Norwood Butterfly Garden Nearly Up and Running

The Norwood Conservation Commission has had the butterfly garden in the works for quite some time, and now it’s finally starting to come together.

“It was approved a long time ago, it’s just that I didn’t know about how to get it started,” commission member Carol Fishman said.

The garden, which was donated to the commission after a superfund cleanup, was originally intended to be a community garden for growing local fruits and vegetables.

“It was just not a good idea,” she said. “You never know quite how clean it got.”

Fishman said the butterfly garden will have plants specifically designed for butterflies. She said this is extremely important for some species’ survival, including the famed Monarch butterfly.

“The Monarchs in particular need help, they’re the only ones who migrate,” she said. “They need special flowers they use to lay eggs or sip nectar. Those flowers are being destroy by herbicides and the land is being developed, so they’re in trouble.”

Fishman said the garden only needs the plants for full operation. She said they have some of them already, but they want to plant them all at the same time.

“I would imagine by mid June it will be up and running,” she said. “We’re starting very small and we hope expand if this is successful.”

The garden is right next to Hannaford’s on Route 1a..