Get Started: Butterfly Garden Guide

outdoor sign number 2You can create a paradise for butterflies while encouraging habitat restoration, no matter how large or small an area you have!  Begin planning your garden with the Basics of Butterfly Gardening, from the North American Butterfly Association. Learn about native plants and soil for butterfly gardens with this article on Native Plants, Soil and Soil Amendments.

Certify Your Love of Butterfly Gardening!

Show your commitment to increasing butterfly populations and educating others by certifying your butterfly garden or habitat through NABA's Butterfly Garden Certification Program

Plant three nectar plants and three caterpillar food plants that are native to your region. Your garden will then qualify to join the 11,000+ (and counting!) NABA Certified Butterfly Gardens across North America that are helping to promote and increase butterfly habitat.

 

Your Guide to Butterfly Gardening in the Lower Rio Grande Valley

Nestled between the Chihuhuan Desert on the west and the Gulf of Mexico on the east in the USDA climate zone 9, the Lower Rio Grande Valley is an area of contrasting climatic and biotic influences. Including Starr, Hidalgo, Willacy, and Cameron counties, this area experiences annual rainfall ranges from about 26 inches along the Gulf coast to 17 inches on the western edge of the region.

rgv-14With an average mean temperature of about 72 degrees and nearly 325 days of sun, the Lower Rio Grande Valley enjoys the longest growing season in the United States. Temperate and tropic climates meet here, as do the major Mississippi and Central bird flyways.

Eleven different biotic communities serve as habitat to over 300 species of butterflies. Unfortunately, over 95% of this natural habitat has been lost due to agricultural, industrial, and urban development.

Planting a butterfly garden in the Lower Rio Grande Valley is one way to help restore some of the habitat that has been lost to development and provide resources for wild butterflies to thrive and grow.

The following plants have been selected and rated by NABA members as important native plants for butterfly gardening in the region.

NABA Selected Shrubs, Vines, and Trees for the LRGV

NABA Selected Annuals and Perennials for the LRGV

NABA greatly appreciates the volunteer contributions of the local experts who generously gave their advice on this garden guide. They have included Gil Quintanilla and Mike Quinn with contributions from Diann Ballesteros, David & Jan Dauphin, Javier Deleon, Carol Goolsby, Martin Hagne, David Hanson, Maxine McClendon, Christina Mild, Joshua Rose, Ellie Thompson, Cynthia Traylor, Ann Vacek, and Frank Wiseman, among others.

We are grateful for the support of:

City-of-Mission-Color-Logo bentsen-palm

Hours of Operation

Open 8am-5pm, 7 Days a Week

Weather permitting, closed some holidays (please call ahead)

Come See Us

3333 Butterfly Park Drive
Mission, TX 78572
956-583-5400
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GPS Coordinates:
26.180243 -98.364973

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