THE BUTTERFLY GARDEN
POLLINATORS FOR CONTAMINATED LAND
PROJECT STATUS | BUILT
PROJECT BACKGROUND
This low-budget design-build project, completed in 2012 with plants grown in our own nursery, began with a 10,000-sf mesh enclosure housing exotic butterflies imported as chrysalises from Asia and completing their life cycle on site. To expand its ecological and educational value, we proposed an outdoor garden designed to attract native butterflies and hummingbirds, both of which are in decline across the islands due to habitat loss, pesticide use, and urbanization.
THE SITE IN TIME
Located near St. Thomas Harbor beside the WICO cruise ship dock, the site was surrounded by warehouses, asphalt, and parking lots and revealed its industrial past when contaminated soil was uncovered beneath a thin surface layer. The butterfly exhibit, aimed at cruise ship tourists and paired with visits to Coral World Ocean Park, struggled financially and was dismantled around 2020. As the exhibits were removed, plants were stripped, relocated, or stolen, leaving the soil once again exposed and bare.
EXISTING CONDITIONS
At the start of the project, a modest building functioned as the welcome center for an exotic butterfly exhibit housed within a fully screened outdoor enclosure. Regulations required both the screened structure and a setback without plantings to prevent exotic butterflies from escaping into the wild and potentially crossbreeding with local Lepidoptera populations.
SOIL REGENERATION
The first step was to address the contaminated subsoil by bringing in fertile topsoil salvaged from a church construction site on the island. Naturally nutrient-dense and rich in organic matter, it required no further amendments and provided an immediate foundation for regeneration.
INITIAL CHALLENGES
As anticipated, stormwater accumulated at the bottom of the path due to compacted subsoil. To resolve this, we installed perforated drainpipes and irrigation to transform the area into a dry swale, then raised the grade with a layer of crushed gravel. With no budget for metal edging, tall grasses and recumbent plants were used to soften and stabilize the soil-gravel edge along the path.
EDGES AND BOUNDARIES
The site’s boundaries were visually weak—defined by chain-link fencing, plywood partitions, and a roadside guardrail—offering little sense of enclosure or garden character. To counter this, we planted forbs, grasses, and bromeliads along the curvilinear path to introduce texture, color, and a sense of discovery, making the space feel larger. Fast-growing species were placed at the edges to create an inward-focused environment, providing partial shade and shelter for the butterflies.
WITH TIME IN MIND
Small palms and trees were planted among shrubs, forbs, and grasses, initially blending in until gradually emerging above the planting over time. Agaves and bromeliads, well adapted to the site’s heat, were used to protect more delicate herbaceous plants as they established. Over four years of weekly maintenance, the garden evolved—soil and microclimates improved, flowers multiplied, and butterflies increased, but so did shade, requiring the thinning or removal of fast-growing species. Gardening practices were carefully scheduled to encourage quick leaf and flower regeneration in host perennials essential for butterfly caterpillars.
NOT-FOR-US FLOWERS
Mass plantings of herbaceous species were introduced to attract butterflies, often filling the spaces between small trees and more structured plantings. Agaves, aloes, and bromeliads were arranged in sculptural drifts along the path, anchoring looser plantings while offering nectar for hummingbirds and water for birds in their natural cups. To our delight, many native plants with small, often overlooked flowers proved invaluable—highly attractive to pollinators and producing fruits eagerly eaten by birds. Host plants were included wherever possible to support caterpillars and sustain the full life cycle of butterflies.
NON-NATIVES IN A CAGE
Inside the enclosed exhibit, visitors experienced the life cycle of exotic butterflies through guided tours. The planting design was not part of our scope, but the space included trees and shaded benches for tourists, along with a few potted exotic species providing nectar for the butterflies. Guests were even encouraged to wear bright colors to draw butterflies closer, enhancing the experience and opportunities for photography.
NATIVES FREE IN THE GARDEN
In the outdoor garden, we documented a thriving collection of native flowers and pollinators, showing that small blossoms and small butterflies can be just as captivating. Their presence was especially rewarding on a once-barren site where we had never imagined they would appear—or even wondered where they might have come from.
Though modest in scale and budget, the project demonstrated how even the simplest interventions—healthy soil, native plantings, and attentive maintenance—can restore life to a degraded site. By creating habitat for butterflies, hummingbirds, and other pollinators, the garden became both a sanctuary and an educational resource, reminding visitors that ecological resilience often begins with small, overlooked species. Its legacy lies not only in the flowering plants and returning wildlife, but in showing how design can transform scarcity into abundance.