Gardening for Butterflies: How you can attract and protect beautiful, beneficial insects
The Xerces Society
ISBN: 978-1-60469-598-4
Published by Timber Press
I live in the UK and I’ve never visited America, despite this I enjoyed reading Gardening for Butterflies, I found it very interesting to read about the butterfly species that live in America and learn about these butterflies species’ preferred nectar and larval host plants, and the challenges that these butterflies are currently facing. I hope that this wonderful book will be widely read across America, so that Gardening for Butterflies, and the important information this book contains, can be passed on to the residents, who garden and tend the land across the widespread landscape where the butterflies featured in this book live.
Gardening for Butterflies includes important information on how gardeners can help the Monarch butterfly, a butterfly that is read about, and admired the world over. Currently this special butterfly desperately needs our help to ensure its survival. I implore you, if you live in an area that the Monarch butterfly lives, breeds in, or journeys to, please read this book, and help this amazing and beautiful insect that has touched so many of our hearts.
So many of us have read, or watched on television, the inspirational journey that the Monarch butterflies make each year. We have been taken aback by the wondrous sights of the Monarch butterflies congregating together, and touched by the beauty of this special butterfly. Please help enable this butterfly to survive the challenges it’s currently facing from loss of habitat, the spread of foreign, and invasive plant species, pollution, climate change, pesticides and insecticides, weedkillers, monoculture, intensive farming, and the other difficulties, challenges, and obstructions that the Monarch butterfly is currently facing.
This is such an interesting and informative book, readers can learn all about the butterflies that live in, or journey to America. Gardening for Butterflies uncovers the ingenious ways that these butterflies have evolved to protect themselves from predators, this book explains the butterfly life cycle, and how the different butterfly species survive the winter months.
Gardening for Butterflies provides the reader with all the information required to create a beautiful butterfly garden; this book features information on the different nectar-rich plants that you can grow to provide sustenance for butterflies, as well as information about the larval food plants required for their caterpillars. The growing of both these types of plants is so important, and is vital for the survival of butterflies. Gardening for Butterflies features demonstration butterfly garden plans for areas with a greater rainfall, arid areas, roadside gardens, and multi-use backyards. There are many ideas, and lots of inspiration throughout the book.
As well as information on what you plants you should feature in your butterfly garden, Gardening for Butterflies also includes important information about invasive plant species, and advice on which cultivated plants are best avoided, with valid and clear explanations as to why it’s best to avoid growing these plants in your garden.
As well as providing information on butterflies, Gardening for Butterflies features an informative section on ‘Gardening for moths’, that contains all manner of information on creating a garden that is beneficial for moths, with information on which plants are preferred by moths. This chapter contains all kinds of interesting information about moths with plenty of tips on how best to observe moths; I am sure that readers will learn a lot from this chapter of the book.
Gardening for butterflies features information on a full range of plants, to enable to reader to create a rich habitat, as well as a beautiful garden, full of interest, that will attract and sustain butterflies. There is information on trees, shrubs, climbers, grasses, sedges, perennials, biennials, and annual plants that will attract butterflies and moths to your garden, as well as providing a home to a host of other wildlife. Gardening for Butterflies gives advice on planting your butterfly garden, sourcing plants, sowing seeds, and all aspects of creating and maintaining a butterfly garden. There’s also information about how the wider landscape outside of gardens can help butterflies, and how schools, campuses, offices, and roofs can all be turned into butterfly habitats.
Keen butterfly observers will appreciate the sections on how to collate records of butterfly observations, details of further reading, and information on butterfly studies and projects that they can join, and take part in.
Gardeners are now in such a powerful position, together we can make such a difference to the future of the world’s butterflies. Through reading Gardening for Butterflies, readers will find out how they can help the amazing Monarch butterfly, and the many other beautiful butterflies that reside in this very special area of the globe. If you live in America, I hope you will read this fascinating and informative book. There are beautiful photographs of both butterflies and moths, plants and flowers throughout this important book. Gardening for Butterflies would make a super gift, either for yourself, or for a friend or family member.
Other links and articles that may interest you……….
For more information about the book Gardening for Butterflies, please click here.
To see my calendar of special snowdrop garden openings, snowdrop talks, snowdrop open days and events, please click here.
To read my review of Katie Scott and Kathy Willis’ book, Botanicum, please click here.
To read the first part of my miniature orchid trial, please click here.
To read my review of Richard Mabey’s book, The Cabaret of Plants, please click here.
To read about terrariums and bottle gardens, please click here.
To read about growing indoor mushrooms, please click here.
