The Chautauqua Institution is a place of great natural beauty nestled in the bucolic landscape of western New York state. While the Institution as a whole comprises over 750 acres, its public and private gardens are located predominantly throughout the 250 acres between Hwy 394 and the shoreline of Chautauqua Lake.
The map below was hand-drawn by Jane Nelson in 2023 and includes major gardens and parks on the grounds. You may download and print it. You can also view it in an interactive format on ExploreChq.
BETSY BURGESON
Chautauqua Institution Supervisor of Gardens and Landscapes
Since 2015, Betsy has taken the task of transforming the grounds to a new level by designing and implementing innovative ecologically and economically sound garden and landscape designs. BTG refers to her as St Betsy!
Monarch Waystations
Let's fill this map with Red Dots of certified Monarch Way Stations!
Join the movement to create an eco-friendly habitat at your Chautauqua garden using a combination of milkweed, pollinators, nectar, and other native plants. Sound complicated? Need help? Contact BTG and a Master Gardner can visit with you and develop a plan to implement a monarch way station chautauquabtg@gmail.com. Alternatively, access Monarchwatch.org and follow the steps on line to submit your garden specs for certification.
To certify your Chautauqua garden:
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Follow the instructions on MonarchWatch.org
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Contact BTG for a free garden consultation of up to 30 minutes. A master gardener will meet with you at your garden to talk about creating a monarch way station. With 'monarchwatch.org' as our guide (Approved by the Institution's Supervisor of Gardens and Landscapes, Betsy Burgeson), let's review the components of a monarch way station, and suggest a phased approach to achieve it over the weekend or over the years. It's all about native plants, milkweed, and more.
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Email BTG at chautauquabtg@gmail.com and get in touch with Chris Flanders, the master gardener in charge of Butterflies & Blooms
Certified gardens receive a 'certificate of appreciation' from Monarch Watch
CERTIFICATION SELFIE
Chautauquans certifying their 'off grounds' home garden. Bravo! Take a Selfie with your certificate/sign and unique number then email it to chautauquabtg@gmail.com and join our 'Hall of Fame'! Or attend Monarchs and More, Mondays at 12:15 and be recognized! Thank You!!
Butterflies & Blooms
The Bird Tree and Garden Club is offering talks, gardening demonstrations, walks, and lectures to help us all make our surroundings a habitat for pollinators and butterflies. Our mission statement is to promote and preserve the beauty of these grounds as well as their habitats and ecosystems. With Butterflies and Blooms, we combine our programming to promote the beauty of our spaces with providing a safe habitat for all who need it. Your greenspace is home for not only your family but for a whole compliment of insects, butterflies, birds and four-footed animals.
The easiest way to think of changes or additions to your gardens is to follow the life cycle of monarch butterflies. These changes will also apply to most pollinators who are all at risk for extinction because of decreased wild space, pesticide use, and weather changes. The food we grow, the air we breathe, and the health of our planet depend on each of us looking differently at our surroundings. So, starting small is the easiest way to go. The butterflies need much the same to live as we do, food, shelter, sunlight, and a place to mate (or socialize).
