MENDOCINO CO., 5/25/25 — In 2018, Frey Vineyards, the nation’s first organic and biodynamic winery, made a decision to support monarch butterflies by planting three milkweed species native to Mendocino County in their vineyard fencerows. Monarch caterpillars eat nothing but milkweed, and females lay their eggs on milkweed leaves.
Two years later, the company created a demonstration garden for butterflies and pollinators at its new winery site on West Road in Redwood Valley. Frey’s head gardener Carolyn Brown will lead a two-hour garden tour Sunday, June 1 that demonstrates the goal of using primarily natives that benefit insects and also provides continual bloom.
The monarch and pollinator friendly garden berm at Frey Vineyards in Redwood Valley, Calif. in 2025. (Frey Vineyards via Bay City News)
“Our plant palette includes low water use plants that are native to Mendocino County with other showier bloomers from other areas of California,” the winery said. “There are also several varieties of native bunch grasses indigenous to our county.” Grasses help stabilize soil on steep banks and also provide overwintering habitat for bumble bee queens and other insects, they added.
The tour includes both chaparral plants on a hot sunny slope and woodland plants on the northern slope. A large meadow showcases annual wildflowers and perennials. “Our hope is to educate and inspire people to use native plants in their home gardens,” say the organizers. “These plants require less water and other inputs while supporting local populations of our bird and insect garden allies.”
The free garden tour is Sunday, June 1, from 9:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. at 11700 West Rd., Redwood Valley. More information is available at https://www.freywine.com/events/monarch-butterfly-and-pollinator-tour.
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Laytonville resident Lin Due edits and writes for the Mendocino Voice.
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