RESOURCES
Plant of the Year
Key pollinator plants to pick up for your gardenGardenstyleSA
Exhaustive list of plants for Butterfly Gardens, curated specifically for San AntonioGardenstyleSA
Texas AGrilife Extension
Butterfly garden article with links to more resources assembled by the home of the Texas Master GardenersTexas AGrilife Extension
Native Plant Society of Texas
Native plants for Butterfly GardensNative Plant Society of Texas
Houston Arboretum
Planting for PollinatorsHouston Arboretum
Monarch Joint Venture
Gardening for MonarchsMonarch Joint Venture
Another great resource, especially for San Antonio: Plant a Butterfly Garden, assembled by botanist/horticulturist and Gardening Volunteers of South Texas icon Charles Bartlett. The handout lays out step-by-step what to do and how, which plants and where and everything in between.
Additional Helpful Resources
The Pollinator Partnership, a pollinator advocacy organization based in San Francisco, offers regionalized plant guides, including one just for our part of the world, Selecting Plants for Pollinators in the Southwest. Their free and downloadable 24-page booklet does a fantastic job explaining the importance of pollinators while also recommending specific plant recommended specifically for our region.
The Xerces Society, an Oregon-based invertebrate advocacy organization, also has great regionally curated plant lists. Texas belongs in the Southern Plains Region. The selected plants for our region are available in the three-page handout, with a chart.
If you’re wondering about milkweed species, this article on Aslcepias curassavica for the Native Plant Society of Texas Magazine includes info about the pros and cons of planting nonnative milkweed.
