by Lydia Holley                                         July 21, 2025, 2025

Master Gardener Ellen Sokolovic will present “Butterfly Gardens” on Wednesday, July 23, 12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m., Cain Center YMCA, 214 Loyola Dr., 2nd Floor, Civic Hall Meeting Room, Athens. This presentation is part of Henderson County Master Gardener’s “Let’s Grow” series. It is free and open to the public. 

Attracting butterflies to your garden takes more than just adding a few pretty plants. To get the most butterflies, you need host plants along with nectar plants. Sokolovic will give information on the difference between the two and how to incorporate both kinds into your garden. She will also list exactly which plants grow well in East Texas that attract the butterflies that live here. 

Sokolovic will discuss the butterflies most commonly seen in East Texas and how you can attract more of them to your garden. Part of the fun of gardening is getting to see butterflies flitting from bloom to bloom. Sokolovic will show how just a few additions will result in a large increase of butterflies in your garden. 

She will also explain the four stages of a butterfly’s life: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, and adult. She will tell you which plants to add to your garden for each stage. There is nothing more beautiful than a garden in full flower with butterflies flying from bloom to bloom. Sokolovic will illustrate exactly how you can have the butterfly garden of your dreams. 

How many butterflies might you attract? According to the website Butterflies and Moths of North America, there are verified sightings of 78 species of butterflies just in Henderson County, Texas. Butterflies are skilled at finding places to visit. Monarch butterflies even stop on offshore drilling rigs as they migrate across the Gulf. So, yes, if you plant it, they will come.

For more information, call 903-675-6130, email [email protected], or visit txmg.org/hendersonmg.