Luckily plenty of events crowd the calendar in both San Antonio and Austin this month to keep you inspired and in the garden.  Here’s a few.

San Antonio Events

Viva Botanica! at the San Antonio Botanical Center,  Saturday, April 9, 9 AM – 2 PM
This is always one of my favorite events: an annual plant sale of natives and other appropriate plants for the area, which generally includes MANY butterfly friendly plants. Anything sold here was cultivated for San Antonio’s unique extreme climate. Perennials, water-misers, herbs and others, nectar plants galore.  Stock up now.   Sale is in the greenhouse and open to the public.

 
What’s Happening With the Mitchell Lake Audubon Center Monarch Waystation, Saturday, April 23 1 PM – 3 PM
If you’re reading this blog you’re aware that Monarch butterflies migrate through Texas in the spring and fall, laying their eggs on milkweed along the way.  This session will fill you in on the Mitchell Lake Monarch Waystation and how volunteers and staff are collecting data that helps piece together the puzzle of the Monarch butterfly migration. Join the Mitchell Lake staff and learn how they monitor their “milkweed patch” and how you can become a citizen scientist in your own right.

The event is FREE for Mitchell Lake members;  $5 for nonmembers.   RSVP to mlac@audubon.org.  Space is limited.

Austin Events

Ladybird Johnson Native Plant Sale,  Saturday, April 9 – Sunday, April 10. 9 AM – 5 PM
It’s hard to beat the sheer volume of native plants that the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center puts on display for this weekend ritual.   The choices are welcome given the brutal freezes this year.  Members crowd the venue on Friday for a members’-only preview sale.
Bring a wagon to haul off your new finds.  At 11 AM, a native plant walk will be presented both days and the inimitable “Mr. Smarty Pants” will answer native plant questions.   Let’s try to stump him with some butterfly queries.

Admission: $8 adults, $7 seniors and students, $4 UT faculty, staff or students with identification, $3 children 5 through 12, members and children under 5 free.

Austin Butterfly Forum: How to Raise Caterpillars Workshop Monday, April 25, 7 PM
Yee-ha!  I am REALLY looking forward to this one.  Several members will share their wisdom on raising all kinds of native butterflies-to-be.   Hopefully they’ll also continue their monthly feature, Butterfly of the Month, whereby a professional or amateur lepidopterist provides the low-down on an often overlooked butterfly beauty. Last month it was the Crimson Patch.

The monthly gathering takes place at Zilker Botanical Gardens meeting room.   The event is free and open to the public and I’ll be there.

By the way, I’ve wondered why we don’t have a San Antonio Butterfly Forum. Anyone interested in forming one?

If you have butterfly events that merit attention by the Texas Butterfly Ranch blog, send them to me at butterflybeat@gmail.com
See you outside.