Cape May Secret Butterfly Garden Tour

Cape May County, NJ 08/30/04 - It's that time again. The Cape May Bird Observatory (CMBO) will lead two tours of private backyard butterfly gardens throughout Cape May County on Friday, September 10, and Saturday, September 11.  

Each day, tour goers will walk through several different bird and butterfly havens. These gardens are private and not usually open to the public.

Selected gardens will showcase local native plants as well as other butterfly and bird friendly species.

In addition to flowers, tour goers will see various butterflies, hummingbirds, hummingbird moths, dragonflies, and other wonderful critters. the tours are timed to coincide with Cape May's annual Monarch migration. 

Pat Sutton, CMBO Program Director and coauthor (with her husband, Clay) of How to Spot
Butterflies, will lead the tours.  Many garden owners will be on hand to share the history of their garden and answer questions. 

The Friday tour (September 10) will visit private gardens in and near Cape May Point.  The Saturday tour (September 11), will visit private gardens between Villas and Woodbine, including Pat Sutton's own garden.

Each tour begins at 10AM and runs until 3PM.   The cost for each tour is $30 ($20 for members) and spaces are limited. Call CMBO at (609) 861-0700 to register.

To get a sneak preview of one of the gardens consider attending CMBO's "Butterfly Walk in the Goshen Gardens" with Pat Sutton, offered every
Thursday at 10AM at the Cape May Bird Observatory's Center in Goshen (600 Route 47 North).  No preregistration is necessary. The cost of this weekly butterfly walk is $10 ($6 for members.)

For more on local gardening, see the Cape May Garden Journal