Lake Katherine, IL - Explore - Butterfly Garden

Butterfly Garden

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Butterfly Garden

The Butterfly Garden displays shrubs, perennials, and annuals that attract butterflies and other nectar seekers.

There are two types of plants used to attract butterflies:

Host plants: Each species of butterfly has specific plants on which they will lay eggs. When the eggs hatch, the caterpillars feed on the foliage.

Flowering plants: These plants provide nectar to adults. Butterflies have an elongated straw-like mouth, called a proboscis, and are only able to feed on liquids. Some of them add stung, fermented juices, animal feces, sweat, and lachrymal fluids to their diet.

Lake Katherine’s Butterfly Garden includes a wide variety of both host and nectar-producing plants.

View the blooms and the butterflies they attract from June through September.

The centerpiece of the garden is two striking wooden butterflies crafted by Walter Bernard and dedicated to the memory of his wife Leandra Bernard.