To celebrate Earth Day, North American Butterfly Association is holding a week-long raffle, Monday April 21st through Friday April 25, 2014. There will be a raffle drawing and prize awarded each day! Monday’s raffle prize is a $25 gift card, which has been generously donated by Gardener’s Supply Company. Their online catalog has a range…
It is Spicebush season in the butterfly garden. In the spring, Northern Spicebush is one of the first native shrubs to bloom. The flowers of Northern Spicebush are numerous, pale yellow, lightly fragrant, and, under the right weather conditions, can bloom for up to two weeks. Fitting Northern Spicebush into a garden is easy. Shrubby…
Butterfly Feeders are not necessary for butterflies but they are necessary for some butterfly gardeners! Putting a butterfly feeder in your garden brings the butterflies down to viewing level, letting you know which butterflies are visiting your garden without chasing around to find them. The best place to put your feeder is near a spot…
Many trees and shrubs offer caterpillar food and are therefore important to include in a butterfly garden if you wish to help increase butterfly populations. Of course, trees and shrubs are not always the easiest plant to fit into a garden, yard, or balcony! Whether you are short on space or simply don’t have the…
Butterfly gardens do not discriminate! All butterflies are welcome and encouraged to visit. This spring however, one butterfly, the Monarch, needs a little extra care and encouragement. Monarch populations are low and as the spring migration progresses, we can extend a special welcome to Monarchs by making sure that the nectar plants they favor are…
Planting milkweed for Monarchs is one of the important first steps in starting a butterfly garden this spring. Once you have decided to plant milkweed, the next step is to choose which type of milkweed will be best for your site. Monarch Joint Venture has a brochure that details the milkweed species that are native to…
Planning and taking care of a garden is a lot of work! Don’t even get started talking about weeding, mulching, and watering, it can be such a big job. So why would a person want to take the time out of an already busy garden life to fill in a form and certify their butterfly…
Max Munoz, Grounds Manager at National Butterfly Center, presents plant of the month for March. Each month a differant butterfly garden plant native to the Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas is highlighted. March’s plant is milkweed and like Max says “plant it and they will come.”
One of the earliest perennial plants to emerge in the spring in my NJ butterfly garden, Golden Alexander (Zizia aura) is becoming one of my favorite plants. Easily started from seed two years ago, Golden Alexander has multiplied (without any aggressive tendencies) and seems to be one of the very few plants that my neighborhood…
Originally published in American Butterflies, “A Little Help from Some Friends: The Monarch Joint Venture” was written in 2010 when Monarch Joint Venture was fairly new. With the long term health of the Monarch migration uncertain, MJV and its work involving Monarch conservation is more important than ever.
End of content
End of content
