In 2018, DLC Resources created a butterfly garden or “Monarch Waystation” in your Community at the request of the Grayhawk Landscape Committee. Working with the Landscape Committee, the butterfly garden was established in the greenbelt between 74th Street and Grayhawk Drive in the Montevina neighborhood. Chosen because it already had existing shade, benches and nearby turf areas, the area is a perfect location for residents to be able to come out and observe the butterflies.
Because a vital component of the Monarch habitat is Desert Milkweed — the plants that the butterflies lay their eggs in and that their newly hatched larvae eat — they installed numerous Desert Milkweed (Asclepias subulata) plants to attract and assist these special insects. The garden contains about 50 Desert Milkweed plants that were set among existing plants. This allows for the Monarchs to lay their eggs in the Milkweed and then flutter to the nearby Chaste tree, a main food source, to collect nectar.