BETHEL — By all measures, the Habitat Garden at Valentine Farm had a successful season. Hundreds of monarchs and other pollinators visited drifts of Black-Eyed Susans, spikes of Liatris, sunbursts of orange Mexican Sunflowers, and towering yellow blossoms of Cup Plant. These visitors sipped nectar, gathered pollen, made nests, and laid eggs. Some ate other things, and some were eaten. It was all part of the thriving habitat of the garden.

In its third year, the Habitat Garden is growing into a destination. Over 3,900 people from many states, Germany, and Dubai visited the garden from July through early October. Visitors wandered the garden paths, studied the flowers, asked gardening questions, and read the fascinating and fun facts about bees and other pollinators on the hand-painted signs.

The Habitat Garden also was the main focus of Mahoosuc Land Trust’s first Monarch Festival which would not have been complete without the show-stopping blooms and the ever-present monarchs. Creative people also found a home at the garden — plein air painting, photography, and lessons on field sketching all occurred among the plants. The shade pavilion provided a perfect meeting place for ‘Age-Friendly Bethel’ and ‘How Can I Help?’ as well as being a lovely place to enjoy the buzzing of birds and bees while eating lunch.

And those 168 monarchs? Volunteers and visitors safely tagged every one of them while they fueled up on nectar for their long migration to Mexico. This effort is the trust’s way of supporting Monarch Watch by contributing data to further understanding monarchs, their migration, and the factors causing their decline.

Plans are already underway to create new surprises at the garden and along the trail at Valentine Farm for 2022.

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