Outside Butterflies LIVE!

Outside the Conservatory, there are several areas of the Garden which feature nectar and host plants that are attractive to native butterflies, particularly the Sunken Garden, Central Garden, and the Children’s Garden.

As you leave the Visitors Center and enter the long walkway leading to the Conservatory, notice the butterfly made of plants, designed by horticulturist Laura Henley.  Plants in this display include parrot leaf (Alternanthera bettzickiana ‘Red Carpet’), wormwood (Artemisia schmidtiana ‘Silver Mound’), Calitunia ‘Purple’, silver spike (Helichyrsum ‘Icicles’), moss rose (Portulaca grandiflora ‘Double Yubi’), and coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides, ‘Curly hot pink & green’ and ‘Curly lemon lime’).  

Immediately past the butterfly made of plants, there is a butterfly habitat garden, demonstrating the types of plants for use in a residential setting to provide nectar for food, host plants for egg laying and food for caterpillars, and cover for the pupa phase of metamorphosis.  Planted here are verbena, lantana, buddleia, pentas, copper fennel, Joe-Pye weed, yarrows, and asters.  By combining the right plant materials in your home garden, you can witness all stages of the butterfly life cycle.  Virginia’s official state insect, the tiger swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucus linne), feeds on plants in the carrot family (including parsley, dill, fennel, and Queen Anne’s lace), while the adult Monarch butterfly lays eggs on stems and leaves in the milkweed family, the exclusive source of food for its caterpillar.

The long border leading to the Conservatory will be planted out with a sweep of varieties of Cosmos (‘Bright Lights,’ ‘Bipinnatus Happy Ring,’ and ‘Sonata Mix’), ranging in color from pinks to oranges, offering a steady source of nectar throughout the summer for native butterflies.

Butterflies LIVE! presenting sponsor:

Butterflies LIVE! media sponsor: