When you prepare to have guests stay for the holidays you
probably straighten out your house, make up the beds, and wash your
dishes. Of course, you shop and stock your fridge with delicious
supplies.
In a sense, these processes are also part of preparing your
gardens for Monarchs. They need a food source, shelter, proper “bedding”
for laying eggs, safety from pesticides and other harms, and a place to rest
and warm in the sun. While you are never quite sure if your house is ready or not
for company, there is a way to evaluate your garden to be sure that you are
ready to welcome Monarchs!
The Monarch Watch website [http://www.monarchwatch.org/] is
a great resource to find information about everything Monarch… Monarch biology, migration, tagging, conservation, butterfly
gardening, and more.
The website lists a
national registry of all the Monarch-ready gardens, called Monarch Waystations.
In order to be listed on the registry, and be called a certified Monarch
Waystation, there is a list of criteria that must be followed. Even if you do not want to register your space, using this
criteria is an excellent way to create a successful butterfly garden.
Here is the link that brings you directly to the waystation
requirements…
This year as part of my Girl Scout Gold Award project, I
constructed a certified Monarch Waystation and outdoor classroom at my school. This space can be used by students and faculty, and is open
to the community.
The garden provides necessary nectar and host plants for
Monarchs, and we have expanded it to support and welcome pollinators of
all kinds… but
more about that later.
The important part is that it was fun and easy, and so
important! You can scale it to fit your location, size, skill set, and
time. In the next few posts, I will share tips on how to create
your own butterfly garden and maybe even get it certified.
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