Grow Wild YYC

continues with those second most familiar pollinators, butterflies! Alberta is home to 93 known species of butterfly with all drinking at least some nectar and therefore some pollination services as adults. If you want butterflies you need two things, flowers for the adults but more importantly, host plants for the caterpillars! Our Alberta butterflies use a variety of plants as hosts including grasses, nettles, clovers, aspen, poplar, cherry and of course willows! Having the host plants nearby is almost more important than flowers but if you want to draw the adults in, look for landing pads like asters, blanket flower and fleabane. Goldenrods, penstemon and yarrow are also great choices. For this tiger swallowtail poplars, aspen and chokecherries can play host to caterpillars while the adults forage for a variety of flowers including phlox, bee balm, milkw**d, Joe Pye w**d and lilacs (not native but still a favourite!) ❤️🦋