Butterfly gardening

Articles about creating a butterfly garden, flowers for attracting New Zealand butterflies, raising butterflies in captivity and visiting butterfly houses and butterfly-friendly gardens.

Wins and losses - butterflies, wildlife & plants

An update on all the wins and losses recently in the garden: Butterflies, wildlife & plants

Butterfly gardening

Jan 114 min read

A monarch butterfly on purple verbana flowers

NZ butterfly plants: Early summer

These are the flowers that the butterflies are really attracted to in the first month of summer.

Butterfly gardening

Dec 23, 20252 min read

Monarch and admiral caterpillars

Monarchs start visiting the butterfly garden and I start raising admirals alongside them

Butterfly gardening

Dec 16, 20252 min read

Orchard swallowtail, an australian black butterfly sitting on a green tree

Australian butterflies - Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney

You don't need to leave central Sydney to see beautiful butterflies. Just head for the royal botanic garden.

Butterfly gardening

Nov 28, 20254 min read

Wasp and hornet trapping update

A couple of successful wasp trap lures plus loads that did not work. Plus a new wasp to contend with.

Wildlife

Nov 22, 20254 min read

A copper butterfly, brown with chequered wings, on pale pink sweetpea

My first copper butterfly!

Unbelievable! My new butterfly garden has its first copper butterfly visit.

Butterfly gardening

Nov 8, 20252 min read

The Great New Zealand Wasp Hunt

Killing wasps now saves butterflies. Find out the unusual place I found a paper wasp nest.

Wildlife

Oct 18, 20253 min read

A monarch butterfly on tropical milkweed

Butterfly gardening: Meeting the standard

Moths and Butterflies of New Zealand (MBNZT) certification is given to best practice butterfly and moth habitats. How does Auckland Butterfly Garden stack up so far?

Butterfly gardening

Sep 13, 20255 min read

Planting the butterfly garden

Flowering plants are going into the flower beds and borders, ready for spring. I also take a road trip to see a very special nursery.

Butterfly gardening

Aug 30, 20254 min read

Butterfly predators: Praying mantis

All praying mantis eat butterflies, but South African mantis also eat New Zealand mantis. This means war.

Wildlife

Aug 23, 20253 min read

Winter butterflies and moths

Butterflies and moths seen this winter in the garden, including a rare newcomer to New Zealand, which triggered a biosecurity alert.

Amazing moths

Aug 16, 20254 min read

New beds for the butterfly garden

After a month of work we have new garden beds and cleared borders. Bring on spring!

Butterfly gardening

Jul 27, 20254 min read

Blue butterfly on lavender coloured ageratum

Flower power for pollinators

What plants worked best in the small butterfly garden this summer? What will I continue to grow and what will be abandoned?

Butterfly gardening

Jul 13, 20256 min read

Butterfly visitors this summer

Which butterflies visited in summer 2024/25? Which didn't?

Butterfly gardening

Jun 29, 20255 min read

Battling the mudbath

Why winter gardening is not recommended. The heavy work to expand the butterfly garden means getting muddy.

Butterfly gardening

Jun 22, 20254 min read

A yellow admiral butterfly in the sunshine on fingertips

Yellow admirals every day!

Yellow admiral butterflies are eclosing daily, despite the winter weather.

Butterfly gardening

Jun 15, 20252 min read

Dead hedge and (tiny) nettle bed

Our not quite Insta-worthy dead hedge and definitely not butterfly worthy nettle bed is constructed

Garden project steps

Jun 8, 20253 min read

Be a butterfly citizen scientist!

Keep your eyes open for overwintering groups of monarchs and monarchs with "tags".

Butterfly gardening

May 17, 20252 min read

Yellow admirals flourishing

There are yellow admiral caterpillars everywhere, eating me out of house and home.

Butterfly gardening

May 15, 20251 min read

Raising Reds

A guide how NOT to raise red admiral butterflies. Various disasters have hit my red admiral caterpillars but a few beautiful ones have made it to become butterflies.

Butterfly gardening

May 12, 20253 min read