Butterfly Garden 3-year plan
2025
- Planning and research. Check!
- Tree planting. 25 trees added to provide an overstory for the bushes and flowers to come.
- Pavers to create accessibility and add a prayerful focal point.
- Swales and berms. Soil excavated in the tree planting will help prevent water and soil from running off the land.
2026
- Meandering pathway. We’ll add an eco-friendly mulch trail to encourage wandering and contemplation
- Pollinator beds. will attract the beneficial insects that produce beauty and nourishment.
- Focal point. We’ll add welcoming entrance using architectural elements, perhaps a sculpture, pergola, and benches.
2027
- Refining the garden through plantings and design.
- Educational components for sisters, students, and guests.
Visit often for new stories about the Butterfly Garden Project
Photos and videos of updates to project
Welcome to the Butterfly Garden Project!
Butterflies, birds, and bees are God’s creatures…a cause for springtime hope... a sign of a healthy ecosystem, and natural signs of the transformation and new life to which God calls each of us.
They are also the answer to our prayer about how best to steward our land.
“Everyone who lives and works at Sacred Heart Convent is excited about this project,” Sister Rose Marie says.
“Building a pollinator garden will bring new life to the former Siena Hall property, contribute to the health of our ecosystem, and create an accessible natural space for the delight and healing of our elder sisters.
“We’ve built a team of sisters, coworkers, and donors who are plotting together how to live out our prayer for the life of the world and our care for our common home.
“It’s a delight to gift Earth with a place for prayer to flow in a sanctuary for the creatures who look after us.”
Learn more about the mission
Enjoy these stories about ways we are preaching the Gospel!
Sanctuary
Tony Rothering speaks about the garden and its impact on birds.
Spirituality
Sister Rose Marie Riley discusses the spiritual impact of the garden.
Social wellbeing
Social wellbeing: Impact of the garden on life in the neighborhood
Find ways you can provide small green spaces for birds to thrive.
