Product Description
Roll out the welcome mat for butterfles and hummingbirds. Attracting Butterfles and Hummingbirds to Your Backyard reveals the secrets for creating irresistible gardens and a welcoming landscape, which will lure these amazing creatures up close and personal for your enjoyment and wonder. Author Sally Roth knows the best plants, feeders, and water features that appeal to butterflies and hummingbirds, plus she offers an entertaining and insightful guide to butterfly and hummingbird behavior.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

AWESOME
This book is AWESOME!!! Very informative and easy reading for a novice like me. I totally impressed myself when I identified a butterfly last night from what I learned in this book. I have planted many of the flowers suggested and BELIEVE me IT WORKS!!! Butterflies are coming! So much fun to see and watch.

butterflies and humming birds
what to plant to attract these pretty creatures to your garden. 2 years ago had 6 butterflies and 0 humming birds. planted some of the plants and flowers. to many butterflies to count and really colorful ones and now have a family of humming birds year around

great
great book, beautiful pictures and discriptions and lots of great information in an easy to read format

great book
Great book for those interested in starting a butterfly/hummingbird gardens.Some of the written text is a little difficult to read.Recommended for the beginner!!

Butterfliesand Hummingbirds
Thisbookisabeauitful learning tool and is sowelldone with illustrations. Adefinite buy. ... Read more

Product Description
This new edition of the classic handbook describes how to attract butterflies and other beneficial and beautiful insects to you garden.

Butterfly Gardening presents everything the gardener needs to know to create intricate, small-scale ecosystems in an urban or suburban setting that can substitute for the rapidly vanishing habitats that are essential to the survival of butterflies.Contributors to this volume include Miriam Rothschild, an eminent entomologist, avid butterfly gardener and expert in wildflower conservation, who describes the life cycle of the butterfly, how and what they see, and how this relates to "gardening with butterflies."Landscape architect Mary Booth provides imaginative garden designs and easy-to-follow direction for designing and planting.Edward S. Ross, pioneer of close-up nature photography, discusses observing and photographing butterflies.

The book also includes a "Master Plant List" of species that attract butterflies, butterfly food plants listed geographically, seed and plant sources, a list of gardening and conservation organizations, and a bibliography of books and periodicals about butterflies. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

weird & wonderful
Hmmm. What to make of page 21 which describes an univited human visitor to the authors butterfly garden stripping naked and plunging into her bluebells (is that what they're calling it now?)?

This is obviously not your run-of-the-mill butterfly gardening book to say the least. The essays are beguiling, the photographs are excellent and every now and then you read something like page 21 and go WHAT???

Too much activist nagging, not enough focus on gardens
This was a promising-looking book.It has a good number of very interesting butterfly pictures, attractive diagrams of bedding layouts, and photos of useful flowers.However, I was greatly disappointed by two things.

First, the personalities of the multiple authors intrude too much in the book.Not only do we read too much of "I" this and "my" that, but the potted biographies are sometimes much too long, self-regarding, and irrelevant.Are they promoting butterflies, or themselves?

Second, I quickly got the sense that the butterfly-gardening discussion is really a Trojan horse for environmental activism.It lectures repeatedly at the reader, when the reader feels like saying:"Stop trying to convert me!I bought the book, didn't I?I'm happy and willing to make a garden that butterflies might like, and that should be enough."

The moralizing starts with the preface, and continues with the introduction by E. O. Wilson.Wilson wags his finger at "prideful Homo sapiens," saying that people are mostly "indifferent or repelled by the generality of insects." Apart from stating that Homo sapiens has every reason to be proud of its accomplishments, I would like to add that people have (naturally) feared insects for excellent reasons:mosquitoes bring malaria, the West Nile virus, and other diseases; pests spoil crops and contaminate food; and the bubonic plague, spread by rat fleas in Europe in the mid-1300s, wiped out one-third of the human population.So don't lecture us about how we're just mindlessly prejudiced against insects (or anything else for that matter).

