertical line designs for critique. Hostesses Jamie Trisler, Kat Hightower, Shirley Lyons, Marilyn Oubre, Janis Poche, Mabel Savoy and Dana Teepell served a light lunch once the meeting adjourned.