by Jerry Sedenko
This book starts out with a brief overview of butterflies in art, literature and history. Then it describes a bit about butterfly biology and the life cycle of the monarch. Next is a portfolio of photos and descriptions displaying the twenty-five most common or beloved butterflies found in the United States, then an illustrated plant list of trees, shrubs, herbs and flowers that attract butterflies (with notes telling which caterpillars or adult butterflies like to feed on them). As a side note, The Butterfly Garden also has information about flowers that are attractive to moths and hummingbirds. The final section gives examples of a few garden designs that are well-suited for butterflies. The book has a nice design, pretty photographs, and taught me quite a bit about butterflies. But I felt like it was just an introduction, that every section could have included so much more. It almost came across as a juvenile nonfiction book, albeit for the older half of that audience. I enjoyed it, but was not at all satisfied and if I really want to encourage butterflies to visit my garden, feel the need to read a more in-depth book.This is the last one from that stack of gardening books I brought home from the library so many weeks ago! I've had my fill of reading about plants, food, and gardening for now- so it's back to a lot of fantasy, fiction and (of course) books about animals of all kinds...
Rating: 2/5 144 pages, 1991
Seeing this makes me sad it is going to start getting colder soon (at least in the next couple of months for us). We saw some beautiful butterfly gardens up in Toronto while we were there. Do you plant special flowers to attract butterflies in your garden?
ReplyDeleteNot yet, but I want to do so in the coming spring. Which is why I picked up this book, to get some ideas.
ReplyDeleteIn San Antonio this past week, my husband said there were huge swarms of butterflies all over. Apparently, they make a journey from Mexico every year around this time. I'm sad I didn't see them!
ReplyDeleteDarn, too bad this one was disappointing. I would have jumped right on it. I planted some lantana to attract the butterflies, this year, but it's still scrawny and didn't bloom during our two months of drought. Turk's cap attracts hummingbirds, but I couldn't find any!! Argh! I'll tell you if I locate a great book about attracting butterflies and hummingbirds before you do. I've been watching for one, but haven't found anything wonderful, yet.
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