BROWNVILLE – The Gov. Furnas Arboretum in Brownville is soon to blossom with a new pollinator garden.
Jill Lokke, who moved to Brownville from Wichita, Kan., said the site’s established flower garden still had a few showy plants, but had been neglected.
Lokke: “It got overgrown. I’m very interested in habitats for pollinators and I found out about the statewide Arboretum’s bloom box program.”
She asked the Brownville Fine Arts Association to fund the bloom boxes, which include 96 plants.
Lokke: “They understand the value of helping the pollinators. The best thing you can do for native pollinators is native plants, so these are all native and even regional when possible.”
Lokke planted eight varieties of plants, including milk weeds, New Jersey tea shrub and fall blooming asters.
Gov. Furnas, along with J. Sterling Morton, promoted planting trees across Nebraska and signed a proclamation in 1874 declaring the first Arbor Day. The arboretum is already home to over 100 species of trees and now a few more butterflies.
