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  North Country MGV

gARDEN bLOGS

Monarch & Pollinator Sanctuary in Spooner, WI

6/20/2022

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Picture
​North Country Master Gardener Volunteer’s perennial garden is located at Spooner Ag Research 
Teaching and Display Garden.  It was completely redesigned and replanted with pollinator friendly 
and native plants completed in spring 2016.  We saw the perennial garden as an ideal space for 
creating a Monarch and Pollinator Sanctuary (MAPS).

We undertook this project as we learned more about the loss of pollinator habitats. Habitat loss is 
a result of disease, parasites, environmental contaminants and development of pristine land. 
Habitat loss contributes to the decline of many species of pollinators. The well-known and 
celebrated annual Monarch Butterfly migration south for winter and back north in Spring is a huge 
natural phenomenon, but has faced diminishing numbers of butterflies.

Three-fourths of the world’s flowering plants depend on pollinators to reproduce.  Most fruit, 
vegetable, seed crops - and other plants that provide fiber, medicine and fuel are pollinated by 
animals.  A significant portion of the food we eat exists because of animal pollinators such as 
bees, butterflies and moths, birds and bats, beetles and other insects.

Bees are the main pollinators for fruits and vegetables.  They nest underground, in twigs and dead 
trees.  There are over 250 species of bees native to North America.  Bees are often considered 
pollinator superheroes, having adaptations which allow them to collect and transport pollen and 
nectar.  They have the unique ability to “buzz pollinate” plant species with pollen but  no nectar, 
such as tomatoes, cranberries, apples, cherries, blackberries, blueberries, alfalfa, red clover, 
snapdragons and foxglove.

Butterflies seek nectar in the daytime, moths at night. Monarch caterpillars need milkweeds to grow 
and develop – common milkweed is most important although a variety is recommended.  Monarchs need 
nectar to provide energy to breed, to sustain their migratory flights and to build reserve for w 
nter.  Butterflies can see red, and love colorful flowers in
warm colors.

Hummingbirds are the most common avian pollinators in the US, and they love the color red.  Two 
species of bat are major pollinators in the desert Southwest.

Beetles and other insects are common flower visitors and pollinators.  My personal favorite is the 
Midge fly, the only animal small enough to pollinate the cocoa flower, giving us billions of pounds 
of chocolate annually!

MAPS provides habitat for pollinators to help them thrive.  Measures incorporated into the garden 
include:
•   pollinator friendly plants, shrubs and trees
•   mix of plants with various colors and bloom times
•   no insecticide use
•   bee nesting boxes
•   natural compost for fertilization
•   removal of invasive species
•   thinning and mulching plant beds
•   trees, shrubs and vines as well as fruits and flowers

Our Monarch and Pollinator Sanctuary continues to thrive, and is a designated Monarch Way Station.

You are welcome to visit – we are always open!

Author:  Janet Mangold, Master Gardener Volunteer
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    Learn more about what's going on by checking out these local blogs and Facebook sites: 

    *No. Country MGV Facebook
    *Spooner Ag Station Facebook 
    ​* The River Flowing Blog
    ​
    *  GardenTrueNorth Blog

    (These blogs are not associated
    ​ with the UW-Extension except for the Spooner Ag Station Facebook page.)


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Visit the Teaching & Display Gardens

The Teaching and Display Gardens  are a joint effort between the Spooner Agriculture Research Station, operated by the University of Wisconsin - Madison College of Agriculture and Life Science, the University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension and area UW-Extension Master Gardener Volunteers.  

Open to the public for self-guided tours during day light hours seven days a week mid-May through mid-September. 

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    • Calendar
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    • Master Gardeners Present....
    • Twilight Garden Tour >
      • 2020 Virtual Twilight Garden Tour
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    • 2020 Handouts
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    • 2018 Handouts
    • 2017 Handouts & Slides
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