In 2010 the President of the Boynton Beach Garden Club Audrey Geiger was approached by Glenda Hall, the Boynton Beach Manager of Department of Forestry and Grounds, to ascertain if the Garden Club would take over a garden area by the side of the Schoolhouse Children’s Museum on Ocean Avenue. At that time, this area was planted entirely with firebush, grayleaf, jatropha, and firecracker plants.
President Audrey Geiger, recognizing the opportunity for the Garden Club, excitedly pursued plans to transform this current garden into one dedicated as a habitat for butterflies. The City cleared the current garden of all plantings except for one large firebush, one grayleaf, and one jatropha. Unfortunately for Audrey, the Garden Club was resistant to the Butterfly Garden project. Despite opposition, President Audrey Geiger was determined to follow through and create a community butterfly garden. Her vision was a garden filled with native butterfly plants that would attract butterflies of numerous species, but she was also determined that the garden would be lush, colorful and beautiful to attract the community.
The project began with Audrey Geiger and Christine Johnson, a Garden Club member, working tirelessly every Saturday, first to rid the garden of stubborn roots before planting could even begin. To start Glenda Hall from Forestry and Grounds provided milkweed, coontie, and penta plants. Blue salvia, fennel, and rue were donated by a couple of club members. A corky-stem passion vine was donated by a non-member who also helped occasionally in the garden. Little by little, Audrey and Christine designed the new garden, planting butterfly plants and learning which plants worked best in different locations. After Audrey’s Garden Club Presidency ended, Christine continued working in the butterfly garden coming Saturdays on her own for two years, weeding and tending to the plants.
Eventually two new members, Nancy Daisy and Joan Grace, joined the Garden Club and became part of the butterfly garden team. Each Saturday the gardeners worked on the butterfly garden adding milkweed, fire spike, porterweed, parsley, fennel, and other new butterfly plants. Eventually with much devotion and hard work, the garden area was transformed into a beautiful blooming community butterfly garden.
After the passing in 2013 of club member Carole Andrade, a lifelong butterfly enthusiast, her husband Jim Andrade donated money to the Butterfly Garden in her memory. A plaque was placed in the garden to commemorate the dedication. About the same time a kinetic butterfly sculpture created by David Langley, originally displayed in the 2013 International Kinetic Art Exhibit and Symposium, was made part of the Butterfly Garden.
In March of 2014, the City of Boynton Beach promoted the now-official Butterfly Garden with a special Garden Tour open to the public. The charming colorful butterfly garden and its array of beautiful and native plants attracting numerous butterfly species and other pollinators had been transformed into this downtown area.
Presently, our BBGC has a Butterfly Garden Committee of seven that maintain the garden. The Chairman is Christine Johnson, who persevered as co-founder of the butterfly garden. Christine’s knowledge of butterflies and butterfly plants and her dedication to gardening and to the vision of former President Audrey Geiger has contributed immensely to the huge success of this lovely garden.
Schoolhouse Museum