There are several books on this subject currently available.If you are looking for a book by garden-lovers, for the benefit of other garden-lovers, I would advise you to choose one of them.I would certainly recommend Attracting Birds and Butterflies by Barbara Ellis.

Excellent resource...
BUTTERFLY GARDENING is a collection of interesting essays about butterflies.Chapters cover gardening tips, including an annotated list of plants that attract butterflies, and various other butterfly related topics such as: "What do butterflies see?"; "The struggle to survive"; "The life cycle of the large white butterfly"; and "Moths in the garden at night."If you love butterflies, you will probably enjoy this book but it won't go a long way toward helping you identify the Red Admiral you spotted on the Frikartii Aster yesterday. Another reviewer referred to this as a starter book, but I don't think of it as that at all although it does introduce a number of important topics.

The book includes a few "designs" for butterfly gardens, but they are general, and you would do better to use the garden designs in THE AUDUBON BACKYARD BIRD WATCHER.Let's face it, where the birds are is where their dinner is and dinner for birds is often the larval stage of moths and butterflies. The plant lists in BUTTERFLY GARDENING are adequate. Certainly the best thing to plant is Buddleia..the butterfly bush.This morning I saw three Monarch butterflies on my lavendar flowered Buddleia.The bush also supports a Grandpa Otts morning glory vine which produces flowers that are a dark bluish purple which changes to a purplish magenta. The butterflies were flitting from flower to flower and the color combo was a knockout.

This little book has much to recommend it.From BUTTERFLY GARDENING I learned the value of Parsley for larvae and that no matter how many butterfly boxes one hangs the little critters are visitors not tenants.

best butterfly gardening book!
This book actually takes you past the very basic of plant lists (primarily US native plants) and arranging your garden (although it has all that too).It gets into things like a chapter on what butterflies see, their life cycles, butterfly watching tips, conservation, photography,pictures of caterpillars, etc.The photos are fantastic - not just pictures of butteflies on flowers but really close-up pictures of the wings, and butterflies in flight.They also include information on moths which is neat.This book is above and beyond the best book I've seen on butterfly gardening.For those who want to not only attract butterflies but also know what's going on and understand some of their world, this is a great book.I'd buy it all over again!!

Excellent guide book
I'm an up and coming butterfly gardener.This book had a great deal of information to share not only regarding what species of flowers to plant,but also about the life cycles of the butterfly and the importance ofplanting your garden for the entire life cycle - from egg, to caterpillar,to butterfly Discussion focused on butterfly/larva predators and howimportant they are to the cycle. Tips on photography, particularly in thedark were helpful.The pictures of the butterflies and flowers wereexquisite! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and the information in itwill go a long way in helping me create my dream garden. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Very nice ~one of my favorite garden books
I live in Southwest Florida on the Gulf Coast and love butterfly gardening.I have several books on the subject and Your Florida Guide to Butterfly Gardening: A Guide for the Deep South is very nice ~ one of my favorite all round gardening books as well as handy field guide for butterflies and the four stages of their lives.It is the perfect guide specifically written for Florida butterfly gardening.It's the book I grab most often for quick reference ~ the full-color photographs of the butterflies and plants are exceptional.The book is well organized, full of wonderful information and very useful suggestions for gardening in the different Florida climates.It's really a beautiful book and I highly recommend it for butterfly gardening in Florida. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Butterfly Gardening for the South
Beautiful book with terrific color photography.For quick reference, there are descriptive charts listing food and nectar plants with perspective butterflies and/or larvae. The appendices is filled with useful information such as how to photograph butterflies, seed and plant sources, and more. An illuminating book for reading and learning.

