Butterflies Are Popular Topic. Who knew?

About 35 people, some master gardeners and some like me, just wanted to know how to attract more butterflies, filed into the auditorium at the Lakewood Library on Wednesday, February 17th. We came to hear a Master Gardener share her secrets for success in attracting butterflies.
Roseann Ferguson demonstrated her teacher chops with an excellent presentation and strategy for attracting lepidoptera. She really knows her stuff. We learned, for instance, just how picky certain butterflies are when it comes to host and nectar plants.  
A long history volunteering with Texas Discovery Gardens has deepened her knowledge and familiarization with butterflies of the North Texas area.
I think people are interested in this topic partly because Former First Lady Laura Bush announced last summer that her organization, Texan by Nature, is joining forces with state and federal agencies to make our state a little more welcoming to Monarch Butterflies whose numbers have been declining for the past decade. 
The Monarch Wrangler program calls on businesses, schools, and churches across the state to grow and maintain native plants, like milkweed.

Some resources Roseann recommended are:
Life Cycles of Butterflies by Judy Burris and Wayne Richards
Butterfly Gardening for Texas by Geyata Ajilvski
DallasButterflies.com
Wildflowers.org
DavesGarden.com
TexasdiscoveryGardens.org