Butterfly Gardens: Plant a Butterfly Garden

Did you know?

• One cow can produce 30 gallons of manure EACH day?
• In the 1960's, the CIA's secret gadget-makers invented a listening device which they disguised so the enemy wouldn't be tempted to pick it up and examine it: the device looked like tiger droppings.
• The best "zoo doo" is elephant dung!

Click on the cow below to to learn more about cow manure and other types of animal manure that could be useful in any garden.

Image by John Mesirow

Image taken from thegardencentral.com

Preparing the soil for a butterfly garden takes only a few basic tools, but will take a good deal of hard work. To help us to do our job correctly, we should have the following tools before we begin: rake, spade; garden fork; watering hose and/or watering can; hoe; and a wheel barrel or other container for moving around mulch or sod. The sod that is removed should not be tossed, but recycled to a new area. To get more information on specific tools, click here.

• Gather materials (tools for digging, garden plans, plants, watering can/hose, fertilizer, mulch)
• Dig up area and put sod in wheel barrow or other container so it can easily be moved out of area
• Continue to dig up area to loosen soil
• Add manure or compost to enrich the soil and mix into soil
• Plot out garden design and where you will place your flowers
• Watch the "How to Plant Plants" video clip 
• Plant your flowers
• Add rocks and/or stepping stones for butterflies to land
• Add water source (like a bird bath) for butterflies
• Water entire garden and watch it grow!

Tip:

To save time, ask a community member or other volunteer to rototill your garden plot ahead of time.

                                                                                                                                                                           Image taken from chapelfarmgardentools.com

Did you know that dirt is not soil?

What's the difference between soil and dirt? Dirt is what you find under your fingernails. Soil is what you find under your feet. To learn more about soil, click on S. K. Worm!

Image taken from USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service 

Once we have planted our butterfly garden, the work is not over!  Just like any garden, it is important to continually water, fertilize, and weed our plants and make sure our garden has a good supply of water for our butterflies.

Image taken from eduguide.org

This page created by Tina Schultz