Butterfly Gardening for the South
This is a buy now book for the southern gardener who wants to encourage flocks of butterflies into their garden or who wants to know more about native plants with a butterflies view in mind. The author has extensive color pictures of the butterflies and their habits as well as culturalinformation about the food plants of the larvae and nector plants of theadults. She has taken beautiful pictures of the plants, butterflies,catapillar, and egg stage of almost all the butterflies she details. Theinformation is invaluable.Many butterfly plants are so common as to beconsidered weeds well many of them are weeds but if you want to grow themand collect them it helps to have a color picture to identify them andcultural information about growing them. She includes layouts for gardendesign in each of the southern zones covered and gives alot of good organicpractical gardening advice. I especially like the part where she shares herexperience on how to take pictures ofbutterflies. Great stuff for someonewho does not know alot about SLR cameras and wants an insiders advice onhow to take pictures of butterflies. I highly recommend this book to anyoneinterested in gardening with native trees and plants as well as adapted nonnatives who wishes to encourage butterflies in their garden. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

It's okay
It's okay for the money, though too much gibberish in the beginning. Information went way over my head. Keep it more simple next time.

ks Review of Florida Butterfly Gardening: etc.
Excellent book.I knew what I was getting as I had seen a copy already.Excellent pictures and great verbiage to back it up.Really helps in understanding the topic.

Florida Butterflys
This is the best book I have purchased for butterfys. It has great pictures of the butterflys as well as the caterpillars.
It gives you all the information needed to get your own butterfly garden set up.

When they say complete they mean it
I am just starting butterfly gardening and I found so much helpful information.On the other hand, my sister has been butterfly gardening for years, and still found the book helpful.It makes identification of butterflies and caterpillars easy and has many lavish illustrations of both the butterflies and the plants that attract them.

Great Book!
I have had this book for a year and I am always pulling it back out to help purchase butterfly plants and to ID catipillers and butterflys.Lots of excellent pictures of every stage of each Florida butterfly.Excellent lists of plants, both host and nectar.Great pictures of the plants.The only thing I have found missing is any info on when to expect the butterfly's in your garden. ... Read more

Product Description
This popular guide to attracting, identifying, and enjoying all the common North American species of butterflies includes 149 full-color photos, 65 range maps, and two sample garden plans. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Lovely Book
I am now a fan of the Stokes series of books.I have several on birds and they are wonderful.This butterfly book is no exception.I did not want anything technical.I wanted easy to read, easy to find the butterfly I was looking for (to identify) and lots of beautiful pictures.And this is what this book is all about!Enjoyable!

Flutterbies Galore
This is a very handy and useful guide for general identification of common butterflies.It's a useful learning tool, and easy to read.The only criticism that I have, is that this guide rarely provides top AND bottom views of the butterflies that it contains.Overall, I'm very happy with this book, and would recommend it to anyone looking for a handy butterfly field guide.

The very first butterfly book you should buy.
Buy this book if you are interested in attracting butterflies or creating a butterfly garden. Lots of interesting information about habitat and behavior. Identification Guide could be more complete. Not enough photos, especially comparison shots of open vs. closed wings. Overall an excellent butterfly book.

very pleased customer
I received my product in excellent condition and in a very timely manner.I am more than pleased with the service.
Thank You.

butterfly gardens
While visiting the Butterfly Garden exhibit in Boston's Science Museum, we asked a person in charge which book he recommended for growing one's own butterfly garden (my son lives in Framingham, MA). The answer was Stokes, and he wrote it down for us. The museum does not sell it.
The number of butterflies identified is smaller than some guides, but the details about their preferred plants are very good. Since I bought the book for my son (I live in California), I cannot provide more details except that he and his wife are very happy with it. ... Read more

Product Description
Includes the best of Florida's native flowering plants that attract and feed native butterflies. These are the plants that naturally supported themore than 160 butterfly species that bred in Florida well before the impacts of man became noticeable. The book is also about the butterflies themselves--for it is only by understanding what butterflies are that we can be effective in providing for them. Finally, this publication is about using our knowledge of butterflies and plants to design a butterfly garden. Property owners throughout Florida can use this book to create their own butterfly gardens using the plants native to their region of the state, and these gardeners, entrusted with the welfare of their butterflies, will form a network of environmental stewards that will help balance whatever impacts the future holds in store for Florida. ... Read more

