Distribution and habitat

The species can be found from South Dakota south to Texas and Mexico, west to Utah and Arizona, as well as many other areas further east. This plant favors dry, sand or gravel soil, but has also been reported on stream margins. It requires full sun.

Ecology

Most easily propagated by seed. The primary pollinators are bees and wasps, rather than butterflies. Sown outdoors after frost, a plant will flower and produce seed in the third year. It is difficult to transplant once it is established, as it has a deep, woody taproot.

Tuberosa is a larval food plant of the queen and monarch butterflies, as well as the dogbane tiger moth, milkweed tussock moth, and the unexpected cycnia. Because of its rough leaves and trichomes, it is not a preferred host plant of the monarch butterfly but caterpillars can be reared on it successfully. Further, it is one of the very lowest Asclepias species in cardenolide content, making it a poor source of protection from bird predation and parasite virulence and perhaps contributing to its lack of attractiveness to egg-laying monarchs.

Cultivation

Butterfly weed is frequently grown in gardens for its showy orange flowers which are especially attractive to bees, though also visited by hummingbirds, moths, and butterflies. It is easily grown from seeds and is difficult to transplant due to the size of its roots. Growing from seed plants will take about two to three years to reach flowering size in average conditions. 

Butterfly weed has few serious pest or disease problems. It is susceptible to crown rot if planted in poorly drained or too constantly moist locations. It is hardy in USDA zones 3–9.

Toxicity

The plant contains toxic glycosides, alkaloids and resinoids. These can cause weakness, seizures and corneal injuries. Use of the plant is contraindicated in pregnancy, during lactation or with infants due to its toxins, which include resinoids and pregnanes.

Uses

Native Americans and European pioneers used the boiled roots to treat diarrhea and respiratory illnesses. The young seed pods were used as food after being boiled in several changes of water. The seed pod down was spun and used to make candle wicks.

The root was once used to treat pleurisy.

The Butterfly Weed is located on the southern edge of Pollinator Park.  It is orange and marked with a sign.  It is also found in different areas, including the Bonior Tree.

Artist Biography:  Born in 1981, Greg was raised in the rural town of Decatur, IN.  He studied at the University of St. Francis School of Creative Arts in Ft. Wayne, IN graduating with a B.F.A. in sculpture.

Greg’s sculptures have been included in many juried public displays throughout the United States, and he has been the recipient of numerous awards.

In addition to permanently placed public works and commissions, he also participates in community development by promoting public art on a local level.

You can see more of Greg’s work on Facebook at Greg Mendez Gallery or on his website at gregmendezsculpture.com.

Stop by our office located at 92 NB Gratiot in Mount Clemens and pick up a brochure of all our sculptures in the brochure box located on our front porch or at the Bonior Tree or Pollinator Park. There are now plenty of sunny days where a walk can be enjoyable.

If you want to support our efforts, please send a small tax-deductible contribution to keep the next show going in October 2025 – 2026 and be sure to like us on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/MCEP99 

The Bee Reader sculpture at the evolving MCEP Pollinator Park was installed in July of 2024.  It will be open to extend gifts of small paperback books for young readers and mature readers. Each month the Bee Reader will have two paperback books available. One geared for younger readers and one for mature readers. Please come and check it out. Each month’s selection will be available on the MCEP website with the book’s description.  If for some reason the books are not there just call us on 586 783 6008 and we will replenish the stock.

Women’s Wit and Wisdom: A Book Of Quotations

Susan B. Anthony, Jane Austen, Florence Nightingale, Eleanor Roosevelt, Virginia Woolf, Gloria Steinem

