A WaterSmart yard utilizes plants and practices that require less water plus little or no fertilizers and pesticides. With minimal grass cover and maximum use of native and adapted plants, the WaterSmart landscape is beautiful and easy to maintain and environmentally friendly. WaterSmart practices are also a great way to attract butterflies, pollinators and other organisms to your yard.
Butterflies are not only beautiful to look at but they also pollinate your flowers. Attracting butterflies requires providing the right plants for all life stages of the butterfly, from a place to lay their eggs, to food for the caterpillar, a place to form the chrysalides and a food source for the adult butterfly. A great plant choice is milkweed, which can sustain the entire life cycle of Monarch butterflies.
Adding watersmart native plants to your yard is a great place to start. Plant butterfly attracting plants such as milkweed, butterfly bush and purple coneflower. Make sure the plants are located in a sunny spot. Plan for continuous blooms through the growing season and you will be rewarded with butterflies from early spring till late fall.
Remember, don’t use pesticides around your butterfly garden. Most traditional pesticides are toxic to butterflies. Pesticides can also kill off food sources for wildlife. Having native plants in your yard helps take care of any potential insect problem since it promotes habitat for the beneficial insects.
John Jacob
Steven Mikulencak
Charriss York
Watershed Texas 