Updated 7-2007
I grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and lived there most of my life. As a young child, we played in the fields that surrounded my house. Those fields were full of weeds that contained purple clover and many other plants and they attracted so many butterflies back then. Yet I didn’t pay much attention to them back then. As decades went by the fields were bought and houses built and a huge parking lot. Today those fields are buried no longer to be enjoyed.
When I bought my first house, I followed my mom’s steps into gardening. Milwaukee’s summers are short and I wanted the best and prettiest garden. As time passed I developed an interest in butterflies. When the Internet became available, I was able to find out how to raise butterflies, what plants attracted them and so much more.
We moved into our second house and I took an above ground swimming pool area and turned it into a butterfly garden. I filled it with flowers for the caterpillars and the butterflies and it was very successful. I filled other areas around the house and then also planted pots. I attracted 19 different species of butterflies and raised hundreds of caterpillars. Then I found out about Monarch Watch and the tagging program. For three years I tagged a total of 300 Monarchs and 7 of them flew all the way down to their over-wintering sites in Mexico. All this was fun!
Time came for us to retire and we moved down to Florida. So here I am and starting the garden all over. Being retired I want something easier to manage and yet I do want the butterflies to visit here too. Currently, I am working on my garden and improving on it.
My webpages are experiences I have had and hope to provide you with information for you to start or improve your gardens or provide information to you on butterflies.
What about the future for butterflies? We are taking over their habitat and not replacing it. Butterflies are one of the top pollinators and we need them. What will happen in fifty years from now? I would encourage you to have a butterfly garden or provide a small area in your yard for the butterflies. If more people would do this, it would be a small step in replenishing what we have damaged so far.
The number one threat to butterflies is the loss of habitat. To keep butterflies in your yard, you have to provide food for their caterpillars too. All of this can be fun and you can include the grandkids or neighborhood kids to observe what does go on in the garden. If we share our knowledge, we can provide an interest for the kids for the coming years.
I hope that you will enjoy your visit through my webpages. Visit often. Enjoy!
