Seed catalogs, paper tabs, highlighters, pencils, pens, butterfly books, and the internet are tools for a butterfly filled 2007 butterfly garden.

In the midst of winter, our gardens are being planned and planted - in our imagination.

In this issue we will discuss the choice of which plants we should plant in our individual gardens.

Plants which are best for my garden may be a waste of time and money if you plant them in your garden. Each garden is different. Read on to learn why!

Scroll down for an offer for 10% off a fantastic butterfly gardening book. We wish we could say we took the photos and wrote the book, but we can't! Wayne Richards and Judy Burris, brother and sister butterfly enthusiasts, have planted and nurtured a large butterfly garden at their home. I imagine Christina, Wayne's wife, spends a bit of time working in the garden also.

So what is a host plant? Why is it important?

Host plants are the plant butterfly and moth caterpillars eat. They are so important that if all the milkweed in the world died, all Monarch butterflies would die also.

Butterflies, both male and female, are attracted to host plants; females to lay eggs, males to find females. These instincts are the reason we have butterflies today.

Host plants, free of insecticides, actually grow butterflies somewhat like an orange tree grows oranges. Without an orange tree, you must be dependant upon oranges produced elsewhere if you want an orange. Without host plants, you are dependant upon butterflies produced elsewhere if you want butterflies.

What host plants should you plant? Host plants for butterflies found in your state or area of your state. Read on further down this newsletter for information about finding which butterfly host plants you should plant.

The best advice for choosing nectar plants is simple; visit nurseries and watch to see which plants butterflies are using for a nectar source. They aren't trained, they are using plants which they naturally prefer.

Yet many nurseries do not carry many great nectar plants. To go beyond your local nursery, ask people who you can trust who know butterflies! The plants in a butterfly exhibit may not be best for your area. Butterflies in an exhibit have a limited nectar choice and will nectar (or try to nectar) from any flower. Ask attendants in the exhibit about the plants. If they aren't familiar with the plants and where they grow, do research.

Research each plant with which you're not familiar no matter where you find it. Learn it's growing preferences. Is it an annual in your area or a perennial? A perennial in Florida, like the batface flower above, would be an annual elsewhere. Does it grow best in wet or dry soil? Rich or poor soil? Sun or shade?

Join mailing lists which chatter about butterflies and thier plants. To the left is a link to a free mailing list where people who raise butterflies and garden for butterflies chatter. Some nursery owners chatter and share with the list what plants they have available. Ask questions!

Cloudless Sulphurs have their favorite nectar sources which not many other species will visit. If you have a favorite butterfly, ask people who know butterflies if that particular butterfly has a favorite nectar source. You can join one list at Butterfly Gardening Mailing List.

Malachite butterflies, beautiful green butterflies, would be an addition to my butterfly garden that would bring me delight! But the sad fact is that they're found only in south Florida and south Texas. Purchasing and planting their host plant would not bring them to my area. They're just too far away!

I'd be better off planting host plants for butterflies found in and around my county.

How can I find which butterflies are in my area of the US? Thanks to several butterfly professionals, I can find out though a simple web site visit. I go to the Butterflies and Moths website and search by my state, my county, or butterfly species.

When you look up your area, please bear in mind that the map is dependant upon people reporting (verified reports) species in their county. If a butterfly is recorded in a county near yours, it could be in your county also.

My two favorite seed sources are Park Seed (www.parkseed.com) and Richter's Herbs (www.richters.com). I browse through these catalogs through the Internet as well through the ones they send me in my mailbox.

Take time to visit their websites and be sure to order their catalogs. My new catalogs just arrived and I'm enjoying a browse through the pages of color and delight.

Richter's sells herbs like bloodflower (tropical milkweed), fennel, dill, parsley, and other host and nectar plants.

Park's also sells herb seed and a zillion nectar plant seed varieties.

Of course, we prefer you to order your host and nectar plants from us but reality steps in. The truth, as everyone knows, is that we can't grow them all! Some host and nectar plants do not grow well in our southern heat and must be ordered from northern companies.

As you can see, butterflies love this plant. The photo at the top of this newsletter was taken outdoors in our garden. The butterflies in the photo are naturally in the garden, we did not raise them in our laboratory or release them into the garden.

Tall porterweed Stachytarpheta mutabilis is a favorite of butterflies as well as one of our top picks for butterfly nectar plants. These plants will be available from our farm in a couple of weeks. Please visit our site again and again as we add host and nectar plants to the shopping cart over the next few weeks.

We will work with several formats for the newsletter until we find one that best suits our needs. Please be patient as we change from format to format! Thanks so much! Edith and Stephen (and Ester & Michelle)