butterfly garden

The butterfly garden is a potpourri of many varieties of flowering plants that attract and support beneficial—and often beautiful—insects. It is more properly called an “insectary,” and is located adjacent to the parterre, near the orchards.

The plants here provide food for insects. As these insects move into the gardens they eat pests or lay eggs which, when hatched, produce larvae that also eat pests such as thrips or aphids.

Using an insectary for pest control reduces or eliminates the need for chemical pesticides. Lotusland’s sustainable gardening plan includes only the use of certified organically-based materials and the least harmful alternatives available.

Another benefit of an insectary is that butterflies are attracted to these same plants as a food source, hence the term butterfly garden. Milkweed (Asclepias curassivica) serves as a host plant for Monarch butterflies, which lay their eggs only on this plant species.