Wings and Paws

Giant Milkweed is the best way to provide plenty of food for the Monarchs.

The beginning

It all began in the late 1990’s…..

My neighbor approached me and wanted me to join her in starting a butterfly garden.

She handed me her “go to garden book”, “Gardening for Florida’s Butterflies” by Pamela F. Traas that I still use and share today. The book has seen better days!

By the time my neighbor moved away, we had developed our own neighborhood butterfly world !

Since then, my yard is an amazing ecosystem with 13 different species of butterflies.’

Host and nectar plants for every one of them. I have my “lab” as well, where I raise some of the caterpillars to provide a safe spot to grow and emerge from their chrysalis safely. I keep a log of my releases. One year I released 1,000 Monarchs into my yard.

Wintering Hummingbird visitors enjoy the nectar along with the bees.

Now I continue to maintain the ecosystem and the wildlife habitats in my yard.