HCMGA Certified Butterfly Garden

by Ellen Sokolovic July 17, 2023

Henderson County Master Gardener Association (HCMGA) is pleased to announce their Butterfly Garden is now certified through the North American Butterfly Association.

The butterfly garden is located within the Harvest Garden, inside the fairgrounds at Henderson County Regional Fair Park, 3356 State Hwy 31 E, Athens.

The North American Butterfly Association (NABA), established in 1992, is the largest membership-based not-for-profit organization in North America (Canada, U.S. and Mexico) working to save the butterfly species. Their program for butterfly gardening promotes the creation of habitats that increase the world’s declining population of butterflies.

Consisting of host plants for caterpillars and nectar plants for butterflies, a butterfly garden combines food and shelter for all four stages of the butterfly life cycle: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, butterfly.

For basic certification, NABA requires a $40 fee along with an application listing three host plants and three nectar plants within the butterfly garden. Henderson County Master Gardeners chose dill, dutch pipevine, fennel, parsley, passion vine, and rue as host plants.

Parsley, fennel, and dill are host plants for Black Swallowtail butterflies. Rue is the host plant for Giant Swallowtail and Common Buckeye butterflies. Passion vine is the host for Variegated Fritillary and Gulf Fritillary butterflies. Dutch pipevine is the host plant for the Pipevine Swallowtail.

For nectar plants, bee balm, butterfly weed, cleome, marigold, mist flower, and zinnia were chosen. Nectar plants offer food to all butterflies and various other pollinators. A certified Monarch Garden requires an additional fee along with a list of milkweed plants. Antlerhorn milkweed was planted in the Master Gardener Butterfly Garden.

Certification demonstrates HCMGA’s commitment to promoting a habitat for butterflies as well as other pollinators.

For more information, call 903-675-6130, email [email protected].