My Butterfly Gardening Experience

I started to take an interest in raising caterpillars when my youngest children were about four years old. I always enjoyed photographing butterflies, but as my children took an interest in caterpillars and their amazing transformation to butterflies, I took more interest in the caterpillar. Even though we have been raising them for years now, I am always in awe at how an unsightly caterpillar can become such a beautiful and breath taking butterfly. The first caterpillars that we raised were Eastern Yellow Tiger Swallowtails. I saw a female laying eggs on one of our Poplar tree leaves. I collected the leaf with the egg, saved it and fed it leaves from our tree as the caterpillar grew. After seeing it emerge from its chrysalis, we were hooked. Raising them naturally led to growing the flowers which attract Butterflies which led to growing the host plants that different caterpillars need. Growing the flowers was something I have done for years so that was not new to me. However, learning about and growing the flowers most popular to butterflies has been enjoyable, it was not without its trials and errors. I live north of Atlanta where we have "Georgia Red Clay". Not everything, actually many plants, do not do well in this clay. I tried to amend the soil in places for a garden and I also would garden in large pots. The pots are nice ,but they can dry out quickly when the heat sets in. (It is currently 123.9 F on my deck in the sun.) This spring my husband built me a raised bed so I could have more success. The raised bed has worked out very well.  Thank you honey.  =)