My View of Life on the Dock
Snapshots from a butterfly gardening workshop that I recently participated in at Philips Andover Children’s Campus. This wonderful program was coordinated with the Andover Gardening Club and Andover Memorial Hall Library. Many thanks to SHED educator Julie for inviting me to participate and for taking such great care of Charlotte while I worked with the kids!
HOLY CANNOLI and WOW–look how fantastically the Pathway’s Staff is taking care of their brand new one-month old butterfly garden–every plant looks well-loved!!!
Spring 2014 Before Photo
Same View After Photo ~Â Â July 18, 2014
Toads Welcome!
My sincerest thanks to Caroline Haines for her vision to create a butterfly garden for the children at Pathways.Â
Thank you to the many donors who have made the butterfly gardens at Pathways possible.Â
Thank you to the Manchester Garden Club for their tremendous assisitance in planting the garden.
Thank you to the volunteers from Liberty Mutual for tearing out the old plantings.
And special thanks to Bernie Romanowski, Pathways for Children facilities director, for all his hard work and his extraordinary care and attention to detail, from the project’s inception through its continued maintenance. 
Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) ~ Notice the pretty moth nectaring from the milkweed in the upper right. The gardens are alive with pollinators of every species imaginable, including butterflies, bees, hummingbirds, songbirds, moths, and sundry insects!
 Bernie Romanowski
Manchester Garden Club
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Antennae for Design ~
The architectural details of the trellis and picnic table were designed to be a coordinated focal point in the garden and planned to be stained a classic seaside blue. Why would we want to paint or stain the trellis and not simply allow it to gain a weathered patina? From an aesthetic point of view, the wood used for both the picnic table and trellis are two different types and will age very differently from each other. If this were a very large garden, it wouldn’t matter so much, but in a cozy garden room such as this, the difference will become quite noticeable and unappealing over time. Additionally, the blue will offset the flowers and foliage handsomely and is a cheery choice with children in mind.
From a very practical standpoint, untreated wood will quickly degrade in our salty sea air and neither piece will last more than ten years without protection. An opaque stain is the best solution because as the trellis and picnic table age, the obvious differences in wood will be disguised. An opaque stain also requires the least amount of effort to maintain over time.
The above is a photo of untreated trellis, allowed to weather, and was installed approximately ten years ago.
Good Morning Gloucester 