Conservancy Butterfly Garden

Major Nectar Plants

Blue Mist (Ageratum)

Firebush

Gaillardia

Porterweed

Scarlet Milkweed

Scarlet (Tropical) Sage

Wild Lantana (Wild Sage

Butterfly Garden Guide

There are 15 mini gardens within the Conservancy Butterfly Garden. The map above shows the location of each. The boardwalk at the end of gardens 14 and 9 leads to Mangrove Point, where you will see black, red, and white mangroves.

Begin your walk at the Butterfly Garden Kiosk. Once there, you will see photographs of some Southwest Florida butterflies.

Our goal in the gardens is to provide the best habitat we can to attract native butterflies. We provide nectar plants and shelter for adults and host plants for larval stages.

The best time to view our adult butterflies is on a warm, sunny day.

As you walk through the garden, see how many nectar and larval host plants you can find.

We hope your walk in the garden is both fun and educational as you discover some of the secrets to successful butterfly gardening. Please continue to protect our unique natural environment. Join as a member of the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, tell others about us, make a donation or become a volunteer.

Butterfly Facts:

Adult butterflies use their eyes and feet to locate favorite plants. Their eyes see both visible and ultraviolet light, so they see some designs and colors that we cannot see. They taste plants with their feet. This helps them identify nectar sources, and females are able to locate the most desirable plants on which to deposit eggs.

This page is linked to a list of plants in each garden, an index to the photographs of all of the plants in our gardens, the butterflies and moths and other animal visitors we have attracted to the gardens.