Butterfly Gardening - by Jane Hurwitz (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

An indispensable and lavishly illustrated guide to creating a garden that attracts and sustains butterflies

Butterfly gardening creates habitats that support butterflies, connecting us with some of the most beautiful creatures in the natural world and bringing new levels of excitement and joy to gardening. In this engaging and accessible guide, lavishly illustrated with more than two hundred color photographs and maps, accomplished butterfly gardener Jane Hurwitz presents essential information on how to choose and cultivate plants that will attract a range of butterflies to your garden and help sustain all the stages of their life cycles.

An indispensable resource for aspiring and experienced butterfly gardeners alike, Butterfly Gardening is the most gardener-friendly source on the subject, covering all the practical details needed to create a vibrant garden habitat that fosters butterflies. It tells you which plants support which butterflies, depending on where you live; it describes what different butterflies require in the garden over the course of their lives; and it shows you how to become a butterfly watcher as well as a butterfly gardener.

While predominantly recommending regionally native plants, the book includes information on non-native plants. It also features informative interviews with experienced butterfly gardeners from across the United States. These gardeners share a wealth of information on plants and practices to draw butterflies to all kinds of gardens--from small suburban gardens to community plots and larger expanses.

Whether you are a gardener who wants to see more butterflies in your garden, a butterfly enthusiast who wants to bring that passion to the garden, or someone who simply wants to make their garden or yard friendlier to Monarchs or other butterflies, this is a must-have guide.

• An essential guide for aspiring and experienced butterfly gardeners
• Encourages readers to rethink gardening choices to support butterflies and other pollinators in their gardens and communities
• Introduces gardeners to butterfly watching
• Includes regional lists of plant species that are time-proven to help sustain butterflies and their caterpillars
• Features informative interviews with expert butterfly gardeners from across the United States

From the Back Cover

"This book stands alone. It gently guides you step-by-step on the path to creating an accomplished butterfly garden, and it makes you feel as though you have been welcomed into a group of butterfly-gardening friends. The presentation is clear and concise, the butterfly and plant charts are indispensable, and the photographs are incredible."--Rick Mikula, president of Butterfly Rescue International

"This very useful book will appeal to virtually everyone interested in butterfly gardening or butterflies. Beginners and experts alike will enjoy the down-to-earth style. Neither too elementary nor too technical, the book presents new concepts that are easy to grasp and implement, and the illustrations are excellent."--John V. Calhoun, Research Associate, McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, Florida Museum of Natural History

Review Quotes

"Butterfly Gardening by Jane Hurwitz is another beautiful gardening book that . . . will get beginners started and serve as an inspiration for experienced lepidopterists."---Tina Winstead, Daily Star

"Gorgeous photographs of butterflies and plants dress up the text and graphs, making it a pleasure to read."---Jean Greenlaw, Denton Record-Chronicle

"If you weren't already inclined to devote some gardening efforts to butterflies, the more than 200 stunning color photos of eggs, caterpillars, and butterflies-and the lovely gardens that support them-that fill advocate Jane Hurwitz's book would nudge you in that direction."---Andrea F. Siegel, Washington Gardener

"The North American Butterfly Association offers a lavish guide to remedying their plight in Butterfly Gardening, by Jane Hurwitz. It's helpfully organized by region, and so straightforward and reasonable that there should soon be many more nectar banquets for these important pollinators."---Dominique Brown, New York Times Book Review

About the Author

Jane Hurwitz is the editor of Butterfly Gardener magazine and the former director of the Butterfly Garden and Habitat Program for the North American Butterfly Association. She lives in northern New Jersey.