BUTTERFLY GARDENING

Maraleen giving one of her   butterfly garden tours.   To see more pictures of the   garden tours, click here

The Importance of Butterfly Gardening

As wonderful guests, they bring joy and beauty to your door. I don’t think we want to wait till our native butterflies are on the verge of disappearing before we take simple steps to invite these beautiful creatures into our gardens and our lives.

There are a litany of reasons why butterfly populations have declined, such as pollution, widespread use of insecticides and herbicides, and tremendous loss of habitat. Deer overpopulation also results in loss of herbaceous forest floor plants which many butterflies need for survival.

Can we actually make a difference if we plant what the butterflies need? You bet we can. Providing habitats for all stages of a butterfly’s life is more than an obscure hobby, it is of vital importance if we don’t want to see them disappear.

There are examples of butterfly species being brought back from the edge of extinction. The people in the town of Wilton, New York made a concerted community-wide effort in the Adirondacks to restore the habitats of the nearly extinct Karner blue butterfly. By massive planting of wild blue lupines, its only host plant, the Karner blue now graces the area each July. Everyone got involved, from school children to community groups to individuals.

Wouldn’t it be grand for all of us, from individuals to schools and community groups, to plant gardens for the butterflies, the birds and the bees? Your region could be known as a haven for butterflies.

Hopefully you have many butterflies already visiting your gardens. If not, September is still not too late to plant a few nectar sources such as pinwheel zinnias, sedums, cosmos, marigolds, sun flowers, and in the fall, milkweed seeds for next year’s butterflies. No matter the season, it is always time to be inspired by butterflies. From spring through autumn we encounter these beautiful creatures. In the winters, their power of transformation informs our dreams and inspires our souls while we plan our gardens to attract them.

There are many reasons for stopping the decline of butterflies: their sheer beauty, their value as pollinators, and planting for local butterflies helps restore native habitat. Butterflies not only pollinate flowers, but also our souls. Witnessing the transformation of caterpillars to butterflies is a continual reminder of our own potential to transform. They have inspired our ancestors for thousands of years in all parts of our planet through myth, art, poetry, music, literature and more than ever in the popular culture. They are symbolic of eternal love, the immortal soul and rebirth.

Butterflies are an ecological symbol, reminding us to take care of our planet, it’s the only one we’ve got. They are the new canaries in the coal mine. If they vanish, it would mean the whole tapestry of life is unraveling beyond repair. If we all gardened with mostly native non-invasive plants, we could make a big difference in keeping our mini-ecosystems vibrant and help not only butterflies, but a myriad of species, thrive and flourish.

Maraleen Manos-Jones has researched the local butterflies in her area, the Northeast, and planted their favorite nectar and host plants. There are about 17,500 species of butterflies worldwide; however, in the Northeast, there are seventy species. She planted all their favorite nectar and necessary host plants for their caterpillars. She considers it a hopeful sign that scores of butterflies have visited her gardens daily, sometimes more than a hundred a day.

Partial list of butterfly nectar plants:

Partial List of Larval Host Plants

Monarch Watch has started a gardening program called Monarch Waystations.
You can officially certify your garden as a Monarch Waystation by planting different types of milkweed on which monarchs can lay their eggs, and various nectar rich plants, as well as offering shelter from storms. Please find out more information by visiting www.monarchwatch.org.

The National Wildlife Federation also will certify your site as a Backyard Wildlife Habitat if you agree to use native plants and not use pesticides and herbicides. They have guidelines for your garden at www.nwf.org.

Puddling is something that most butterflies need to soak up minerals from damp earth.

Here is a white admiral taking advantage of moist earth:

Great spangled fritillary feasting on a marigold

 

Maraleen's Butterfly Garden Tour, Summer 2006