Editor, The Beacon:

In response to “DeLand needs another place for visitors to spread their wings,” written by Tom Walker and published in the March 31-April 6, 2022, edition of The Beacon: Monica the Monarch has been fluttering in a DeLand park for almost a year.

In 2018, DeLand became the first city in Florida to receive the designation of Monarch City USA.

In the spring of 2021, monarch wings painted by DeLand artist Carissa Page were added to the Sensory Butterfly Garden as a photo op for children and adults at Bill Dreggors Park. The garden abuts West Wisconsin Avenue.

These wings were added to the already-existing garden started in 1998, replanted and certified as a butterfly sanctuary in 2018, and maintained by the Garden Club of DeLand.

A caterpillar photo op for children and a “Butterflies of Central Florida” guide board will be added in the near future.

This is an excellent garden to visit to find host and nectar plants for butterflies in the DeLand area, and to enjoy the fluttering of our Florida butterflies.

For more information on the Garden Club of DeLand, email Barbara Merriam at gcdmembership@gmail.com or go to gardenclubofdeland.org to see how you can help save the monarchs by planting a butterfly garden.

Karen Hall

DeLand

— Hall is a member of the Garden Club of DeLand’s Milkweed Circle.