The Bullington Board Spring 2025

Hello Friends of Bullington,

Spring is finally here and after a tough winter of storm cleanup, it feels good to see the gardens waking up again.

After a year of planning, we’ve wrapped up our new Strategic Plan—a roadmap to keep us focused on education, horticultural therapy, and our beautiful gardens over the next three years. One exciting part of this plan is adding bilingual educational signage in English and Spanish, helping more visitors connect with the gardens in new ways. About fifteen new signs should be installed by this summer. 

We’re also making the gardens more accessible! Thanks to the Rudnick Foundation, we now have two new wheelchairs so our students and visitors with mobility challenges can explore every corner of Bullington with ease.

And finally—rain! After a dry spell, we’re soaking up the much-needed showers, and the gardens are loving it. This week, everything seems to have burst into bloom at once, a perfect reminder of how nature heals, restores, and inspires us.

Thank you for being part of our Bullington family. Your support makes all of this possible, and we’re so grateful. We hope to see you in the garden soon—come walk the trails and take in the beauty of spring!

With gratitude,
Annie Higgins

Check out the amazing selection of perennials, annuals, shrubs, trees, herbs, veggies and tomatoes!

New herbs and old favorites!

Symbolic Monarch Migration

by Patrice German, Coordinator

Monarchs are still overwintering in Mexico but will very soon begin their migration northward. The Symbolic Monarch Migration (SMM) ambassadors arrived during the winter and our associate Estela Romero has been delivering….

But wait! You ask, “Just what is the Symbolic Monarch Migration?”  Read on for info on this informative and engaging program going on in the U.S., Canadian and Mexican schools for 29 years now!

The Symbolic Monarch Migration program is a partnership project between Journey North (www.journeynorth.com) and Monarchs Across Georgia, a committee of the Environmental Education Alliance. Each year, children in over 2,000 classrooms in three countries exchange symbolic paper monarchs. These monarchs are sent to students in Mexico in the fall as though they are migrating right along with the real-life monarchs! Our students in Hendersonville send their paper monarchs and messages, via the large “Ambassador” monarch folder created for each classroom/group and pictured below. They are delivered to village schools in Mexico near the monarch overwintering sanctuaries. Estela Romero is the teacher liaison in Mexico who delivers the monarchs and the lessons of migration science.

Now, in the Spring as the monarchs begin their journey northward, the students in Mexico will send the symbolic monarchs back to our schools with their messages. As the paper monarchs return, they will do so randomly, as do the real monarchs. A child in one of our schools could very well receive a symbolic monarch created by a child in Canada or any state in U.S. This fun interaction teaches conservation science, ambassadorship and worldwide teamwork. On occasion, international pen pal relationships have occurred!

You can see more photos and read about where some of our Henderson County symbolic monarchs landed in Mexico by clicking here: https://symbolicmigration.org/search?q=henderson

This summer, look for the Symbolic Migration “mailbox” in the pavilion area at Bullington and have one of your young friends create a butterfly to send to a student in Mexico!

Dear Garden Enthusiasts, we warmly invite you to join Bullington Gardens or renew your membership before our upcoming sale to enjoy the exclusive perk of early shopping. Imagine selecting your favorite plants amid our stunning displays, all while supporting a haven of horticultural beauty and education. By acting now, you’ll not only secure this special access but also help sustain our mission, connecting with a passionate community that cherishes nature’s wonders—please join or renew today and let’s cultivate something extraordinary together!

If you have already renewed your membership, thank you! We truly appreciate your support