Green Arrow Road Sign - Native Garden Series

Sep 29

2 min read

WCOLA currently has many "ADOPTED" road signs around the Chain, and each one is an opportunity to turn an otherwise ordinary patch of ground, into something beneficial—and beautiful for the community. This month, we’re starting a series to introduce you to the people behind these gardens and the native plants they are growing.

One of those gardens belongs to June Petersen, at Cleghorn Road and Camp Road, and it is a wonderful example of what can happen when someone takes a small patch of ground and gives it a little thought and care. This lovely road sign garden has become a tiny pocket of habitat, with native plants blooming through the season and attracting bees, butterflies and other beneficial insects and animals.

June took over the care of this garden in 2025 and began adding native plants to give the space a new purpose. She selected plants with several things in mind: height, bloom time, color and resistance to deer—although, as she discovered, the deer still manage to nibble on a few favorites!

Besides the plants WCOLA donated to her garden, June added some of her own favorites, including rattlesnake master, blue vervain and orange butterfly weed. She also planted swamp milkweed and anise hyssop creating a diverse mix of native plants that bloom throughout the season.

June mentioned her little garden was simply "buzzing with life" this year and she counted 20 monarch caterpillars on the swamp milkweed in July. June wanted to join the movement to plant native plants because "the lack of pollinators is concerning to her, and even small pollinator gardens can make a difference".

A big THANK YOU to June for sharing her story and for creating such a beautiful native garden for us all to enjoy. Be sure to stop by and take a look if you haven't seen it.

Here are a few pictures we took in August - and we can verify, this little garden was BUZZING.

WCOLA's Adopt-a-Sign program is one small way to put stewardship into action. By caring for a small piece of land, you can make our roadsides and neighborhoods around the Chain a little more beautiful, with the added bonus of adding critical habitat for pollinators and other animals. If you are interested in adopting a road sign in your area, please reach out to us. We'd love to help and support you join the STEWARDSHIP movement.