Edited by Susan L. Rattiner

 “Blessed is the man who, having nothing to say, abstains from giving us wordy evidence of the fact,” said Mary Ann Evans, a.k.a. George Eliot. “In nine cases out of ten, a woman had better show more affection than she feels,” opined Jane Austen. “When a girl marries, she exchanges the attentions of many men for the inattention of one,” observed Helen Rowland. These are just a few of more than 400 memorable quotes in this volume, expressed over the past 2,500 years by female poets, novelists, historical figures, celebrities, entertainers, and others.
Covering a broad range of topics — men, women, love and romance, marriage, family, human nature, aging, the quest for gender equality, work and occupations, joy and sorrow, nature, the environment, and more — the quotations are divided into subject categories and arranged chronologically by the author’s date of birth. Where possible, sources and dates are cited for each quote.
Browse through these pages and immerse yourself in snippets of worldly wisdom from the poignant (“The loneliest woman in the world is a woman without a close woman friend” — Toni Morrison) to the despairing (“Old age is woman’s hell” — Ninon de Lenclos) to the politically astute (“Do not tell secrets to those whose faith and silence you have not already tested” — Queen Elizabeth I) to the humorous (“Flops are a part of life’s menu, and I’ve never been a girl to miss out on any of the courses” — Rosalind Russell).
You’ll also find food for thought from Sappho, Madame de Stael, Harriet Tubman, Margaret Sanger, Eleanor Roosevelt, Helen Keller, Erma Bombeck, Oprah Winfrey, Gloria Steinem, and Hillary Rodham Clinton, among others. Brimming with timeless observations, humor, and wisdom, this practical and entertaining little volume will be indispensable to public speakers and a delight to general readers.

Creative Haven Glorious Songbirds Coloring Book

By John Green

Coloring enthusiasts and nature lovers will marvel at these 31 realistic illustrations of beautiful songbirds in idyllic settings. Sweet scenes feature a wonderful array of birds in many regions and seasons: American goldfinches in a summer meadow, sparrows sitting on a cottage clothesline, goldcrests nestled among pine needles, and so many more. Grab a box of colored pencils and enjoy a bit of bird-watching that you can do anywhere or anytime! Pages are perforated and printed on one side only for easy removal and display. A set of colored pencils are included.

The 3 D panels will now be installed on Monday, June 9th instead of Wednesday, June 4th.

Pollinator Park in Mount Clemens developed by MCEP is adding yet another feature. It will have three-3D printed sculptures to be placed in the park June 4. These sculptures will be made of composite cement especially mixed for the purpose of 3D printing. These three sculptures were commissioned by MCEP to add to the park. They were designed by Citizen Robotics of Detroit. The footings they will sit on were dug and poured on May 28th. 

The vacant piece of land purchased by MCEP in 2022 has been under development ever since then. It is located on one of the city’s gateway entrances. All development has been through private funds by supporters of MCEP and its efforts to add sculpture and gardens to the community. Volunteers have contributed time and labor to making Pollinator Park a reality.

Native plant species have been added to the park and are marked by signage. This will enable you to see if you may want to add some native plants to your home.

The Park began with three sculptures of pollinators: a bee, a moth and a butterfly all of which have a seat so that you can visit and take your picture with a pollinator.

We also have a Bee Reader which you can open its mouth and find paperback readers for adults and young readers or an activity book for both. The beginning of each month, new paperbacks appear. These are for you to take and share with others each month. These books are free for all to have.

Of the gardens one is finished, one is in the middle and the one in back is yet to begin. We have an assortment of familiar plants along with some you will find on prairies across the country. Plants are pollinator favorites. Between the gardens on the edge and the circle gardens we hope we open new worlds up for your garden enjoyment. 

Why do we do this? We do it because every community needs places that are full of art and gardens to enjoy. Any part of any community should have a place to go and visit, look and learn whether it is a busy place or one seldom used. We believe that all neighborhoods can be enhanced with art and gardens. It makes a better place to live. Please come walk around and get a free map of all the sculptures to visit. Meet your neighbors. Be kind to all you meet.

If you are Interested in joining us, you can by volunteering, inviting us to speak to your group, or financially supporting our nonprofit effort. Just call 586.783.6008 or email us at mcep99@gmail.com.

The Macomb Cultural and Economic Partnership MCEP is a non-profit community-based tax deductible 501(c)(3) organization located at 92 NB Gratiot in Mount Clemens.

Take a look at what’s growing outside.

Iris is a flowering plant genus of 310 accepted species^[1] with showy flowers. As well as being the scientific name, iris is also widely used as a common name for all Iris species, as well as some belonging to other closely related genera. A common name for some species is flags, while the plants of the subgenus Scorpiris are widely known as junos, particularly in horticulture. It is a popular garden flower.

It is named after the Greek goddess of the rainbow and is a perennial plant that blooms from late spring to early summer.

