Florida’s Aquatic Butterfly Gardens

Authors Kendall Southworth and Sean Patton, specialists in creating aquatic ecosystems for pollinators and wildlife, share their knowledge and skills in this guidebook for creating aquatic butterfly gardens in Florida. 70 butterfly species that call Florida home are closely associated with wetlands. Found on shorelines, along backyard ponds and tidal marshes, these species rely on over 100 popular aquatic host plants-the trees, shrubs, grasses, wildflowers and vines-found in Florida's aquatic ecosystems. While Florida has lost more than 9 million acres of wetlands, more than any other state, Florida has created 70,000 stormwater systems that are easily transformed into healthy, resilient hotspots for pollinators and native wildlife. Southworth and Patton cover these underrepresented and undervalued aquatic habitats and show how they can be used to create the critically important ecosystems necessary for the butterfly species of Florida. TOC for Building an Aquatic Butterfly GardenMaking a plan, preparing the area, providing host plants, planting in clusters, planting for continuous bloom, buying local and organic, and maintaining the garden.