Costa Mesa butterfly garden offers sanctuary for humans and pollinators alike
Costa Mesa leaders, who’ve recently committed to increasing access to open space by investing in the restoration and expansion of city parks, are now hoping to entice interest among a new sector of parkgoers — plant pollinators.
Officials convened at Marina View Park on the city’s west side Tuesday morning to unveil a new “Mariposa Garden” with drought-tolerant native and naturalized flora designed to attract a variety of insect species, including the monarch butterfly.
The event also featured the debut of a butterfly-themed art installation called “La Magia de Colleta” — the first public art project to be funded by the city.
Created by Los Angeles-based Panamanian artist Marisabel Bazan, the installation includes four large aluminum butterfly sculptures accented by six smaller butterflies rendered in bright colors and set in various positions of flight.
Deputy City Manager Alma Reyes, who oversees the Parks and Community Services Department on an interim basis, said Mariposa Garden is part of a $725,000 Westside Restoration Project that’s been under development since 2021. Approximately $100,000 of the total allocated for the project was used to fund the new garden and art installations.
That project coincides with other enhancements being implemented along the city’s West 19th Street corridor, including the installation of bike racks, art-wrapped collection bins and colorful street banners, through a collaboration of the city’s parks, arts and public works departments.
Staff members evaluated the area with a consultant to begin thinking about what might be possible. Then they sought input from westside residents about changes they’d like to see.
“The butterfly garden was one of the things residents asked for,” Reyes said Tuesday. “So, we took that input and worked with our internal team to develop those concepts into a plan.
“We wanted to see how it would be received by the community and, by today’s attendance and seeing the wow factor on people’s faces, it’s really encouraging.”
Among the crowd Tuesday was Kim Pickard, who came to the event after hearing about it from a friend. For the past two years, she’s helped raise and release more than 100 monarch butterflies from her home in Back Bay, in what’s become a sort of hobby.
“It’s a passion of mine, and it makes me happy,” said Pickard, who even got a butterfly tattoo. “It makes you feel like a little kid when you have a butterfly sitting on your hand — it’s magical.”
Thrilled to learn the city of Costa Mesa planted Mariposa Garden, particularly as monarch populations experience a troubling global decline, Pickard said the new installations also bring an added bit of color to Marina View Park.
“They’ve planted sage and alyssum and all those plants the butterflies will love,” she said, noting a city employee told her milkweed plants for monarch caterpillars are on back order but should be arriving soon. “It will look gorgeous when it’s all done.”
Although Mariposa Garden is a first for the city, it won’t be the last. Reyes said plans for two more butterfly gardens with accompanying art installations are in the works for locations yet to be determined.
Each garden, like the first, will bear a name incorporating the word “butterfly” in another language, a nod to Costa Mesa’s diversity.
“We have the opportunity to create elements that make our residents’ lives better,” Reyes said. “That was our goal with this project, and seeing the success of it gives us more motivation and excitement to move forward with the other two gardens.”
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