The best butterfly gardens are more than sources for nectar. If you want butterflies, you need to create a place where you can grow your own baby butterflies (aka caterpillars) by including native host plants.
Your native plant garden (of any size) can help native pollinators, like birds, butterflies, and bees, by giving them a food source and a place they can live.
The garden began with a single plant, Northern Spicebush (Lindera benzoin),the host of John’s favorite caterpillar. He purchased a bush from a local native plant nursery and in less than 3 weeks he had spicebush caterpillars to watch right in our yard…
The purpose of a garden in summer feels obvious. Flowers, butterflies, bees, birds… But a garden in winter? Its purpose is not as obvious to passersby. A winter garden must be looked at differently.