1 of 4
Photo by Olaf Growald
Iris Milton
Milton with “Lady Butterfly,” a painting by Hevvon Edwards
2 of 4
Photo by Olaf Growald
Iris Milton
Milton (right) uses the garden to teach children about healthy eating and the environment.
3 of 4
Photo by Olaf Growald
Iris Milton
Milton with Linda Fulmer, executive director of Healthy Tarrant County Collaboration
4 of 4
Photo by Olaf Growald
Iris Milton
Iris Milton (left) and Safiyyah Omar (right) with children from Maude Logan Elementary
Gardening is in Iris Milton’s blood. One of her first memories was visiting her great-grandfather’s farm in North Texas, where he grew mustard and collard greens, potatoes, tomatoes, and onions. She also remembers her great-grandmother, Tiny, who “had the most magical landscape,” with a house “you could hardly see ... because her plants surrounded it.”
But one of her fondest memories is of a family member she never knew — her other great-grandmother, Leona, who passed away before Milton was born but left behind pink and white roses that Milton remembers as a child.
“Instead of building a fence, she divided our property lines with roses,” Milton recalls her mother telling her.
Milton continues her family’s legacy of green thumbs as the founder and curator of what some might consider the most innovative little garden in our city — Lady Butterfly Urban Garden, which sits on two lots at 2309 and 2313 Dillard St. Milton has converted these plots, land long forsaken by others, into viable food sources and opportunities to teach others about gardening and agriculture.
Even more notable is the neighborhood in which her garden resides. Lady Butterfly Urban Garden is in the midst of Stop Six in East Fort Worth, an area that has experienced its share of crime and inattention over the last several decades. (Stop Six acquired its name because it was the sixth stop on the Dallas-Fort Worth interurban train in the early part of the last century.)
Milton grew up in East Texas surrounded by a multigenerational family. Moving to Tarrant County a few years ago, she began studies at the University of Texas at Arlington, initially pursuing a degree in nursing but soon changing her major to interdisciplinary studies. After graduating in 2011, Milton began a health care business in her home, also located on Dillard Street, where her clients include geriatric patients and the disabled. It was during this time that she developed an interest in wellness.
“I became aware that it’s the folks in the less fortunate neighborhoods that suffer the most from unhealthy food choices,” Milton says. “If people could become more educated on how to eat, they wouldn’t suffer from so many diseases.”
Today, in addition to nurturing her garden and caring for her patients, Milton works as a landscape contractor for professor Jesse Fox, previously her chemistry teacher at Mountain View College. Milton not only tends his home lawn and garden but cares for a portion of the college campus as well.
“I met Iris in 2007 when she was a student in my class,” Fox says. “She puts the needs of others before her own and is willing to teach you what she knows. She has a steadfast and unshakable spirit that allows her to take on projects and see them to completion. Iris never takes no for an answer.”
Milton also maintains the garden of her neighbor, Linda Wilcox, who in turn contributes financially to support Lady Butterfly Urban Garden.
“Anyone trying to help herself is worthy of helping,” Wilcox says.
One of the most positive outcomes of Milton’s passion is its impact on the children of Maude Logan Elementary School, located across the street from the garden.
“Her work and the Butterfly Garden have transformed our block,” says science teacher Safiyyah Omar. “Bystanders often ask if the garden was created by the school. That’s when I have to tell them about Ms. Iris and her tireless endeavor to improve this neighborhood. On Earth Day 2019, my students planted tomatoes and a pecan tree in the garden. The experience was new to many of them, some of whom have never been in a garden or planted anything. It changed their outlook.”
Milton began holding classes this past November, teaching students not only about healthy eating but also how to compost, reuse, recycle, and a host of other behaviors to aid the environment. Teachers and parents together champion Milton’s efforts. The hope is that the Lady Butterfly Urban Garden will continue to flourish and that Milton’s stewardship will radiate hope to new generations of children.
“Every time my students visit the garden, their eyes light up,” Omar says. “Just by crossing the street their world changes.”
