build your own monarch
BUTTERFLY GARDEN
Learn how you can help restore the Monarch Butterfly's habitat by building your very own butterfly garden.
What Does a Monarch Butterfly Garden Need?
To build your own Monarch Butterfly garden there are a few elements you must have.
MILKWEED | NECTAR | SHELTER | SUN | WATER | PESTICIDE FREE
MILKWEED
Monarch caterpillars only eat milkweed, so that’s where adult female monarchs lay their eggs. To create a sustainable monarch habitat, your butterfly garden must have plenty of (native) milkweed.
NECTAR
Adult monarch butterflies and other pollinators sip nectar from flowers for sustenance. Native plants are best because they are better adapted to local soil, climate, and will attract native pollinators. Plant a variety of flowers for blooms and nectar availability throughout the seasons.
SUN
Butterflies prefer sunlight and the plants they’re attracted to love the sun as well. Make sure you’re planting your butterfly garden in a location that gets plenty of sunlight.
SHELTER
While butterflies prefer the sun, sometimes they need a little protection. Carefully placed fences, trees and shrubs will provide necessary shelter from wind and predators and provide spaces for caterpillars to safely pupate.
WATER
Monarch butterflies drink from different sources, like nectar, dew and tree sap. But you can also help them out by adding a butterfly puddling station. You can do this by filling a shallow dish with sand or gravel and burying it to the rim in your garden in the sun with protection from wind. Fill it with water so it's damp but not pooling.
PESTICIDE FREE
A healthy butterfly garden needs to be free of pesticides. Pesticides are fatal for all insects, including monarch caterpillars and butterflies. When buying plants for your garden, check with your nursery to make sure they haven’t been treated with pesticides. Choose a safe location for your butterfly garden that is not near any areas that are treated by you, a neighbor, or your municipality.
WHAT IS THE GARDEN GIVEAWAY?
One of the Monarch Sanctuary Project's pillar goals is to create pollinator habitats in our local communities. We want to put the power in the people’s hands to create and maintain their own monarch habitats.
A Monarch Sanctuary Project garden giveaway will provide plants for a 100 sq ft, all-season monarch habitat.
The gift garden is complete with all the native milkweeds and nectars needed to support the monarch migration as they come through Texas in the spring and fall.
Anyone with a passion and a plan to maintain their own monarch habitat can apply for a gift garden.
REQUIREMENTS
To apply, you need a garden space in Williamson or Travis County that is full sun and free of pesticides. You will also be responsible for maintaining and watering the garden on your own.
SELECTION
We will sit down together as a team and review the applications. Important factors like why, where and how will be considered. Be sure to include specifics like public visibility or educational opportunities.
ELIGIBILITY
Anyone can apply for the garden giveaway program! Families, schools, and businesses - we need habitats everywhere! We will select a variety of different recipients.
WHAT'S INCLUDED?
This year, with support from H-E-B, we are excited to offer 6 spring kits and 6 fall kits, each with enough plants to cover a 100 sq ft area.
SPRING GARDEN KITS
All the plants you need to build out your own garden.
Spring kits include:
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3 spring bloomers
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3 summer bloomers
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3 fall bloomers
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12 native milkweeds