Product Description
In a field of lacy leaves, a small caterpillar hatches, grows, and sheds its skin, becoming a smooth, green creeper. It eats and changes some more, then in a sequence of remarkable close-ups, spins a sliken sling in which to pupate--until it finally bursts forth as a brilliant black swallowtail butterfly. Includes suggestions on how children can grow butterfiles in their own gardens. Color throughout. *************Full color. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Too graphic for my 4 year old granddaughter
I bought this book to alleviate my granddaughter's fear of butterflies. The author, although informative, went into painstaking horrific detail about the changing of caterpillar to butterfly. I love the illustrations (except for the scary caterpillar face). If I choose to keep this book I will black out all of the author's words with a black sharpie pen. I was very disenchanted. In the future it might be helpful to suggest an age range of children who might enjoy this book. I was not able to preview it or I would not have purchased it. Thumbs down.

Good Book
I bought these to hand out as birthday party favors for the kids to take home with them, everyone loved them.

Where Butterflies Grow
This is an excellent book to read with children prior to activating the Live Butterfly Garden Kit!My 3 year old nephew was thrilled as he went through the book to show me the different stages of the butterfly.The pictures are exceptionally beautiful.Live Butterfly Garden

Where Butterflies Grow
I purchased this book so I can show my grandchildren what will happen as our caterpillars grow and turn into butterflies.It is well written and beautifully illustrated. I highly recommend it.

Good for both young and older children
Both my toddler and grade-school age son enjoy this book - on different levels of course.The pictures are simply beautiful and my toddler just enjoys paging through looking at them - getting the basic idea that a caterpillar becomes a butterfly (maybe).My older son obviously understands more but also enjoys the pictures.You'll get a lot of use out of this one. ... Read more

Product Description

Plan a colorful paradise for butterflies in your garden by planting and maintaining the kinds of flowers, shrubs, trees, and other plants that these fluttering beauties will find irresistible. This lovely and practical guide offers a variety of garden plans designed to attract butterflies, and helps you select plants for different stages in their lives, from food plants for caterpillars to nectar plants for adults. As these gorgeous visitors flock to your fragrant garden, you'll enjoy referring to the butterfly identifier included in Creating a Butterfly Garden. From detailed gardening information to fascinating facts on the life cycles of these winged creatures, here is everything you need to know to let a butterfly sanctuary blossom in your backyard. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

creating a butterfly garden book
This is a great little book for the price you pay.It is small enough to through in your bag to read when you have wait times at appts. or easy to hold if your at lunch.You will enjoy the information you learn from this publication.

basic
A good starter book but you can find more info by just looking on the web. It does have some good layouts for gardens but my issue was I wanted native plants and they don't tell you in this book if they're native or if they came from asia or elsewhere.I found other references that were far better but this is a start.Its just very basic.

Very very basic book
There are much better books on buttrerfly gardening out there than this one - I recommend Butterfly Gardening by the Xerces Society.Its got not only the plants that butterflies like but also the lifecycle of butterflies.Creating A Butterfly Garden is like the hummingbird gardening book by the same author - very very basic with listings of plants and drawings of gardens but little more. You can get what's offered in these books off the internet.I ended up spending a little more to get a decent book that got me further below the surface and have a great butterfly garden going - variety is the key.The more kinds of flowers, the more kinds of butterflies.Its important to recognize that to have butterflies you need to have caterpillars too and they are fun to provide for and watch develop as well

A clear, concise, and informative book
This little book clearly describes the life cycle of a butterfly and what a garden needs to attract and retain butterflies.The descriptions of plants are brief but provide enough information for further research shouldone desire. The plants are organized by season which is very helpful. Thereis a nice butterfly identification section in the back of the book to roundout the enjoyment of a garden. The author even lists some butterflysuppliers for those who want a head start on nature. This book is perfectfor successfully planning and implementing a butterfly garden. ... Read more

