“If you build it, he will come.”
It worked in the film classic “Field of Dreams.” Kevin Costner played Ray Kinsella, an Iowa farmer who heard a voice whisper those words to him one evening while he was walking through his cornfield. A baseball fan, Ray took it as a sign that if he had faith and went ahead and built a baseball diamond on his farm – even plowing under part of the corn crop – the great “Shoeless” Joe Jackson would show up. He went ahead and put together the field and oh my, did the baseball greats from the past show up.
So, what does a movie about baseball, albeit one nominated for three Academy Awards, have to do with monarch butterflies coming to your yard?
The eastern monarch butterfly population is in decline, and many people are motivated to help by creating their own version of a field of dreams by planting a butterfly garden.
However, sometimes we hear: “Why am I not seeing any monarch butterflies?”
Just as a baseball field has requirements —three bases, a home plate, the pitcher’s mound, etc. —there are features that a successful butterfly habitat includes. While there are no guarantees (and know that it may take some time), these tips should help.
Bring monarchs to your garden
Location matters. Butterflies and other pollinators love the sun and so do their favorite flowers. They also need some protection from the wind.
Butterflies love a buffet. Asters, Anise Hyssop, bee balm, Black-eyed Susan, coreopsis, Joe Pye (a.k.a. Swallowtail Delight), lantana, milkweed, purple coneflowers, sunflowers and…
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