Friends of the Wildflower Garden
A web of present and past events
These short articles are written to highlight connections of the plants, history and lore of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden with different time frames or outside connections. A web of intersections.
For the first time some years there will be some new construction at the Garden. Eloise Butler established a large orchid collection - we look at one of them. Years ago there was some open water in the wetland and we revisit how it came about.
This Month
New construction at the Garden
New construction at the Garden
For the first time since the 1980s some building construction will occur at Eloise Butler this spring. The MPRB has contracted for the construction of two tool and storage sheds for the Garden’s equipment which is currently stored outside or inside the old Gardener’s shed which doubles as a staff office.
Below: The current storage shed and staff work space dates from the 1980s, with several upgrades over the years.
The new construction will begin this spring in an area just outside the Garden fence near the restrooms. When complete it will be enclosed with a fence so that it becomes part of the enclosed Garden space. Construction will require use of several parking lot spaces but the lot itself is being expanded to add 10 spaces. Check for updates on the Wildflower Garden’s website.
An Eloise Butler orchid
One of the rarer orchids that lived in the Garden for a number of years was the Round-leaved Orchid, Platanthera orbiculata, (formerly Habenaria orbiculata).
It was first planted 100 years ago by Eloise Butler in 1924 with a single specimen she collected at Northolm MN. This is way up north in Koochiching County near Red Lake. She added more in 1938 and ’32 as did Martha Crone in 1933 and ’34.
The plant is conspicuous for the two large dark green rounded leaves that lie flat on the ground, while above them is a single spike bearing up to 30 flowers. The multitude of orchids added to the Wildflower Garden by Eloise and Martha was an attempt to have a local resource to observe the flora of the state. The local environment has eliminated some of those species from thriving here, so, unlike in Eloise’s day, you now have to travel back to Northern Minnesota to see it in the wetlands of the northern counties.
Several years ago a patch of Large Twayblades (Liparis liliifolia) was discovered in the Garden. They had not been observed for many years. Perhaps a Round-leaved Orchid may still exist in some secluded place in the wetland.
This article chronicles the history of orchids in the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden.
Below: The Round-leaved orchid lives wetlands, bogs and moist soils of certain woodlands. Photo ©Gary Van Velsir
Water in the Wetland
Contemporary visitors to the Garden’s wetland will seldom see open water, since the wetland is drained by a small channel that outlets under the north fence.
In earlier years, there was a desire to showcase certain aquatic plants. To achieve this, Eloise Butler created a small pool, but it became to shady, so Garden Curator Martha Crone had three small open pools constructed in 1947 along the path that meanders through the wetland - the path recently replaced by the boardwalk. Her husband, Bill Crone, originally bushwhacked that first trail through the wetland in 1946 and laid down a corduroy base. The pools were constructed the following year, and enlarged in 1948.
In this photograph from 75 years ago, taken on May 14 1949 we see one of the pools with excavated material clearly visible on the left side and the wetland area in a burst of bloom of Marsh Marigold. Today, you can see the outline of the depression created by one of these pools along the boardwalk in the open area just south of and opposite the gathering area on the boardwalk. These pools were kept open until the early 1970s, when silting-in became too much to overcome.
Photo above, taken on May 14, 1949, from a Kodachrome by Martha Crone.
Link to an article on all the old water pools in the Wildflower Garden.
Photo Note
Photos that are credited with a "CC " caption are used under Creative Commons license for educational purposes. The letters and numbers, such as "CC BY-SA 3.0" refer to the license type. These photos may be used by others only for free educational purposes so long as credit is given to the original author whose name precedes the license type. You may learn all about the requirements on the Creative Commons webpage.
Previous articles
March 2024 - Nostalgia: Snow in April
March 2024 - The life of a Redwing
March 2024 - Eloise plants - what?
March 2024 - The Norway Maple
February 2024 - Another decrease in winter monarchs
February 2024 - The last days of the Great Medicine Spring
February 2024 - Eloise Butler and early attempts to protect wildflowers
February 2024 - 1974 - the end of peaceful winters in South Wirth
February 2024 - Pussy Willow now showing signs of spring
January 2024 - 100 Years of Bird Banding
January 2024 - The Dutchman's Pipe
January 2024 - A re-discovered area in Wirth Park
January 2024 - New Winter Activities with Garden Naturalists.
All selections published in 2024
All selections published in 2023