Product Description
Bring life to your garden and experience the magic of metamorphosis! This book tells you how. It describes 23 species of butterflies and shows them in color photos - adults, caterpillars and pupae, as well as dozens and dozens of larval and nectar food plants. Complete growing information is included for each plant: family, plant type, geographic region, mature size, flowering time, color, light, water and soil requirements, propogation methodsand salt tolerance. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Hands down, the finest butterfly book for Florida
The photographs in this book make identification of eggs, larvae, chrysalids and butterflies a snap. The text isn't academic mumbo jumbo, but a conversational discussion of how to encourage butterflies to visit youryard. And the plant section is great for selection purposes...

I hope theauthor does a book like this for dragonflies in Florida, because I've gotthis pond... ... Read more

Product Description
What to plant to attract these delightful creatures, in any region. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The You Can Attract Butterflies to Your Yard Book
This little gem of a book is a reader not a looker. It is very important reading for those just beginning butterfly gardening. It would seem as though Mathew Tekulsky has answered every question with a short to the point yet informative answer.

Chapters cover understanding gardening for butterflies by understanding butterflies.Mr. Tekulsky instructs us on all aspects of ow to get started, including which plants are needed for both larval food and nectar food.

There is a chapter devoted to activities which include photography hints, things to do with kids and building hibernation boxes.

Extensive appendices list 50 Common butterflies, and where they are found and what plants they like.There are also lists of where to obtain butterflies and entomological equipment, as well as, butterfly organizations and recommended further readings.

Beautiful butterflies
Oh! This book is really great, i have read it when I was in high school and it really have made results when I built my green house. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a new addition to Glassberg's celebrated Butterflies through Binoculars series of field guides. As such, it rivals his earlier--and highly popular--Field and Finding Guide to Butterflies of the Boston-New York-Washington Region by providing an intensive focus on the butterflies and best butterflying sites for another highly populated and heavily traveled region. This time, the terrain in question is the state of Florida--one of the leading tourist destinations in the world.

Butterfly enthusiasts, nature lovers, and curious general readers will perhaps be surprised to learn that Florida's butterfly fauna is unique--and that, until the appearance of this volume, there has been no adequate field guide for the butterflies of this region. This guide simplifies identification by illustrating only species found in Florida--using superb photographs of live butterflies coupled with detailed range maps and identification data. It also offers, with unprecedented detail, much information on flight times and abundances for each of five Florida subregions, including reports on seventy localities in which to find butterflies. Lastly, discussions of the foodplants for each species along with suggestions for attracting these species to one's garden make this work invaluable for all Florida gardeners interested in butterflies. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Excellent butterfly reference
Butterflies through Binoculars: A Field, Finding, and Gardening Guide to Butterflies in Florida (Butterflies and Others Through Binoculars Field Guide Series,) This is an excellent reference book for butterfly lovers in the State of Florida.I take it with me on my butterfly field trips and when I sit in my yard to observe them.The book has excellent photos, detailed information for each species, and the habitat locations. It's an easy book to carry and pack.

Simply Superb
This is one of the best presented field guides I have ever seen.Each andevery species of Florida butterfly is pictured and described.Mostbutterfly guides I've seen use pictures of preserved specimens in acollection.This can be confusing because parts of the wings normallyhidden are exposed when the collected specimen is mounted.This bookavoids this problem by using only pictures taken in the wild (except for afew rare species).No more unnatural poses!

The text is easily readablewithout extensive knowledge of obscure scientific words and has enoughhumor to keep it from getting dry and technical, but not so much that itoverpowers the book.

This book deserves a place on the bookshelf ofanyone interested in Florida butterflies.

