In and Around Our Neighborhood
Providence Pollinator Garden
By: Karen Blakeman, PCA Treasurer
How it started
In 2024 the PCA voted to start a “Butterfly Garden”. The far end (from Woodleigh) of Tyler’s Field Park was selected as a great place to attract our flitting friends. Although Hurricane Beryl took a toll on the first season, we are currently at work to get our patch established.
It is well documented that pollinators (bees included) are necessary for our agricultural industry, producing a lot of the foods we enjoy. The use of chemicals to control insects that are unwanted in residential as well as rural areas have taken a large toll on the pollinator population.
We hope to provide a place for some to make a home and others to stop by on their migrations. And we think that this attractive amenity will keep our property values increasing.
Past PCA President Paul Weider is very interested and well informed on the local butterfly species as well as the native plants they prefer.
Just ask Sandy as she makes room in their home during cold weather for containers of plants that host caterpillars, chrysalises and adult butterflies! Paul has been an invaluable resource for starting our Providence Pollinator Patch!
Contributors to the Providence Pollinator Patch include:
- Nadeem Naik
- Paul & Sandy Weider
- Chaparral Management (now SBB)
- Dan Baines
- Alex Matuszak
- Dorene West & Larry Welch
- Eddie Berana
MANY THANKS!
Coming soon we will add a Sassafras Tree and a Spicebush – both favorites of numerous butterfly species. We will have a Watering saucer with rocks to perch on. And more plants are being sprouted and nursed along before transfer to the Patch.
If you would like to get involved, there is lots to do! Please contact Karen Blakeman at 713-775-1235 and we will work together to support our community and the ecosystem!
Editor note: Read the related story on CNN
Project update
Tropical storm Beryl did not help us when it sent the fence on top of our original start. However, several plants survived and a few more were replaced. The path that separates the garden from the field at Tyler’s Park has been completed, thanks to Alex and Dan. The Vitex bushes are growing well. The milkweed, sole feeding for the Monarch butterflies, has survived and a couple of caterpillars were seen on one of the plants. Once they mature into butterflies, we will cut the plants to the ground so they will go on their migration to Mexico.
Thank you to the Chaparral Management team who donated a Home Depot gift card. Also Paul, Nadeem and Karen have provided plants and seeds for several plants that various species feed on. This spring should get our garden really colorful and attractive to butterflies and bees. If you have an extra plant you want to contribute or just want to help maintain, please contact Karen at 713.775.1235.
For lots of information about plants for Pollinator Gardens, please look at the NSPOT (Native Plant Society of Texas) website at: https://www.npsot.org/
Current satge
Additional notes from Karen, Nadeem & Pat
Leaving fallen leaves is also good for insects for hiding from hungry birds and looking for ways into your home. If you leave some fallen leaves in a garden area away from your house – that should be OK. However, leaving leaves in garden areas close to the house foundation gives bugs a covered path to your weepholes and entry into your home. Mulch in the gardens close to your home will deter bug activity close to home.
About mulch – it’s not the same thing as fallen leaves. And when mulching around trees, the recommended way is to have a ring around the tree creating a sort of reservoir around it. Do not put mulch up against the bark of your tree. If you do, it allows ground insects to get under the bark and attack the tree. The tree adapts to the higher “ground” level by making new roots higher that the actual ground. When the mulch is gone, those roots are exposed. And the higher roots are possibly extended to your sidewalk, driveway or foundation. Many yard men do not have training in this, so you will have to tell them or go in behind them and scoot the mulch out into a ring around the tree, being sure that next to the tree is at ground level.
West Keegans Bayou ID - Mobility Bond Project
By: Dorene West, WKBID Director, Providence Resisent
West Keegans Bayou Improvement District (WKBID) adopted a resolution to request Fort Bend County Commissioners Court to implement the infrastructure improvements as approved by voters in the Fort Bend County 2023 Bond Election.
Fort Bend County Precinct 4 has altered project designs for Gaines and Clodine roads (reduced them to two lane subdivision roads) to fund other projects.
Road Design Considerations:
- Gaines and Clodine roads are currently classed as Collector roads on Fort Bend County GIS. The TXDOT Roadway Design Manual states that Collector roadways for all contexts should be designed to accommodate traffic projections for a 20-year period into the future.
2. Fort Bend County is one of the fastest growing counties in the nation. Projections show Fort Bend doubling in size by 2050.
3. The Central portion of Greater West Houston
(Zone B https://www.westhouston.org/sector-growth/) includes Four Corners, our neighborhood; it is in the fastest growing sector of Greater West Houston.
Ignoring projected future traffic flow needs will negatively impact the quality of life, property values, and safety of residents in Precinct 4.
Neighboring Precinct 3 roads (which include the southern extension of both Gaines and Clodine) are being designed to specifications in the descriptions of the FBC 2023 Mobility Projects presented at the time of the Bond Election.
Please join WKBID in petitioning Commissioner McCoy, Precinct 4, to honor the improvements that Fort Bend County voters approved and need as stated in the FBC 2023 Bond Election:
“Upgrade 2-lane asphalt segment to 3-lane concrete curb and gutter section with drainage improvements (Design, ROW, and Utilities only)”
Editor’s note: This article is also posted at WKBID’s website. Read it there.