Belongs to the genus Iris, which includes around 300 species and thousands of cultivars, and is associated with the colors of the rainbow, except for red and is the emblem of New Orleans, Louisiana, and Florence, Italy, and the state flower of Tennessee.

It is considered deer-resistant and drought-tolerant.

You can find the best display of Iris’s in front of the Mount Clemens Post Office, the Pollinator Park and in front of our offices at 92 NB Gratiot.  You can also see a Siberian variety of Iris’s growing along the path at the Bonior Tree.

What’s growing in your garden?

Be sure to like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MCEP99/

This is the first of two sculptures by this artist.

Artist’s Statement:  During my 35-year career I have worked in the welding field working with metals.  I occasionally welded gifts for family members and friends but basically viewed welding as a job but nothing more.

My perception changed on March 10, 2008, when my wife and I were notified that our only son was murdered in California on Venice Beach.  With the stress from this along with the stress from work…sleep was nearly impossible, so after a while I ended up in the shop during those restless nights instead.

It was then that “Welding” began to ease some of the grief and my creativity was awakened and I began to transform into an artist and metal sculpture and have been creating non-stop ever since.

As I began to create metal art, I found that I wanted to create unique pieces of functional and non-functional art.

The best thing is being able to create something out of nothing, and making people happy with my art, helping people to see outside the box, is the best thing about being an artist.

My pieces are great for the environment and have been constructed mostly with approximately 85% re-claimed materials”

You can check out Richard Morgan’s art on his website:  https://richardalanstudios.com

Stop by our office located at 92 NB Gratiot in Mount Clemens and pick up a brochure of all our sculptures in the brochure box located on our front porch or at the Bonior Tree or Pollinator Park. There are now plenty of sunny days where a walk can be invigorating.

If you want to support our efforts, please send  a small tax-deductible contribution to keep the next show going in  October 2025 – 2026 and be sure to like us on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/MCEP99 

17. Jian’s Wing

By Michael Bennett

Location: 278 SB Gratiot

The Jian Bird is a Chinese Mythological bird that is born with one eye and one wing. The Jian birds according to the myth are said to be created as pairs and it is believed that they must find their other half to reach their full potential or to fly. The Jian bird also symbolizes marriage. In Japan they are known as Hiyoku no Tori.

Michael lives and works in Wadsworth, Illinois.

Stop by our office located at 92 NB Gratiot in Mount Clemens and pick up a brochure of all our sculptures in the brochure box located on our front porch or at the Bonior Tree or Pollinator Park. There are now plenty of sunny days where a walk can be invigorating.

If you want to support our efforts, please send a small tax-deductible contribution to keep the next show going in October 2025 – 2026 and be sure to like us on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/MCEP99 

We have 50 copies of the 2025-26 Michigan Art Guide available in our office for those of you who are interested.  It is free of charge.  The Michigan Art Guide contains listings of all the art galleries, art fair calendar, studio artists, art museums and art centers for the entire state of Michigan. This is a handy guide for day trips around the state or an afternoon nearby.

We will mail it to you or drop by the office and look at the box on the front porch near the mailbox and take a copy of the Art Guide.

Mike Sohikian, a retired ironworker, has been a member of the Bridge and Structural Ironworkers Local 55 for 37 years.  He has had a lifetime of love and appreciation for art, but did not begin his art career until 1995. Since then, he has garnered acclaim and numerous prestigious awards and recognition for his paintings and sculptures.  Sohikian is best known for taking salvaged steel to new heights with impressive and innovative concepts.  He assembles industrial materials as well as reworks the materials into fascinating forms. 

This sculpture is the third of four we have in our program this year.

Mike lives in Genoa, OH.  Mike has 4 sculptures in our program this year.  When we select the sculptures, we do not know who the artist is; just that we like the sculpture.

Check out some of his work at

https://www.facebook.com/russel.sohikian

Stop by our office located at 92 NB Gratiot in Mount Clemens and pick up a brochure of all our sculptures in the brochure box located on our front porch or at the Bonior Tree or Pollinator Park. There are now plenty of sunny days where a walk can be invigorating.

If you want to support our efforts, please send a small tax-deductible contribution to keep the next show going in October 2025 – 2026 and be sure to like us on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/MCEP99