This summer I teamed up with our local Library to do a garden chat. May through September I did a presentation. For the month of May pollinators were the highlight of the presentation.
Creating a Pollinator Garden
If you love butterflies, you will want to create a pollinator garden. It is not as hard as you think.
That is me! The wind was so strong that evening, as you can tell by my hair.
It was a fun evening. It was a great way to start off the Garden Chat's.I am sharing the hand out I prepared for the event.
Butterfly
Garden Essentials
To attract butterflies to your
yard and garden, you need to plant both nectar and host plants.
Nectar plants provide food for the adult butterflies that pass
through your garden. It is important to have plants that will bloom
each season, providing nectar for the butterflies.
If you want butterflies all
season long, you should plant host plants. Host plants are the plants
that the butterflies lay their eggs on and that the caterpillars eat.
Tips
for Creating a Butterfly Garden
1. Lots of sun. Most butterfly
plants need at least 6 hours of sun each day.
2. Planting in groups. It is
easier for butterflies to see plants when they are planted in groups
of three or more, because butterflies are nearsighted. When planting
host plants, planting in groups will ensure that there is enough food
for the caterpillar.
3. Shelter from the wind.
Butterflies are delicate, so a little protection will help. Tall
plants, trellises or fences.
4. Sunning spots. Rocks and
stepping stones can be used by butterflies to warm themselves so they
can fly when it is cool outside.
5. NO PESTICIDES! The
most important thing to remember is that butterflies and caterpillars
are insects. DO NOT USE PESTICIDE!
Black
Swallowtail
Host/Larval
Food Plants
Carrot, Dill, Parsley, Queen
Anne’s Lace
Adult
Food
Aster, Blazing Star, Chives,
Phlox, Lantana, Milkweed, Zinnia
Monarch
Host/Larval
Food Plants
Butterfly Weed, Common
Milkweed, Swamp Milkweed
Adult
Food
Aster, Blazing Star, Cosmos,
Goldenrod, Lantana, Zinnia