Best field guide for butterflies of the northeast
If you are looking for a filed guide to the butterflies of the northeastern United States, this is THE book to get. Written for a relatively small geographical area, the book contains only those butterflies likely to be seen in the regioon...unlike other guidebooks which offer many photos of butterflies not native to the regioon you are in. Excellent photos and the reduced subject area result in quick identifications. Although written for the northeast, the book is useful over a wider range...I have even used it in Texas to great effect. Don't put too much stock in the information about flight period and abundance, though. And don't expect much info on larval hostplants, etc ... Read more

Product Description
In her newest book for Rodale, the irrepressible Sally Roth zeroes in on one of North America's best-loved backyard birds-the hummingbird-and on the beautiful, delicate insects that are all the rage among nature enthusiasts-butterflies.

Becoming a dual hummingbird/butterfly watcher couldn't be more natural for backyard gardeners and nature lovers because both of these types of winged creatures are attracted to beautiful nectar flowers. Sally Roth is a passionate gardener, and she shares all her best recommendations on the perfect flowers to plant to attract hummingbirds and butterflies. She has even included her original garden designs especially appealing to hummingbirds and butterflies, including an herb garden for butterflies, a red-hot garden for hummingbirds, and a $10 garden for butterflies (you can plant it for less than $10). And, of course, all of Sally's advice is all-organic!

There's lots more you can do to attract and preserve butterflies and hummingbirds besides plant flowers, so Sally shares plenty of great tips and techniques for:

* Using and maintaining nectar feeders
* Setting up hummingbird misters and making butterfly mud puddles
* Attracting a wider range of butterflies by offering special foods other than nectar
* Providing nesting sites and nest materials for hummingbirds
* Understanding and observing butterfly life cycles
* Choosing and using equipment for watching and photographing butterflies and hummingbirds

Attracting Butterflies and Hummingbirds to Your Backyard includes Sally's unique field guide to identifying hummingbirds and butterflies. No stuffy scientific lingo here. Sally's writing is light and entertaining throughout her descriptions of each lovely hummingbird and butterfly, and she tells it as she sees it in describing the sometimes less-than-lovely looks of caterpillars. Sally also lists favorite nectar flowers for each type of butterfly and hummingbird.Amazon.com Review
This accessible, comprehensive volume will answer any and all questionsabout the visiting habits of hummingbirds and butterflies. Which flowersattract butterflies? Why do hummingbirds fly toward the color red?What's the role of water in attracting these revelatory creatures acrossthe garden's boundary? The book opens with a chapter called "TheBasics," which explains where and when hummingbirds and butterflies tend toemerge and their migration patterns, climate preferences, and life cycles.Later chapters include "Tempting Butterflies with Treats" and"Butterfly and Hummingbird Garden Designs." It concludes with a seriesof clear drawings of various species and their identifyingcharacteristics, favored plants, range, and habitat. Writer SallyRoth is a natural guide to this flying world, and although her textcontains reams of information, it never seems complicated oroverwhelming. Well organized with illuminating sidebars and remarkableclose-up photographs--a mother hummer feeding her young in their tinynest--Attracting Butterflies and Hummingbirds to Your Backyardwill help you turn your garden into a destination for these miraculousguests. --Emily White ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Good reference
This is a super resource. It has great info on both the host and nectar plants of butterflies, talks to the different needs of hummingbirds and the plants they like, how to set up the garden to be most inviting.There are full chapters on things like "the lure of water", "the shletering garden", garden designs, butterfly & hummingbird behavior, etc. There's a section on hummingbird feeders as well as butterfly feeders (rotting fruit - they love it!) It's a great into to the lives of butterflies and hummingbirds, explaining the cycles they go through and their needs and has really straightforward info/ideas on how to create the habitat that will be right for them. The photographs of the caterpillars, butterflies and hummingbirds (even one feeding young in a nest) are fantastic.It also tells (a little bit) about how caterpillars overwinter. Really one of the best books I've seen on the topic - glad I bought it - its a lot of fun!I highly recommend it for anyone looking to set up a garden to attract these folks or augment an existing garden.Build it and they will definitely come!We've had great succeses!

Delightful!
I received this for Christmas and have read it three times since then, referring to it constantly as I build our new hummingbird/butterfly friendly backyard. Sally Roth has changed the way I garden - her relaxed style, her obvious pleasure in her subject, the wonderful photographs, great descriptions of hummingbirds, butterflies and the plants to sustain them, have made organic gardening accessible and understandable. I have always had a no-spray garden, but always felt some distress when things started getting chewed, as will happen. Now I look eagerly for the first signs of 'munching' on the passiflora I just planted, hoping for some fritillary action. Host plants are now mixed in with the nectar flowers - and I can't wait to see a monarch caterpillar on the milkweed! Thanks, Sally! I have hung up the big giant strawberry feeder with pride!

Wonderful!
I borrowed this book from our local library, and I read it from cover to cover!Most gardening books are good for browsing, but are too boring to read.I am an avid gardener and bird/butterfly watcher, and I found this book VERY informative, well illustrated and also well written.I've added this book to my wishlist hoping someone will buy it for me!If you're interested in butterflies or hummingbirds, this is the book for you!

A beautiful book - enjoy and be inspired
I've read a number of gardening books lately, as I have decided to start gardening.This is one of the best.There are beautiful photographs and illustrations of flowers, butterflies and hummingbirds.The author has an obvious love of the subject.She doesn't make the whole gardening idea into a religion, however.She has a light touch, tells some stories on herself, gives a lot of good advice and makes the whole thing seem like a joy, not a chore. ... Read more

Product Description
Nature's colorful creatures will flock to the yard when you follow the guidelines set forth in this book. Attractive flowers and natural plantings will attract birds and butterflies throughout the season. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Up to Taylor's usual standards
The Taylor guides have a quality that always makes me reach for them. They are not just a lot of pretty pictures like many gardening books...although this book is loaded with remarkable color photos. It is full of practical and factual information on establishing butterfly and bird havens in your yard. You don't have to shop anywhere else. It gives the requirements of plants that they suggest you consider...sun, shade, wet, dry, etc. so that you don't make wrong choices and wind up disappointed. I have seen several other books since butterfly gardens have become a popular idea and they didn't measure up to this one.

attractingbirds and butterflies to your garden
The butterflies were a definate plus in my garden this year, will be working on the birds this year! ... Read more

Product Description
A unique and beautiful gardening book that shows gardeners the appropriate plants for attracting butterflies. In addition to practical plant information, this lavishly illustrated volume includes a gallery of nearly 70 butterflies, detailing each species' range and habitats, nectar sources, and larval host plants. Includes sample garden designs and resources. 130 full-color photos and illustrations . ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Quite a good book!
This is a pretty good book.It has both host and larval plants, and tells which butterflies are attracted to each.The USGS actually has a great web site that you can go even further with in this area.Its a good book though.Unfortunately it doesn't indicate which plants are native to the US versus non-native.Because its so very important to plant native it would have been nice if the author hadd either indicated which were native or just included native plants in the recommendations.Native plants grow and bloom at the time when the butterflies/caterpillars are ready to take advantage of them.Non-native plants are timed for the insects in their natural area (usually Japan/china).In any case, its a good book that will certainly peak your interest in butterflies and serve as a good guide for setting up that garden

The best butterfly gardening book
This wonderful book provides everything you need know to plan & maintain a beautiful garden designed to attract butterflies. Information on conservation, photography & history of butterfly gardening isincluded.

Charts and diagrams present the information most effectively.Two tables list nectar sources for adult butterflies & larval hostplants. Below each plant the butterflies that use it are listed.

Thereare 5 complete garden plans tailored to different regions of the country,with tips on design, plant selection, water & pest control. Regionalbutterfly books and contact information for enthusiasts are alsolisted.

The last section is the best. It contains beautiful photographsof over 50 different butterflies. The range, habitat and favorite plantsare given for each species. I love these beautiful gardens with thebutterfly bonus. ... Read more